Faire Direct commission policy

Faire Direct is a personalized link and supporting tools that allow you to offer retailers all the benefits of shopping on Faire—such as 60-day payment terms and free returns on opening orders—while paying 0% commission on those relationships.

As of January 9, 2024, we’ve updated our Faire Direct policy to clarify how new retailer relationships can qualify for 0% commission. These changes apply only to new relationships established on or after January 9, 2024.

• Existing Faire Direct relationships with 0% commission remain unchanged.
• Commission change reimbursements will only be issued for approved requests submitted on or after January 9, 2024. For more details, see What happens after I submit my commission request?

For full details on the policy updates, and reasoning behind them, visit our blog.

What is the Faire Direct policy?

The Faire Direct policy defines how your relationships can qualify for 0% commission through Faire Direct. When you encourage a retailer to shop with you through Faire Direct, you’ll qualify for 0% commission if:

Your relationship can qualify for 0% commission if your Faire Direct link or supporting tools are used, or if you submit a commission change request after the order has been placed.

How do I use Faire Direct tools?

The easiest way to bring your relationships to Faire is through your Faire Direct link and supporting tools. A relationship should automatically qualify for 0% commission if:

• The retailer signs up for Faire using your Faire Direct link or widget
• The retailer places their first order with you on Faire through your Faire Direct link, widget, or invoicing tool
• You sent the retailer an email through the Faire email campaigns tool or in the Faire app in the 3 months before their first order with you on Faire
• The retailer scanned your Faire Direct QR code in the Faire app for brands and they placed their first order with you on Faire within 12 months. To learn more about this, please see here

Commission change requests

If a relationship doesn’t automatically qualify for 0% commission, you can still request a commission change for your eligible customers and leads by providing documentation of your relationship. For more information on how to request a commission change, please visit Can I request a commission change on an order?

What types of documentation do you accept for Faire Direct?

We accept a range of documentation depending on the nature and timeframe of your relationship, as outlined in the chart below.

* We accepted documentation that doesn't include your Faire Direct link until January 9, 2025 (one year following the updated policy going into effect) if it included a response from the retailer. For any requests after January 9, 2025, your Faire Direct link needs to be included in your documentation.

As a reminder, you are responsible for accurately representing your relationship with the retailer in commission change requests. Your Faire Direct relationships may be audited and action may be taken if there are signs of inaccurate documentation.

Documentation guidelines for retailers who have ordered from you before Faire (customers)

For customers who have ordered from you before Faire, invoices are the only documentation we are able to accept when you submit a commission change request.

Tips for submitting invoices:

• If you take handwritten invoices, be sure to include the required information from the chart above

• Many order management platforms will provide order histories for each retailer who has ordered from you in the past. Be sure to click into the order to download the invoice, as we don’t accept screenshots of order histories or external customer profiles

• If you are sending samples to a retailer, be sure to set up an invoice for the sample order

Example of an acceptable invoice:

Types of documentation we won’t accept:

• Customer order histories

• Shipping labels

• Packing slips

• Proof of payment (such as receipts, credit card authorization forms, bank transfer confirmation)

• Order confirmation emails

Documentation guidelines for customers who have not ordered from you before Faire (Leads)

For customers who have not ordered from you before Faire, we’re happy to accept several different forms of documentation to show you’ve encouraged the retailer to order with you through your Faire Direct link. All documentation must be dated prior to the retailer’s first order with you on Faire and include the retailer’s details as they appear on Faire to be accepted.

As outlined above, we can accept documentation from within 12 months prior to the retailer's first order if it includes a written response from the retailer (auto-replies and email opens are not considered written responses). If you do not have a written response from the retailer, your documentation will need to be from within 3 months prior to the retailer's first order.

Types of digital documentation we’ll accept for customers who haven’t ordered from you before Faire:

• Marketing email campaigns or 1:many emails

• Emails to individual retailers or 1:1 emails

• Social media direct messages

• Social media comments from the retailer (e.g. retailer comments on the brand’s post)

• Text messages

Types of offline documentation we’ll accept for customers who haven’t ordered from you before Faire:

• Direct mail

  • You will need to provide both the photo of the direct mail with the Faire Direct link and supporting documentation showing that the mail was sent to the specific retailer prior to their first order with you on Faire

• Trade show interactions

  • You will need to provide both a photo of the retailer’s trade show badge along with offline marketing material with the Faire Direct link in lieu of digital records. The date must be visible on these photos

Types of documentation we won’t accept for retailers who have not ordered from you before Faire:

• Messages sent or received via Faire Messenger

• Phone calls

• Customer lists

• Retailer business cards

• Wholesale application forms

• Email send data

• Social media group memberships from the retailer

• Other social media interactions (e.g. likes, follows, brand comments on retailer post)

• Other trade show documentation (e.g. brand trade show badge, photo of trade show booth)

Lead documentation: marketing email campaigns and emails to individual retailers

Tips for submitting emails:

• If the retailer’s full email address is not visible in the documentation, we recommend hovering over the email recipient to display the retailer’s email address in your screenshot

• Your Faire Direct link can be included as either the full URL (www.faire.com/direct/BRANDNAME), or hyperlinked text that clearly mentions Faire

• If you use a marketing automation platform that does not display recipients for each campaign, we recommend uploading multiple files in your commission change request showing the following: the contents of the campaign including the subject line and Faire Direct link, and either a recipient list or customer history showing that the specific campaign was sent to the retailer

• If the retailer has reached out to you first, be sure to include your response to the retailer in your screenshot

Example of an acceptable email marketing campaign, showing the contents of the campaign, the retailer’s information, and the subject line matching the campaign and customer history:

Examples of an acceptable email from a brand to an individual retailer:

