Faire vs Selling Wholesale on Your Own Shopify Store (2026 Guide)

Faire vs your own Shopify store: which is better for wholesale?

Both channels sell wholesale, but they solve different problems. Faire is a discovery marketplace: it puts your line in front of retailers who are already shopping, in exchange for commission and control. Your own Shopify store is a channel you own outright: no commission on the sale, full control of pricing and buyer data, but you drive the traffic. Most established brands end up running both, using Faire to win net-new retailers and their own Shopify store to serve the accounts they already have at a far lower cost.

How much does Faire actually cost in 2026?

Faire does not charge a monthly subscription to list, which makes it feel free to start. The cost shows up per order. On any order from a retailer Faire introduced to you, Faire takes a 15% commission on the product subtotal, and that 15% applies to reorders from that retailer too, not just the first order. First orders from a new Faire-sourced retailer also carry a flat $10 new customer fee. On top of commission you pay payment processing that runs roughly 1.9% to 3.5% depending on your payout speed, plus about 30 cents per payment (see Faire's published brand pricing).

There is an important exception. Retailers you bring to Faire yourself through a Faire Direct link are charged 0% commission, though you still pay the processing fee. That 0% path is the tell: Faire's real charge is for discovery. Once you own the relationship, you are paying a marketplace to process an order you sourced. Run the math on a repeat account ordering $2,000 a month and the 15% commission on Faire-sourced volume is $300 every month, indefinitely.

What do you give up by selling only on Faire?

The commission is the visible cost. The invisible costs matter more as you scale.

You give up the customer relationship. On a marketplace the buyer belongs to the marketplace, so your ability to email, segment, and re-market to that retailer is limited. You give up pricing control, because marketplace norms push everyone toward similar terms and discounts. You give up data: you see your orders, but not the full picture of who is browsing, abandoning, and reordering. And you give up brand experience, since your line sits in a grid next to thousands of competitors on a page you do not design.

None of that means Faire is a bad channel. It means a marketplace is the wrong only home for the accounts you have already earned.

When does selling wholesale on your own Shopify store win?

Your own store wins the moment a relationship becomes repeatable. Once a retailer knows you and reorders, every dollar of that reorder is yours minus only standard payment processing. You set tiered pricing per customer group, hide wholesale prices behind a login, enforce minimum order quantities and pack sizes, and offer net terms and tax exemption to approved buyers. You keep the email address, the order history, and the ability to upsell.

The old objection was that Shopify was not built for this. That has changed. Native Shopify B2B exists on higher plans, and apps like PortalSphere bring custom tiered pricing, gated catalogs, MOQs and pack sizing, bulk-order workflows with net terms, and wholesale-specific upsells to any Shopify plan, running alongside your regular retail storefront. The result is one store that serves both B2B and B2C without the spreadsheets and email order forms that used to define wholesale.

How do you move wholesale to Shopify without losing your Faire customers?

You do not have to choose overnight, and you should not cut Faire off. Move deliberately:

1. Keep Faire for discovery. Leave your catalog live so new retailers keep finding you. That is what the commission is fairly paying for.
2. Stand up wholesale on your Shopify store. Install a B2B app, create customer groups, set tiered pricing, gate prices behind registration, and set MOQs and pack sizes.
3. Invite your repeat accounts to reorder direct. Give existing buyers a reason to reorder on your store: faster reordering, net terms, and account-specific pricing.
4. Use Faire Direct for anyone who prefers the marketplace. If a retailer wants to stay on Faire, your Faire Direct link keeps that commission at 0%.
5. Watch the mix. Over a few months, more reorder volume shifts to the channel you own, and your blended cost of wholesale drops.

For the setup itself, our step-by-step guides on setting up wholesale on Shopify and building tiered wholesale pricing walk through each screen.

Faire vs your own Shopify store: side-by-side

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to sell wholesale on Shopify than on Faire?

For repeat orders, yes. On your own Shopify store a reorder costs only payment processing, roughly 2% to 3%, with no commission. On Faire, a Faire-sourced retailer's reorders keep incurring the 15% commission. The exception is a brand-new retailer that Faire discovered for you, where the marketplace commission is paying for a customer you would not otherwise have reached.

Can I use Faire and my own Shopify wholesale store at the same time?

Yes, and most brands should. Keep Faire live to attract new retailers, run your own gated wholesale store on Shopify for accounts you already own, and use a Faire Direct link (0% commission) for any existing buyer who prefers to order through the marketplace.

Do I need Shopify Plus to sell wholesale on Shopify?

No. Shopify's native B2B features require a higher-tier plan, but apps like PortalSphere add tiered pricing, gated catalogs, MOQs, and net terms to any Shopify plan, so you can run a full wholesale channel without upgrading to Plus.

Will moving to my own store hurt my Faire ranking or sales?

No. Moving your repeat accounts to reorder direct does not remove your catalog from Faire or affect how new retailers discover you there. You keep Faire working as a discovery channel while shifting predictable reorder volume to the channel you own.

How do I hide wholesale prices from regular retail shoppers?

Use gated access. A wholesale app lets you require registration and approval before a buyer can see wholesale prices or restricted products, so your retail (B2C) storefront and your B2B catalog live in the same store without exposing trade pricing to the public.