Faire review
8
(our review)
Online wholesale platform Faire connects retailers with 100,000 of brands worldwide. In our review, we rate it a 8. It focuses on brands and products that are often unavailable on major marketplaces. With low minimum order values, it is suited for small and large online sellers.
Contents:
What is Faire?
Faire is an online wholesale platform that connects independent brands with independent retailers. It can be used by online stores, but also by retailers that have a physical store. According to the company, over 100,000 brands already offer thousands of products.
The US-based company entered Europe in 2021. As a result, Faire has a wide range of brands that are from Europe. The platform also features brands from Australia and the United States. Many of these brands have no minimum order values, or have a minimum of 100 euros per order. This is quite low, compared to many other wholesale platforms.
Assortment
Brands on Faire offer products in many categories, like:
- Home décor
- Beauty & Wellness
- Apparel and footwear
- Stationery
- Gifts and wrapping papers
- Games and puzzles
- Food and drink
- Pet supplies
How it works
Signing up with the platform is very easy. You will need to answer some questions, such as when your company was founded, what type of business it is (online or offline) and what kinds of products you will sell (whether you are a bookstore, florist, or sports seller, for example).
It will ask for your business website, company name, and your chamber of commerce number, though you can also give them that information later. After that, you have onboarded Faire and you can start buying inventory.
Minimum order values differ per brand
After finding a product, you can add it to your cart. Minimum order values differ per brand. It is possible to add products from several brands to one cart, but you must meet the minimum order amount for each brand before you can complete your order.
Transactions are handled by Faire, brands are paid after their orders are shipped. Retailers can pay with a credit or debit card. Eligible companies can also use 60-day payment terms. Additionally, with every first order from any new brand, Faire offers free returns within 60 days. This makes trying out new brands and products easier for online sellers.
Discovering products
The home page of Faire immediately shows you popular products, which range from toys to office supplies or accessories. Prices are only shown after signing up. When you create an account, the dashboard will show you suggested items, based on your business type and on your previous product searches.
These recommendations make discovering products that fit your online store very easy and intuitive. Additionally, while viewing a product, the platform will show you other products from the same brand as well as similar products from other brands. You can also visit a brand’s profile, to get an idea of what they sell.
Filters and brand values
During our review, we noticed that Faire has a filter called ‘brand values’. It is also featured as a category in the top menu. With it, retailers can look for brands that are eco-friendly, handmade, not on Amazon, organic, LGBTQ owned, women owned, disabled owned or brands that give back to the community.
The ‘brand values’-filter help sellers select brands that coincide with their own business values
In our opinion, this sets Faire apart from other platforms. The company says that it wants to focus on unique, independent brands and retailers. Having these labels on the website does reinforce that.
Retailers can also filter on where products are shipped from, including ‘European Union’, ‘United Kingdom’. On top of the page, retailers are also shown a filter with brands from their local country. Sellers can also filter on minimum order values and lead time.
Pros and cons of Faire
A disadvantage of using Faire could be the fact that minimum orders are per brand, and not per cart. If you want to try out a couple of products from several brands, you might need to put in some extra effort and look for brands without minimum order values, or with low ones.
The platform is not suited for online stores selling products through dropshipping. All orders are shipped to your own address and can not be sent to end customers.
In online reviews, we also read that users were frustrated with the fact that they could not get in touch with brands that are featured on the platform. If questions or problems arise about a certain product, they would not be able to directly communicate these to the brand. However, these complaints seem to have been taken into account since then. Now, when visiting a brand’s profile, you can send them a direct message.
Brands on the platform are quite unique
The biggest advantage of Faire is the large product range and the fact that the brands on the platform are quite unique. If you decide to add these items to your online store, you can be assured that these items are not featured on major marketplaces. This could increase your conversion, as your product offer is more unique.
The Faire platform offers a great way to increase your product assortment. If you want to try out online selling, you can find a lot of products here from a lot of brands that have low minimum order values. Additionally, the fact that many brands are from Europe means that shipping is quite fast.
Target audience
Faire targets small and medium-sized stores, especially independent shops. It wants to support local communities, which means that it will offer retailers the option to buy stock from local brands and wholesalers. With its relatively low minimum order values, small online stores can easily buy products here.
Our review: 8
In our review, we give Faire a score of 8. We appreciate the fact that the platform has a large range of products available. We think that it sets itself apart with its option to filter on brand values. In our opinion, this makes the platform attractive to many small, independent stores.
Many brands on the platform are from Europe, which means that shipping is a lot quicker than on other wholesale platforms. Its low minimum order values are also a plus, in our opinion.
The platform is not made for dropshippers, which means that sellers must invest in storage or warehouse space. Additionally, while Faire says that it wants to support communities, sellers are not encouraged to contact brands. This could be a drawback when sellers have support questions.
