This is the 2nd article in our mini-series on Faire.com - the B2B wholesale marketplace for product based businesses. 

Read the previous article here: Should I Sell On Faire.com? Wholesale Marketplace Review

Start Selling With Faire.com

Selling via the Faire.com wholesale marketplace is an easy way for emerging brands and early stage start ups to connect with independent retailers, begin the wholesale trading journey and drive your wider sales growth plans.

As a online marketplace dedicated to B2B trading, it has been set up to provide entrepreneurs with easy access to interested parties and the core tools required to make wholesale transactions.

Let’s take a look at the key elements you need to know about, so that you can start selling on this exciting new B2B marketplace.

Is There Much Setup Involved?

Once you have created an account, the amount of preparation that you have to do to be able to sell on this B2B marketplace is obviously going to be an essential factor as to whether or not time-poor business owners and retailers choose to use it.

Just like other marketplace platforms such as eBay or Amazon, you will have to create product listings and use your own images and text to generate a compelling listing - ones that trade customers will want to click on and buy.  

The amount of optimisation you do on these listings will pay dividends - as with any online merchandising effort - the more product information you provide and the better the offer, the more likely it is that a trade customer will be interested in stocking your product in their store. So time is well spent in making your product listings and brand look beautiful! 

How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Faire?

Applying to trade on this wholesale platform and listing your products is easy and completely free.

After that, Faire.com works on a commission basis.  You therefore don’t have to pay any costs until you make a sale, at which point a commission fee is deducted from the sale and the funds you are eventually settled. 

There are also opportunities to join in sponsored promotions from time to time and this will require you to fund these promotions yourself, but usually they are optional, so you have full control of your costs.

How Are Orders Received On Faire?

The process involved in selling on Faire.com is relatively straightforward. The trade buyers use the marketplace to look through a selection of wholesale products that have been chosen for them as a good fit for selling in their retail store - based on an algorithm. This is the "matching" process working at it's best.

So, the trade buyer will select a product they like and make an online purchase via the checkout.  This generates an email order notification to you, the brand. Once you log in to the system, you have the option to accept the order and choose a date to ship it, edit the availability of an item and place on backorder or cancel the order outright.

Can I Set Minimum Order Quantities?

Yes. When you set up your product, you get to define the settings to show if you are selling a full case of your product or a single unit. It also allows you to set the minimum no. of units or total order value that must be achieved before the order will be accepted at checkout. For example, you can say that your minimum order value needs to reach $300. 

This is ideal for those of you who already have a trade policy with existing wholesale customers and want to ensure you are consistent with the terms you already operate by.

It is also great for ensuring that all important profitability per transaction. 

How Does Shipping Work?

Once you notify the Faire.com admin system that an order has been shipped, you provide the tracking number for the parcel and highlight the cost of shipping.

The marketplace will then settle the funds for your transaction - if you have charged shipping, the shipping fees will be settled to you, as well as the settlement for the core product sold.  The timing of this funds settlement process is based on the payment schedule that you have selected.

Sometimes for new trade accounts, the customers of this marketplace will be offered a special deal by Faire.com themselves where shipping is free - if this happens, you don't need to worry - that is Faire's choice to do that and they will cover the cost of their own promotions.

How Do Returns Work?

Faire handles returns for trade customers and will work alongside you as brand seller to sort out the customer refund and get the physical item returned to your warehouse. In many cases, Faire or the customer will also pay for return costs, which is helpful. 

I recommend you check your particular account set up prior to trading to confirm this.

How Do I Contact A Retailer?

Getting in touch with the trade customer / retailer who has purchased your products on the platform is easy. The only thing that you need to do is use the marketplace's own internal messaging platform to be able to talk to your trade customers.

Faire like to keep all communications within the platform itself - similar to amazon, so you are unlikely to get the retailers email address for example.  But you will of course get the trade customers delivery address so that you can process and dispatch the order correctly. 

Make It Happen In Your Business

Faire is one of the rare wholesale marketplace platforms which tries to make the process good for every one of their users, whether you are a brand seller or a trade customer and independent retailer looking for great inventory. 

The customer service, knowledge and support centers are good and there are plenty of how to information available on the marketplace that new sellers can use to help you get started.  Give it a go! 

Next Steps

• Start by applying for an account with Faire.com
• Work through the account set up and make the most of using Shopify integrations to pull in product records if you are using this as your ecommerce platform. 
• Triple check that the products you want to sell can sustain the commission structure for your category - we want to ensure you sell each product at a profit! 
• Start promoting and trading! 
• If you need help setting up your Faire.com listings or would like to talk through your ecommerce business growth plans, please book a free discovery call with us to find out how we can help you. 

Read The Next Article In This Mini-Series On Faire.com

Should I Sell On Faire.com? Wholesale Marketplace Review

What Are The Downsides To Selling On Faire?

A Guide To International Selling On Faire