How to get your product into stores: wholesale for small makers

How to get your products in stores, step by step

Getting a product into a store means selling it to a shop owner, who then sells it to their own customers. The shop is your customer now, and it buys in quantity at a lower price than a shopper would pay. That is wholesale.

The work splits into two parts. First you make the product ready for a shop: a price that works at wholesale, packaging that can sit on a shelf, and the paperwork a buyer expects. Then you find shops that fit and ask them to stock it. The steps below follow that order.

1. Work out a wholesale price and a suggested retail price that both leave you a profit.
2. Make the product shelf-ready: labels, packaging, and barcodes if the shop scans them.
3. Write a line sheet with photos, prices, minimums and order terms.
4. Collect the paperwork: your business registration, a sales tax ID and a resale certificate process.
5. Make a short list of stockists whose customers match yours.
6. Pitch each one with samples or a short email, then follow up.
7. Agree terms: wholesale, consignment, or an order through a wholesale marketplace.

What is a stockist?

A stockist is a shop that carries your product and sells it to the public. Boutiques, gift shops, garden centres, bookshops, cafes with a retail shelf and museum shops can all be stockists. Brands often list their stockists on their website so shoppers can find the product in person.

For a small maker, the first stockists are usually local independent shops. They make their own buying decisions, they often like to carry local goods, and the owner is the person you need to reach. Chain stores usually buy through central buying teams with longer approval processes, supplier requirements and larger volumes, so most makers start with independents.

How to sell wholesale: set two prices

Selling wholesale starts with two prices. The wholesale price is what the shop pays you. The suggested retail price, often called MSRP, is what the shop charges its customers. The gap between them is the shop's margin, which pays for its rent, staff and the risk that some stock does not sell.

There is no single rule for the gap. Ask each shop what margin it works on, because it varies by shop and by category, and check that your wholesale price still covers your costs and a profit.

Example: a candle retails at $24 and wholesales at $12 (an assumed price, not a market rate). If it costs you $6 in materials, packaging and labour, you keep $6 a candle on a wholesale order, compared with more on a direct sale. If $12 does not cover your costs and a profit, raise the retail price or lower your costs before you pitch.

Keep your prices consistent across channels. Shops do not want to find your product cheaper on your own website. Faire writes this into its rules: wholesale and MSRP pricing must be the same or lower on Faire as on other places you sell your products, including your own wholesale site.

What a shop will ask for before it orders

Shop owners see many pitches. The ones they say yes to are easy to buy from. Have these ready before you contact anyone.

Resale certificates work in the other direction too: when a shop buys from you for resale, it hands you a certificate and you keep it on file. Under the Streamlined rules, purchasers provide the completed exemption certificate to their supplier and keep a copy for their records. Sales tax and resale rules vary by state and sometimes by city, and not all states allow all exemptions listed on the certificate. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice; check with your state's revenue department.

How to find stockists that fit your product

The best stockist is a shop whose customers already buy things like yours at your price. A shop full of low-priced novelty gifts is a poor fit for a handmade ceramic bowl, however busy it is.

Build a list of shops before you pitch any of them. For each one, note the owner or buyer's name, what they carry, their price range and whether they already stock a similar maker.

• Walk your own town and nearby towns. Note shops that carry handmade or local goods.
• Look at the stockist pages of makers you admire. Those shops already buy from small brands.
• Search wholesale marketplaces from the buyer side to see which shops order in your category.
• Ask at craft fairs and markets. Shop owners often scout them, and other makers will tell you which shops pay on time.
• Check retailers' websites for a vendor, supplier or local makers page. Many list how they want to be approached.

How to pitch your product to retailers and boutiques

Boutiques and gift shops are run by small teams, so a short, specific pitch at a quiet time works better than a long one at a busy one.

1. Check how the shop takes pitches

   Look for a vendor or wholesale page on the shop's website, or ask a staff member when the buyer is in. Some shops only review pitches by email; walking in with a box of samples on a Saturday is rarely welcome.

2. Send a short email

   Say who you are, what you make, why it fits their shop, the wholesale and retail price and the minimum order. Attach the line sheet and two or three good photos. Keep it short enough to read on a phone.

3. Offer a sample

   Shop owners want to hold the product. Offer to drop off or post a sample. For a local shop, a short visit at an agreed time works well.

4. Make the first order easy

   A low opening minimum, a small mixed assortment and a display card help a shop say yes to a test. Tell them how quickly you can restock.

5. Follow up once or twice

   If you hear nothing, follow up after a week or two. A polite no is useful: ask what would make the product a better fit, and note it for the next shop.

6. Look after the first stockists

   Restock on time, share photos they can post, and ask how the product sells. A shop that reorders is worth more than three new ones that never do.

Consignment vs wholesale

Small shops offer two main arrangements. On wholesale terms the shop buys your stock and pays you, and what happens next is its risk. On consignment the shop displays your stock but pays you only when an item sells, keeping an agreed share of the sale price. Unsold items come back to you.

Consignment is a common way for a new maker to get into a shop that does not yet want to risk buying stock. It ties up your inventory and cash, though, so agree the terms in writing first.

A consignment agreement should list each item and its retail price, the shop's percentage, how often the shop pays you, how long items stay before you collect them, and who pays if an item is lost, stolen or damaged.

What a wholesale marketplace keeps from an order

Wholesale marketplaces let shops order from many small brands with one account. Faire is free to join for brands, charges 15% commission on orders that come from its marketplace plus a $10 fee on a new retailer's first order, and 0% commission on orders from retailers you send through your own Faire Direct link. Payment processing applies to both. The chart shows one $200 wholesale order.

How to sell your products to local stores without a marketplace

You do not need a marketplace to sell to a local shop. Many makers invoice shops directly: the shop orders by email, you deliver or post the stock with an invoice, and the shop pays on the agreed terms. This keeps the full wholesale price, but you handle the invoicing and chase any late payments yourself.

A marketplace earns its fee when it finds shops you would not have reached, or when retailers prefer its payment terms. Faire offers retailers 60-day payment terms for eligible retailers while the brand is paid on the payout option it chooses. For shops you already know, sending them your own Faire Direct link keeps the commission at 0%, so the cost on the example order drops from $45.10 to $5.10.

Where Nation fits

Questions about getting your product into stores