faire wholesale...
how you can benefit as a brand
on this bustling platform

There’s a lot of talk among makers about Faire wholesale and those discussions include many favorable, and a few not so favorable, reviews. Let me state right now that this won’t be one of those less than favorable Faire wholesale reviews because I’m a solid believer in what they’re building over at Faire. In fact, I would go as far to say that many of us could learn a thing or two about strategic business planning from watching how Faire implements their top-notch strategies.

If you want to sell on Faire, now is a good time to apply as markets are opening up again, restrictions are lifting and the public is eager to get back to in person shopping. With a great lean toward “buy local” and “handmade”, it’s an opportune time to launch your collection on the Faire wholesale platform. In this post, I’m going to cover the top reasons I think Faire is spot on when it comes to their business decisions.

Please note, this site contains affiliate or referral links for products and services for which I may receive compensation, however, should you decide these products are right for you... you will not pay more in using my referral links. Also know that I will not recommend a product that I haven't used or don’t stand by 100 percent.

Buyer Incentives - There is no doubt that retailers have suffered great losses and hardship during rolling lockdowns, in some countries more than others. Since we live in a retail-driven economy, many governments have provided financial support, such as forgivable loans, to retailers in order to help keep them afloat and stimulate the economy.

Faire wholesale provides retailers with plenty of undeniably good reasons to shop the platform. From free shipping, to 60-day terms, store credit, free returns and $100 toward the first purchase, Faire does an excellent job at attracting stores and taking the risk out of buying.

Seller Incentives - Brands too get some pretty great incentives, starting with increased exposure for the first couple of weeks on the platform and rewards for bringing store contacts and other makers on board. Perhaps one of the most overlooked advantage for sellers is actually all the incentives given to retailers. Sellers sometimes fail to recognize that the Faire wholesale perks for retailers ensure that the site continually sees increased traffic from new stores joining.

On this point, I can’t stress enough how short-sighted attitudes keep sellers from making the most of a good thing. While some feel that retailers get more from the offers than the wholesale brands do, I beg to differ. In wholesale, store success is your success as a seller. When we support the success of retailers, we all reap the rewards because, after all, they’re at the top of the chain! Yes, as artists, makers and entrepreneurs, we provide goods to be sold, but there will be no providing if the retail industry isn’t flourishing. It’s all a continuous circle.

While free returns may only seem to benefit store owners, in reality, it also serves as a marker for maintaining both quality and success-driven products within the marketplace. Arguably, free returns can sometimes invite one to purchase without the need to be wisely selective, however, this type of offer typically results in increased spending and a willingness to try new things. When buying restrictions are placed, the opposite usually occurs and buyers are more reluctant to spend or take risks. 

Time and again, it has been proven that offering an iron-clad guarantee, with no risk involved, encourages spending and results in less overall dissatisfaction.  And, in terms of quality over quantity, the free returns feature raises the bar when it comes to getting producers to think carefully about what they want to put out in the marketplace. 

In other words, if you make darned good products, offer excellent service, captivating branding and products that will make your retailers happy, you’re more likely to reap the rewards while seeing a low return rate. The free returns policy not only takes the risk out of buying, it makes us all more strategic and mindful in our product offerings. It’s important to note here as well, although Faire offers free returns, those returns are not sent back to you the seller. 

Solid Platform - The Faire wholesale platform is easy-to-use and has amazing built-in features for promotion, messaging, integration, product and brand videos, pricing and currency flexibility, invoicing and more. Faire has built a strong, streamlined platform with growing functionality. They have put a lot of thought and care into the system and it shows. 

With lots of how-to guides and next-step prompts, Faire wholesale offers easy-to-use features, great support and clearly outlined sections to build your shop and make changes that will continually enhance your online presentation. Unlike other sites that create confusion with what seems like parallel universes (Facebook advertising), within the same platform, Fair has put a great deal into simplifying and improving their system, creating a great user experience.

Always Thinking Ahead - While many businesses rest on their laurels once they have a good thing going, Fair wholesale continually strives for improvement. It is as though, every step of the way, they ask themselves “how can we make this benefit that?” for it seems that no one decision is made without carefully estimating the domino effect of those changes. No doubt, there is a lot of calculated strategy in every implementation, mapping out some stellar results for buyers, sellers and Faire itself.

Innovative - In a time when we’re seeing the long-term effects of limitations brought on by the pandemic, Faire has answered some pretty serious questions when it comes to how both retailers and brands can buy and sell without setting up in person. Although Faire wholesale has been around since 2017, the success of the platform has seen some amazing advancements in a time when the world virtually shut down. Welcome to the new world where we can not only survive, but we can indeed thrive. We can realize symbiotic connections between far away makers and retailers, just as the internet always promised to deliver.

This brings to mind the days long before the internet and how challenging it was to reach targeted customers when selling specialty items. Decades ago, I happened upon a catalog via an ad in a much adored Victorian magazine. The company was called Amazon Drygoods and they’re still around today. Back then, all the purchasing was done through their mail order printed catalog and I poured over the pages that included period items and vintage sewing patterns.

