Is it profitable to sell on Faire? A realistic breakdown for product brands

If you’ve been hearing a lot about Faire lately and wondering whether it’s actually worth it for your brand, this post is for you. Before you set up your shop and start uploading products, there is one question worth sitting with: Is it going to be profitable?

The answer is yes, it genuinely can be. But how it works, and what you need to have in place to make it work well, is worth understanding before you dive in. So let’s walk through it properly.

How Faire works (and why it’s a bit of a game changer)

If you’ve ever sold on Etsy or a similar marketplace, you already understand the basic concept. You list your products, buyers browse and discover you, and orders come through the platform. Faire works in exactly the same way, with one key difference: the buyers are not the end consumer.

On Faire, everyone buying from you is a business. Independent shop owners, retail buyers, boutique hotel gift shops, garden centres, farm shops, you name it. They are all there specifically to find products to stock in their businesses. So instead of selling one candle to someone for their living room, you are selling a case of twelve to a gift shop in Edinburgh. That’s wholesale, and Faire makes the whole process feel as straightforward as any consumer marketplace.

For brands, that means two things: you get access to thousands of retailers who are already in buying mode, and you get a really slick ordering experience that makes it easy for them to say yes. No chasing invoices, no back-and-forth on terms, no awkward pricing conversations. It is all handled through the platform.

Because you are still selling at wholesale prices, your margins need to be in good shape before you factor in any platform fees. Faire will not fix a pricing problem, but if your wholesale pricing is solid, it can become a really great sales channel for growth.

How Faire makes its money (so you know what you’re working with)

Faire is transparent about how it charges, and it is worth understanding the model before you list so there are no surprises.

They charge brands a commission on orders placed through the platform. The rate is higher on your first order from a brand new retailer, and lower on all reorders after that. This is actually a really sensible structure because it means the cost of acquiring a new stockist is front-loaded, and once that relationship is established, you keep more of each order.

There is zero commission on any retailers you refer to Faire yourself, which is another good reason to actively send your existing and potential stockists to your shop rather than waiting for them to find you organically. More on that in a moment.

The real value of Faire for product brands

Here is the thing I really want you to take away from this post. Faire is not a replacement for building your own wholesale relationships. My whole approach is about teaching brands to sell confidently and directly first, and then using tools like Faire and trade shows to amplify what is already working. That is when it gets really exciting.

Think of it like this. You are out there doing your outreach, sending retailers to your Faire shop, building relationships, and bringing buyers to the platform. At the same time, thousands of other brands are doing the same, and that collective activity means Faire is constantly growing its retailer base too. So the buyers you bring find you, and the buyers already on Faire who might never have come across you through your own outreach can discover you as well. It genuinely compounds.

It also makes export sales so much simpler. Selling to a retailer in Germany or Australia through your own direct process involves a lot of moving parts: currency, shipping terms, payment risk, communication across time zones. Faire handles a huge amount of that complexity, which means international stockists that might have felt out of reach suddenly become very achievable.

And because Faire is a tech company with serious investment behind it, they are constantly improving the experience for both brands and buyers. New features, better search, improved retailer tools. You benefit from all of that development without having to do anything.

Then there is the credit terms piece. Retailers can order from you now and pay later, and Faire takes on that credit risk so you get paid regardless. For a small brand, offering credit terms yourself involves a lot of admin and financial exposure. Faire removes that barrier entirely, which means retailers who might have hesitated can go ahead and order with confidence.

When you look at the full picture, Faire is not just a marketplace. It is a sales amplifier. And when you combine it with a clear wholesale strategy, it does a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

When Faire becomes a profitable growth channel

The brands that find Faire genuinely profitable tend to have a few things working in their favour.

Their wholesale pricing is solid

This is the foundation of everything. If your margins are tight, every order will feel stressful and the commission will sting. If your pricing is strong, each order contributes to growth and the platform feels like the asset it is. Sort your pricing first, then list.

I always recommend that you set your prices for each market (currency) so that you can be competitive in the UK and Europe where we work to a 2.4 mark-up for most categories because of the way VAT works. Whereas in the US, sales tax work differently and the standard markup for most categories is x 2.

