Faire reorders do not come from sending the same “time to restock” message every month. They come from sell-through, clean service, useful account support, and a timely reason to buy again. The opening order puts inventory on the shelf. Your retention system helps that inventory move and makes replenishment easy.
Start the system when the order arrives, not when the account becomes overdue. The first 30 days give you the best chance to prevent fulfillment friction, support the launch, learn where the product landed, and estimate the next buying window.
Why Faire reorders matter more than opening orders
Opening orders prove acquisition. Reorders prove retailer fit and sell-through. They also carry different economics.
Under Faire's current U.S. and Canada brand terms, marketplace opening orders carry a 15% commission plus a $10 new-customer fee. Marketplace reorders carry the 15% commission without the $10 fee. A reorder often requires less discounting, onboarding, and acquisition spend too.
That does not make every reorder profitable. You still need to include product cost, processing, fulfillment, freight support, replacements, promotions, and account labor. The Faire profitability model shows how to compare opening-order contribution with reorder contribution and first-year value.
Do not call an account successful when the first order ships. Call it successful when the product sells through, the retailer chooses to replenish, and cumulative contribution clears acquisition cost.
Build the 30-day Faire account kickoff
Faire's wholesale reorder guidance recommends a coordinated 30-day kickoff for new accounts. The idea is sound because it moves the team from reactive reminders to planned account support.
Use four stages.
Days 0 to 3, Accept and prepare
Review the assortment, shipping address, requested date, and any retailer note before accepting. Resolve stock or substitution issues immediately. Confirm the order fits published case packs and lead times.
Flag important context in one account record:
- Store type and location
- Opening assortment and units
- Acquisition source
- Promotion or discount used
- Likely display or department
- Known buyer preference
- Expected ship and delivery date
This history prevents generic follow-up later.
Days 4 to 10, Deliver cleanly
Ship accurately and on time. Make the unboxing easy for the retailer's receiving team. Include a short product sheet or QR code only when it helps staff identify, price, display, or explain the products.
Once tracking shows delivery, send a brief confirmation. Ask whether everything arrived as expected and solve damage or missing-unit issues fast. Do not attach a sales pitch to a service problem.
Days 11 to 20, Support the shelf
Share a compact retailer kit. Include approved product images, one-sentence selling points, shelf or display guidance, and social assets the store can actually use. Keep the file small and the instructions simple.
Ask one useful question, such as where the product landed or which variation customers noticed first. The answer helps you tailor the next recommendation.
Days 21 to 30, Prepare the next decision
Estimate the likely reorder window from units purchased, product type, store format, and any feedback. Do not invent precision. Use a range and adjust as account history develops.
If a retailer bought 24 units and a reasonable early assumption is two to four units sold per week, the first check belongs around weeks four to eight. Ask about sell-through before recommending quantity.
Help the product sell through
Retailers reorder products that move. Account follow-up cannot compensate for weak consumer demand, but it can remove execution problems that hide real demand.
Support three people around the shelf:
The buyer. Needs confidence in margin, assortment, timing, and the next commercial decision.
The shopper. Needs packaging, positioning, and an occasion that make the product easy to understand.
The stocker or floor team. Needs to know where the product belongs and why it matters enough to keep faced and replenished.
Offer assets and guidance for those jobs. Do not bury the store in a 40-page brand deck. A one-page staff guide, three usable images, and one display example can do more work.
Faire's first-order partnership guide emphasizes thank-you cadence, merchandising assets, feedback, and easy reordering. Use those actions as service, not as an excuse for constant contact.
Opener works your wholesale book daily, following reorder signals and bringing you in when an account needs founder attention.
Book a DemoEstimate the right reorder window
The best reorder message arrives before the shelf is empty and after there is enough evidence to make a useful recommendation.
Start with a simple depletion range.
Estimated weeks of supply = opening units divided by expected weekly unit sales
Use a low, base, and high velocity assumption. If the account shares actual sell-through, replace the assumption. If it does not, use signals such as opening order size, store format, product type, season, and the timing of comparable accounts.
Do not turn the estimate into a fake fact. Write, “You opened with 24 units four weeks ago. If the line is moving around three units a week, this is a good time to check stock.” That shows your reasoning and gives the retailer room to correct it.
Track median days to first reorder by product and store type. The Faire marketplace data guide explains how to read returning-store behavior alongside product and geographic performance.