If memory serves me correctly, they also offered authentic clown shoes along with their turn-of-the-century, old-world shoes. Not that I had any need for clown shoes, but it always struck me as curious that they sold clown shoes that were several hundred dollars at the time. Obviously, you can’t set up at any old venue with your clown shoes because the likelihood of finding that perfect buyer is slim to none. Fast forward 30 years and the internet has closed the gap on matching buyer to seller. At the click of a button, you can have your authentic clown shoes!

Through the magic of the internet and the innovative ingenuity of a platform such as Faire wholesale, you can reach buyers that are looking for that specialized product that fits perfectly with their store’s vibe. While selling products which have wide appeal may garner much attention, if you have a product that is a unique departure from every other product out there, you have the great advantage of reaching buyers that are looking for specific products that aren’t readily found. It’s the beauty of the internet, married with the ability to reach well-qualified buyers.

Tuned-in - Faire wholesale is tuned into what both brands and retailers need, offering improvements and fresh ideas that benefit both. I have rarely witnessed a system that operates so well as a whole. Faire seems to have cornered the market with a fine-tuned system that successfully intertwines all its moving parts. The result is a positive atmosphere where one feels motivated to keep improving one’s own business.

Active and Connected - Faire is not only continually improving upon what’s working, they also stay active in their communications with sellers through email support, and a community group. When sellers ask for specific functionality on the website, Faire is right there answering questions and supporting its members. It’s no surprise that Faire listens to its sellers because they didn’t become a leader in the industry by not giving careful consideration to feedback.

No Stone Unturned - The Faire wholesale platform has seen increased growth  over the past few years and it’s clear that Faire knows how to ask the right questions. They leave no stone unturned when it comes to solving problems by asking the much-needed questions. And after asking the most pressing questions, they continue to be even more progressive by asking even better questions and finding the answers to those. Pushing past the limits of ordinary and “good enough”, Faire does what we all should do in our own businesses. Ask better questions and then deliver the best answers, the ones that take us from ordinary to extraordinary.

A Thing of Beauty - Have you ever set up on a platform and struggled to make your presentation stand out? While some platforms have templates that lend themselves to underwhelming mediocrity, the Faire wholesale platform is a thing of beauty. From great image sizes, to pleasing fonts, easy navigation and a clean looking composition, it isn’t hard to impress your viewers with a system that’s uniformly designed to please the eye. 

The only way in which one might botch this perfect canvas is to upload poor quality photos that are cropped irregularly and miss the mark with unsatisfactory product descriptions. It’s completely laid out for you, instructions and all. Follow the recommendations and you too will have a shop that serves as eye candy for your visitors.

Strong Analytics - Lastly, Faire wholesale provides some pretty good analytics that help you test and measure so you can improve upon your offerings. They even include some benchmark figures so you can see what to aim for within your product category. You can bet that Faire constantly tests and measures what’s working on the backend too. Perhaps there is no better way to measure success and make improvements than what is offered in the digital world and you have the ability to do just that on the Faire wholesale platform.

In terms of those who have expressed less than favorable opinions regarding Faire, I’ll address a couple of those here. Some complain about the 25 percent commission on first-time orders. Consider that if you had a sales rep for your collection, you would be likely paying 25 percent to your rep. If you were to set up at a wholesale trade show, you’d be investing thousands of dollars in booth fees, display and travel before you realize any profits, so keep that in mind as well.

With the Faire wholesale platform, you’ll be introduced to stores across the country and across international boarders. Stores you wouldn’t otherwise likely find and you still have the option to prospect all on your own and find stores outside the platform... the old fashioned way. On that you will pay zero commission, even if those clients later place orders from you on Faire. 

No matter which way you land your orders, it’s going to cost you money or your time, sometimes both. It’s the age-old cost of doing business. If you want to earn, you need to spend. The beauty of the platform is that it can connect you with new buyers you may not readily find on your own. Also consider that it’s a building process. First-time orders may be small and you’ll pay 25 percent on those, but returning orders drop to 15 percent commission and you're likely to see those orders also increase in size.

The same goes for offering promotions on Faire. While you may be taking a cut in profits by offering price breaks or free shipping, what you gain from offering those purchase incentives can easily translate into repeat orders. Think of it no differently than the cost of advertising, only here you’re not forking out a hefty sum for a TV ad that reaches an unspecified audience. You’re reaching a targeted audience of buyers who are there specifically to buy. To drill down even further, your product titles will likely return more qualified buyers as they search for specific interests. 

As you probably guessed, I’m a Faire fan. One of the best ways we can grow successfully is to watch how companies we admire innovate and implement strategies for growth. Aside from joining as a maker, spending some quality time observing these strategies for your own success is key. Follow the recommendations, implement what’s already working and ask yourself the questions that will lead you to greater success. Then, learn to ask even better questions and answer those too!

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