Their listings do the selling for them

Buyers on Faire are not looking to be convinced. They are looking for clarity. They want to know what the product is, why it sells, which shops it suits, and what to order first. If your listings answer those questions quickly and confidently, ordering feels easy. If they don’t, buyers move on to someone whose listings do. You can read more about this here (link to article 1 about Faire).

They are thinking about reorders, not just first orders

The first order from a new stockist is rarely the most profitable one. Reorders are where Faire really starts to work in your favour because the commission rate is lower and the relationship is already established. Faire makes reordering really easy for retailers, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t need a nudge. It’s always in your best interest as a brand to build strong relationships with your retail buyers so you stay front-of-mind.

They treat it as a tool, not a magic solution

Faire works best alongside your wholesale activity, not instead of it. The brands seeing the most consistent results are optimising their listings, actively sending retailers to their shop, and following up with buyers who have shown interest. They are not sitting back and hoping to be discovered. They are using Faire as a really efficient part of a wider strategy.

How to combine Faire with your wider wholesale strategy

The mindset shift that makes the biggest difference is this: instead of thinking “I need to get discovered on Faire”, start thinking “I can send buyers to Faire to order.”

Include your Faire link in your trade show follow-up emails. Add it to your catalogue and your email signature. Send existing stockists there to reorder. Mention it on Instagram. Every time you make it easier for a retailer to place an order, you increase the chances of them actually doing it.

The brands seeing the most consistent orders on Faire are not relying on the platform alone. They are using their own outreach to drive retailers to their shop, and then letting Faire do what it does brilliantly: making the ordering process smooth, simple, and low-friction for everyone involved.

That combination of good strategy and a great ordering experience is where the real growth happens.

So is selling on Faire worth it?

If your wholesale pricing is solid, your listings are clear, and you are willing to put some effort into driving retailers to your shop, then yes, absolutely. Faire gives you access to a huge pool of buyers, removes the friction around ordering, and handles things like credit terms that would otherwise be complicated to manage yourself.

It is not a shortcut, and it will not do all the work for you. But as part of a clear wholesale strategy, it is a genuinely brilliant tool.

If you want to explore it for yourself, you can find out more here:

www.faire.com

Some common questions I get about Faire:

Is it profitable to sell on Faire?

Yes, it can be, but it depends on having the right things in place first. Your wholesale pricing needs to work with the fee structure, your listings need to be clear and easy to buy from, and you need to treat it as an active channel rather than a passive listing. Brands who do those things find Faire genuinely profitable, especially once reorders start coming in.

How does Faire make money?

Faire charges brands a commission on orders placed through the platform. The rate is higher on your first order from a new retailer and lower on all reorders after that. If you refer a retailer to Faire directly, you also benefit from a reduced rate on their orders. It is worth factoring this into your wholesale pricing before you list.

Do I need to change my wholesale pricing for Faire?

You do not need to change your prices, but you do need to make sure your margins are strong enough to absorb the commission comfortably. If your wholesale pricing is already tight, it is worth sorting that out before listing anywhere. Faire will not fix a margin problem, but if your pricing is solid it is a brilliant additional channel.

What is the difference between Faire and Etsy?

Etsy is a consumer marketplace where you sell direct to the end buyer. Faire is a wholesale marketplace where all the buyers are businesses, think independent shops, boutiques, garden centres, hotels, and gift retailers. The ordering quantities are higher, the prices are wholesale, and the buyers are making stocking decisions rather than personal purchases.

How long does it take to get orders on Faire?

It varies depending on your category, how well your listings are set up, and how actively you are driving retailers to your shop. Brands that combine good listings with their own outreach tend to see results faster than those waiting to be found organically. Do not list and leave it. Use Faire as the place you send buyers to order.

Can I use Faire alongside my existing wholesale accounts?

Absolutely. Lots of brands use Faire as their ordering platform even for stockists they found through their own outreach or at trade shows. You can send any retailer directly to your Faire shop to place their order, which makes the whole process simpler for both of you. It works alongside your existing wholesale activity, not instead of it.