OrderDock vs Faire for Wholesale Ordering

The Commission Math

Faire takes 15-19% of every wholesale order placed through their marketplace. For small brands getting started, the trade-off can make sense. You get marketplace exposure in exchange for a cut.

But the math breaks down fast as volume grows.

At $500K in annual wholesale revenue, Faire takes $75,000-$95,000. At $1M, the commission climbs to $150,000-$190,000. OrderDock starts at $20/mo regardless of volume. That’s $2,388/year. The gap between $2,388 and $75,000 can fund a full-time hire or a warehouse expansion.

We built OrderDock because mid-market manufacturers and distributors shouldn’t have to choose between digitizing their ordering process and keeping their margins intact.

Marketplace vs. Your Own Portal

The commission is one problem. You’re also renting access to your own buyers.

On Faire, your buyers log into Faire’s platform. They see Faire’s branding and Faire’s competitor suggestions right alongside your products. You can’t customize pricing per dealer account. You can’t offer net-30 terms on your own terms. You can’t build a reorder workflow tuned to how your specific buyers purchase.

With your own ordering portal, your dealers log into your brand. They see your catalog, your pricing tiers, your terms. When they reorder, they pull up their last PO and adjust quantities. No marketplace noise and no commission on the transaction.

When Faire Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)

Faire works as a buyer acquisition channel. The marketplace puts your products in front of retailers who’ve never heard of you. For a new brand with zero distribution, that exposure has real value.

But once a buyer has placed two or three orders and knows your catalog, running those reorders through a 15-19% commission marketplace is overhead. Established accounts with predictable ordering patterns belong on a dedicated portal where you control the relationship and keep the margin.

OrderDock handles the second half of that equation. Matrix ordering grids for fast PO entry. Customer-specific tiered pricing. Native net-30/60 terms. Quick reorder from previous purchases. All of it without the marketplace tax.