Segment accounts by the next best action
One cadence for every retailer creates noise. Use account state.
New accounts
Goal: deliver cleanly, support launch, and reach the first reorder. Use the 30-day kickoff and a specific stock check.
Active accounts
Goal: keep replenishment on time and grow the assortment when the core line is working. Recommend products based on the store's history, not the catalog you want to push.
Slipping accounts
Goal: intervene when the usual reorder window passes. Reference the previous order and ask a concrete question. Was sell-through slow, did inventory remain, or did the season change?
Dormant accounts
Goal: return with a reason. New SKU. New format. New price point. Improved packaging. Relevant local proof. A general check-in rarely changes the buyer's decision.
Low-fit accounts
Goal: reduce unproductive work. Some stores do not match the product, price, or operational model. Keep the relationship professional, but do not chase every account forever.
This is also the line between a list and an account-management system. If no one can see the account state, last conversation, prior assortment, and next action, follow-up depends on memory.
Do not treat silence as a request for more reminders. Change the reason, channel, or timing. After a clear sequence without engagement, pause and wait for a relevant trigger.
Make the reorder message useful
A strong message contains context, a reason, and a simple action.
Use this structure:
- Reference the store and prior order.
- Name the timing or signal that makes the message relevant.
- Recommend one action based on the account.
- Make it easy to correct your assumption or ask for help.
Example:
You opened with the ginger lemon and peach cases five weeks ago. Similar specialty stores tend to check stock around this point. How are the two flavors moving? If ginger lemon is leading, I can suggest a simple replenishment mix for the next order.
The recommendation is buyer-specific. It does not pretend to know store inventory, and it gives the buyer an easy response.
For a dormant account:
You last carried the original 12-ounce line. We have since added a smaller counter-ready format at a lower opening commitment. It may fit the space constraint you mentioned. Want the case details?
No generic blast. No catalog dump. The right reason earns the next conversation.
Ask for reviews after value is delivered
Reviews help future retailers assess risk and give the brand useful feedback. Ask after the order has arrived cleanly and the retailer has enough experience to respond.
Faire allows brands to send personalized review requests through Messenger. Its review guidance also recommends thanking positive reviewers and contacting unhappy retailers to understand the experience.
Keep review work separate from a service issue. Resolve missing units, damage, or delays first. Never fabricate, pressure, or incentivize a review.
Measure Faire retailer retention by cohort
Use the month of the opening order as the cohort. Then segment by acquisition source, promotion, product, and store type.
Track:
- First-to-second-order rate
- Median days to first reorder
- Average opening-order contribution
- Average reorder contribution
- Reorders per account at 90, 180, and 365 days
- Active, slipping, and dormant account counts
- Product mix on first and later orders
- Cumulative contribution by cohort
Measure event accounts separately. The Faire Market ROI playbook shows how to determine whether discounted event orders become full-price relationships.
Do not compare an eight-month-old cohort with one acquired last month on raw reorder count. Give every cohort the same observation window.
Decide who should own Faire reorders
The owner can be the founder, an account manager, a rep, software-assisted internal staff, or a managed service. The right choice depends on account volume, team capacity, and whether the constraint is listing work or relationship work.
Keep one owner per account. Two people sending separate offers to the same buyer look disorganized. Store the order history, buyer conversation, account state, and next action in one place.
If you need outside help, the Faire account management services comparison separates listing SEO, software, agencies, virtual assistants, and managed account work.
Run the weekly retention review
Every week:
- Confirm new orders have an assigned owner and delivery follow-up.
- Find accounts entering their likely reorder window.
- Flag slipping accounts that passed their normal cadence.
- Choose dormant accounts with a real reason to return.
- Review open service issues before sending sales messages.
- Check first-to-second-order rate and reorder contribution by cohort.
- Record the next action and date for every account touched.
The complete Faire growth playbook connects this retention review with visibility, conversion, paid acquisition, and profitability.
Build a book that gets stronger after every order
Faire reorders come from products that sell and relationships that are easy to manage. Deliver cleanly, support the shelf, estimate the stockout window, and contact each account with a useful reason. Then measure contribution by cohort so retention becomes an operating system, not a recurring reminder.
Opener gives every wholesale account its own AI rep, working the book daily and reviving accounts that have gone quiet.
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