Faire vs Direct B2B: When Commission Is Worth It (And When to Leave)

Faire is the dominant wholesale marketplace for independent brands reaching independent retailers. Its pitch to brands is irresistible at first: list your products, Faire brings you retail buyers, you pay only on sales. For brands who've never sold wholesale before, that discovery engine is genuinely valuable.

The problem starts when a brand has been on Faire long enough to accumulate repeat retailers. Those retailers were discovered once — but every reorder still triggers Faire's commission. At that point, Faire stops being an acquisition channel and becomes a tax on revenue you'd have anyway.

This post breaks down Faire's current (2026) fee structure, shows the math on when the commission is worth it, and lays out the migration path for brands ready to go direct.

Faire's 2026 Fee Structure (Actual Numbers)

Faire restructured its commission model over the past year. As of 2026, here's what brands pay:

Marketplace Orders (retailers Faire brought you)

• 15% commission on product subtotal (not shipping)
• $10 new customer fee on a retailer's first order — one-time per retailer
• Payment processing: 1.9% to 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction depending on payout speed

Effective rate on marketplace orders: 17-19% of gross for the commission plus processing, before the $10 new customer fee.

Faire Direct Orders (your own retailers invited to Faire)

• 0% commission
• Payment processing still applies (1.9-3.5% + $0.30)

Faire Direct is Faire's concession that once you've built a direct relationship with a retailer, they shouldn't keep paying commission forever. Smart move — without it, brands would leave faster.

When Faire Is Worth the Commission

Faire earns its fee when it's doing actual work you can't do yourself. That's specifically:

1. You're new to wholesale

You've never shipped a B2B order. You don't know how to find retailers, how to price for wholesale, or how to write a line sheet. Faire's buyer audience and templated onboarding effectively teaches you the motion while paying you. Worth 17-19%.

2. You're expanding to a new region

You're established in the US and want to start selling in the UK or EU. Faire has marketplace regions that surface you to retailers in those geographies who'd never find your direct site. Worth the commission until you've got 20-30 active retailers in that region.

3. Your wholesale is a secondary channel

Most of your revenue is D2C or retail; wholesale is 15-25% of the business. You don't want to hire a wholesale sales rep or build B2B infrastructure. Faire runs that channel for you in exchange for commission. Worth it as long as wholesale stays a small slice.

4. You have long-tail product discovery

Your products are hard to describe in category terms. Buyers find them by browsing, not searching. Faire's discovery algorithms surface you to buyers who weren't looking for you specifically but convert when they see you. Direct outreach would struggle here.

When Faire Stops Being Worth It

The inflection point typically looks like this:

1. You have 20+ retailers reordering monthly

Each reorder costs you 15-19% that Faire didn't earn — they "brought" the retailer once, a year ago. Now Faire is an invoice processor you happen to be paying a marketplace rate.

2. Your retailers email or text you directly to reorder

The relationship has moved off-platform. The retailer is using Faire out of habit, not necessity. Every one of those orders should be on Faire Direct (0% commission) at minimum, or on your own system.

3. Wholesale is 40%+ of revenue

At this scale, a dedicated B2B system pays for itself many times over in recovered margin. The 17-19% you save per order funds your own sales + operations headcount.

4. Retailers are asking for custom pricing or terms

Your key accounts want volume discounts, net-30 terms, or dedicated SKUs. Faire's marketplace model can't flex to that — it's one price for everyone, pay-at-order. Custom B2B requires direct relationships.

The Real Math at Different Scales

Let's model a brand's wholesale revenue and see what Faire actually costs:

At $15K/month in wholesale revenue, migrating off Faire saves $25K/year. That's a full-time salary or a marketing budget.

The Migration Path (Don't Quit Cold)

Leaving Faire cold is the wrong move. It kills relationships and makes retailers think you're unreliable. Here's the right sequence:

1. Move repeat retailers to Faire Direct first. Zero commission, same platform. Low-friction first step. You keep the order processing UI your retailers already know.
2. Build your own B2B ordering system in parallel. BusinessCart.ai's code-gated B2B portal fits this — per-customer pricing, credit limits, quote workflow.
3. Invite your top 10 retailers to your own system with an incentive (extra 3-5% discount to account for their adjustment).
4. Keep new-retailer discovery on Faire marketplace. It's still the best discovery channel. Use Faire to find them, convert them to direct once they're reordering.
5. Migrate gradually. Over 6-12 months, 60-80% of your Faire retailers will be willing to reorder direct if you make it easy. The 20% who stay on Faire marketplace are still paying their commission — but now it's offset by 80% at 0% commission.

What "Direct B2B" Actually Needs to Be

Your direct system isn't just a Shopify store with a wholesale password. Real B2B needs:

• Per-customer pricing (different retailers at different margins)
• Credit limits (you don't front unlimited inventory to a new account)
• Net-30 / Net-60 terms (B2B doesn't pay at order like D2C)
• Quote workflow (large orders get negotiated, not one-click-checkout)
• Minimum order quantities per account
• Custom catalogs (different retailers see different SKU sets)
• Recurring orders / standing orders for predictable replenishment

Shopify B2B requires Shopify Plus at $2,000+/month to access these. NetSuite gets you there but at $8K+/month. BusinessCart.ai ships these on every tier — starting at $0/mo on Starter, with auto-promotion to Growth ($499/mo) and Enterprise ($1,999/mo) only as your monthly order volume grows.

Bottom Line

Faire earns its commission in two specific scenarios: you're new to wholesale and need discovery, or wholesale is a small side channel you don't want to run yourself. At both of those, 17-19% to Faire is fair.

Outside those scenarios, Faire's commission compounds into six-figure annual losses for growing brands. The move is: Faire for discovery, Faire Direct or your own system for retention.

See your own B2B portal free on BusinessCart.ai — $0/month Starter tier, per-customer pricing and credit limits built in.

Related: Wholesale & B2B solution page · Marketplace Escape solution page · The True Cost of Marketplaces