Lead documentation: social media comments and direct messages

Tips for submitting social media comments:

• Ensure you provide a screenshot of both the original post and the comment between you and the retailer in one file to show your Faire Direct link being shared

Tips for submitting social media messages:

• If the retailer has reached out to you first, be sure to include your response in your screenshot showing that you encouraged the retailer to order from you through your Faire Direct link

Example of an acceptable social media conversation:

Lead documentation: text messages

Tips for submitting text messages:

• We recommend that you screenshot the retailer’s contact information from your phone and upload this in your request in addition to the screenshot of the conversation

• If the retailer has reached out to you first, be sure to include your response in your screenshot

Example of a text message outreach to retailer:

Lead documentation: direct mail

Tips for submitting direct mail:

• If you have followed up with the retailer about the direct mail you sent, ensure that you reference the direct mail in your outreach

• To show the date on a photo of the direct mail, click on the photo on your phone which will display the date at the top of the photo:

Examples of documentation we can accept:

• To show that you sent the mail to the specific retailer, you can provide:

  • Photo of the retailer information printed onto the mailer

  • Screenshot of customer list of mailer recipients, or

  • External follow-up to the retailer via text message, email, or social media direct message referencing the direct mail that was sent:

• To show the date that the direct mail was sent, you can provide:

  • Screenshot of date on the photo of the direct mail

  • Screenshot of date on follow-up outreach to retailer that occurred outside of Faire Messenger, or

  • Photo of dated receipt for direct mailer printing

Lead documentation: trade show interactions

Tips for submitting documentation of trade show connections:

• To show the date on a photo of the retailer’s trade show badge, click on the photo on your phone which will display the date at the top of the photo

• The trade show marketing material can include your Faire Direct QR code printed on it in substitution of the Faire Direct link

Examples of documentation we can accept:

• A photo of the retailer’s trade show badge with the date visible on the photo

• A photo of the offline marketing material with your Faire Direct link on it that you displayed or handed out at your trade show booth such as a flyer or a business card

How can I ensure Faire Direct relationships are established?

We recommend that you consider adopting best practices for using Faire Direct so your relationships are well-positioned to qualify for 0% commission:

For more Faire Direct best practices and details on why we’re making these updates to our Faire Direct policy, check out our blog.

Will I automatically qualify for 0% commission if I upload a retailer into my customer list?

Uploading a retailer into your customer list alone does not qualify them for 0% commission. For a relationship to qualify for 0% commission, you need to have encouraged that retailer to place an order with you through your Faire Direct link. We recommend sending retailers in your customer list an email campaign through Faire’s Campaigns tool every 3 months, so they automatically qualify for 0% commission.

Will I automatically qualify for 0% commission if I send an email to a retailer through Faire but it never reaches them due to rate limiting, bouncing, or unsubscribes?

Yes, you should automatically qualify for 0% commission if you send an email to the retailer through Faire campaigns or Faire Direct invites in the 3 months before their first order with you on Faire. Whether or not the email reaches the retailer should not impact your qualification for a Faire Direct relationship, but we do recommend that you follow the email best practices outlined here to ensure that you're effectively using email to reach and convert retailers.

Do I need to include my Faire Direct link when reaching out to retailers to qualify for 0% commission?

Yes, your Faire Direct link must be included in any documentation to show that you encouraged the retailer to order through Faire Direct. We temporarily accepted documentation that doesn’t include your Faire Direct link until January 9, 2025 if it included a response from the retailer. For any requests after January 9, 2025, your Faire Direct link needs to be included in your documentation.

Can you reimburse the commission on requests that were approved prior to January 9, 2024?

No, commission reimbursements will only be provided for approved commission change requests submitted on or after January 9, 2024. For more information on these changes, visit our blog.

If I have selected the 60-day payout option, will I still be reimbursed for commission paid if a relationship qualifies for Faire Direct?

If your relationship qualifies for a commission change and you have selected the 60-day payout option, we’ll update your commission on all future orders and your most recent order. Because the order will not have been paid out by the time the commission change request is reviewed, the commission change will be reflected in your payout and no reimbursement will be required. Please note that commission change requests submitted after you have been paid out for orders on the 60-day payout option are not eligible for commission reimbursement. For more details, see What happens after I submit my commission request?

Will my Faire Direct relationships apply to all my brand accounts?

If you have multiple brand accounts, Faire Direct relationships won’t automatically carry between your accounts. We’re happy to recognize the relationship on all of your accounts. To extend the relationship to other accounts:

• Submit a commission change request for the same retailer on each account
• You may use the same documentation in the requests as long as the accounts are related

Brand accounts are considered related if they share at least one of the following on Faire:

• Legal entity
• Owner name
• Website URL
• Phone number
• Business address
• Email address domain

Do Faire Direct relationships apply to retailers with multiple locations?

Faire Direct relationships won’t automatically apply for multiple accounts, but if all of the locations have the same owner, we’re happy to recognize the relationship across their accounts. To recognize the relationship on each account:

• Submit a commission change request for each of the retailer’s locations
• You can use the same documentation if the accounts are clearly related

Retailer accounts are considered related if they share at least one of the following on Faire:

• Owner name
• Email address domain
• Shipping address
• Website URL

Can I extend Faire Direct to retailers with independently-owned franchise locations?

Yes, if you have a relationship with a franchisor, you can submit eligible documentation of that relationship to qualify for a Faire Direct relationship with a retailer that is an independently owned franchise of the same corporation. To request Faire Direct for a Franchise:

• Submit a commission change request for the franchise account
• Provide documentation of your relationship with the franchisor

Retailer franchise accounts are considered related if they share at least one of the following on Faire:

• Website URL
• Shipping address
• Email address domain
• Owner name
• Retailer name (including terms like corporate or corporation)