What Is Faire Direct? 0% Commission Explained

What is Faire Direct, and how does it benefit brands?

Faire Direct is a referral program built into Faire. You get a unique link, QR code and website widget, and any retailer who places their first order with you through them becomes your Faire Direct customer. The benefit is simple: you keep the full wholesale value of that order minus a payment processing fee, with no commission.

The retailer still gets everything that makes Faire easy to buy on. According to Faire's fee page for North America, eligible retailers keep 60-day payment terms and free returns on first orders. Retailers who are new to Faire also get a sign-up incentive and free shipping with you for one year.

Put simply, Faire Direct orders are orders from retailers you found and invited yourself. Marketplace orders are orders from retailers Faire found for you. That distinction decides what you pay.

How is a Faire Direct order different from a marketplace order?

The difference comes down to who found the retailer. If a store discovers you while browsing Faire, Faire earned the introduction and charges commission. If you bring the store through your Faire Direct link, you did the work and Faire charges nothing.

In North America, processing runs from 1.9% + $0.30 on 60-day payouts to 3.5% + $0.30 on next day payouts. Outside North America, Faire charges a 15% commission on reorders, 25% on a first marketplace order, and 0% on Faire Direct, per Faire's international fee page. For the full fee picture, see our breakdown of Faire fees for brands.

What is the Faire Direct referral offer for retailers?

The referral offer is what makes a retailer want to use your link. A retailer who signs up through your Faire Direct link, QR code or widget gets 50% off their first order with your brand and one year of free shipping on orders from you. Faire pays for it, so it costs you nothing.

The discount is capped, and the cap varies by market (for example, up to $150 or £150), according to Faire's referral offer help article. For a small shop testing a new brand, half off an opening order is a strong reason to say yes. The free shipping keeps working on reorders for a full year.

Why does the 7 day window matter so much?

The referral offer must be used within 7 days of the retailer creating their account. After that, the 50% off is gone. This short window is where most brands lose Faire Direct orders they had already half won.

Here is the usual pattern. A buyer clicks your link, signs up, browses for a few minutes, and gets pulled back into running their shop. Nobody reminds them. Day 8 arrives, the discount expires, and the account sits empty. The brand did the hard part (getting a busy store owner to sign up) and then let the offer lapse.

Working the window means following up while the offer is still live:

• Day 1: a short welcome message from your Faire inbox, confirming the 50% off and pointing to two or three best sellers.
• Mid-week: a nudge if they have items in their cart but have not checked out.
• Before day 7: a clear reminder that the offer ends soon, with a suggested starter order.

These are plain, helpful messages, not pressure. Most retailers who sign up want to order. They just need a reason to do it this week instead of next month.

How do you get your Faire Direct link?

Your Faire Direct link is in your Faire brand portal. Open the Faire Direct section and you will find your unique link, a downloadable QR code and an embeddable widget for your website. Each one tracks retailers back to your brand.

You do not need to apply separately. If you have an active brand account on Faire, you already have a Faire Direct link. If you are still setting up, start with how Faire works for brands.

Where should you use your Faire Direct link?

Use your link anywhere a retailer might first hear about you outside the Faire marketplace. The rule is simple: if you found the store, send it through your link.

1. Outreach emails. Every cold or warm pitch to a new store should include your link and mention the 50% off first order offer. Our guide on how to pitch a retail buyer covers what to say around it.
2. Your website. Add the widget or link to your stockist page and any "wholesale" or "become a stockist" page. Store owners often find brands through their own browsing.
3. Trade show QR codes. Print the QR code on your booth signage, line sheets and business cards. A buyer can sign up on their phone before they leave your stand.
4. Existing wholesale accounts. Stores that buy from you by email, phone or a spreadsheet, and have never ordered from you on Faire, can move onto Faire through your link. They get terms and easy reordering, and you pay no commission.

What counts as a Faire Direct customer?

A retailer becomes your Faire Direct customer when they place their first order with you through your Faire Direct link. The first order is what counts. How the retailer later finds you does not change it.

This works both ways. A store that first ordered through the marketplace is a marketplace customer, even if you send them your link later. A store that already has a Faire account but has never ordered from you can still become a Faire Direct customer through your link, though the sign-up referral offer is meant for new accounts. Check your orders in the brand portal to confirm each one was charged the way you expect.

What are the most common Faire Direct mistakes?

Most brands lose value on Faire Direct through a handful of avoidable errors. The two biggest are sending the link to the wrong people and not following up inside the 7 day window.

• Sending the link to existing marketplace customers. It will not convert them to 0% commission, and it can confuse buyers who already order from you.
• Not following up. A sign-up without an order inside 7 days means the referral offer expires, and the retailer may never come back.
• Hiding the offer. Mentioning the link without mentioning the 50% off and free shipping wastes your strongest hook.
• Never checking commission. Mistakes happen. Review your Faire Direct orders and raise it with Faire if one was charged commission it should not have been.
• Treating Faire Direct as a one-off. The link only works if you keep putting it in front of new stores, week after week.

How is Faire Direct different from Faire's welcome offer?

Faire's general welcome offer and the Faire Direct referral offer are separate programs. The welcome offer gives a retailer 50% off their very first order on Faire with any brand. The referral offer gives 50% off their first order with one specific brand: yours.

A retailer who signs up through your Faire Direct link does not get the general welcome offer. They get your brand's referral offer instead, which means their discount can only be spent with you. That is good for you: the incentive points straight at your catalog rather than at every brand on Faire.

How do you make Faire Direct a real growth channel?

Faire Direct pays off when two things happen consistently: a steady flow of new, well-matched retailers receiving your link, and fast follow-up on every sign-up inside the 7 day window. Brands that do both keep more of every order and build a customer base they own.

Doing that every week takes time most small brands do not have. Finding and vetting independent shops, inviting them with your Faire Direct link at 0% commission, and working the 7 day window for every sign-up is exactly what Ginger's Faire wholesale agency does for brands. For the rest of the playbook, read how to grow sales on Faire.