Faire vs Ankorstore (2026): Wholesale Marketplaces for Independent Shops and Brands Reviewed

For decades an independent shop bought stock at trade fairs twice a year, from sales reps, with minimum orders sized for bigger stores and payment on delivery. Two venture-backed marketplaces rewired that: Faire, founded in San Francisco in 2017, and Ankorstore, founded in Paris in 2019. They put brand catalogues behind a login, cut minimums to around a hundred of whatever currency you pay in, and gave shops weeks to pay.

This review looks at both from each side of the counter. It is part of the Wholesalers & Sourcing section of the Kurums E-Commerce pillar. Kurums has no commercial relationship with either company. Fees were checked in November 2026 and change; confirm in your own dashboard.

What are Faire and Ankorstore?

They are curated business-to-business marketplaces where independent brands sell at wholesale prices to independent retailers: gift shops, boutiques, concept stores, delis, salons, museum shops and online stores. The platform handles discovery, ordering, payment and credit risk, and earns its money from the brand.

They differ from the factory-sourcing sites reviewed in China wholesale platforms compared in one essential way: the products are finished, branded goods ready for the shelf, not items to be manufactured to your specification. In the vocabulary of our guide to inventory models, this is wholesale reselling, not private label.

How do they work for retailers?

A retailer applies with business details, is approved, and can then browse and order from any brand on the platform. Three features make it attractive for a small shop or online store.

• Low minimums. Each brand sets a first-order minimum, typically modest. A shop can test five units of something instead of committing to a case pallet.
• Buy now, pay later. Eligible retailers get payment terms of up to 60 days, so stock can sell before the invoice is due. The platform pays the brand earlier and carries the credit risk.
• Reduced risk on new brands. Faire is known for free returns on opening orders with a new brand for eligible retailers; Ankorstore offers its own incentives and a paid membership tier with extra benefits. Programme details vary by region and change, so read the current retailer terms.

For an online store, these marketplaces solve the hardest part of wholesale: finding distinctive products that are not on every large marketplace, in quantities small enough to test. The cash-flow effect is substantial. With 60-day terms and stock that sells in 30, the cash conversion cycle described in e-commerce unit economics turns negative: customers pay you before you pay the supplier.

What retailers should check before relying on either:

• Resale restrictions. Many brands on these platforms do not allow resale on Amazon-type marketplaces. If your channel is a marketplace, filter for brands that permit it or ask.
• Shipping costs and lead times, which the brand controls. Cross-border orders can add duties and delays.
• Margin. Recommended retail is usually about twice wholesale. Online, after shipping to the customer and payment fees, that is workable for giftable and higher-value items and thin for cheap, heavy ones.
• Credit limit. Terms are granted up to a limit that grows with payment history.

What does Faire cost a brand?

Faire charges brands a commission on orders from retailers the marketplace introduced, and nothing on orders from retailers the brand brought itself.

Sources differ slightly in how they describe first-order pricing by region, so brands should read the fee page for their own country.

The logic is a permanent revenue share. Every time a marketplace-sourced retailer reorders, Faire takes 15%, indefinitely. In exchange the brand gets access to a very large retailer base, guaranteed payment, and no credit-control work. Faire also bundles tools around the transaction, such as messaging, invoicing and the ability to move existing stockists onto the platform commission-free.

What does Ankorstore cost a brand, and what changed in 2026?

Until 2026 Ankorstore's model resembled Faire's, with a higher commission on first orders and a lower one on reorders. In January 2026 it announced a different structure for brands: an acquisition cost charged once for each new retailer the platform brings, and 0% commission on that retailer's subsequent orders.

The effect is to concentrate the platform's take at the start of the relationship instead of spreading it over its life. For a brand whose stockists reorder often, that is materially cheaper over time. For a brand whose retailers order once and drift away, it may not be.

Which is cheaper for a brand over the life of a retailer?

It depends on how many times the retailer reorders. A simple model makes the point. Assume a retailer places a US$600 opening order and then reorders US$600 three more times in a year.

The 20% figure for Ankorstore is a placeholder for illustration, borrowed from an independent comparison that makes the same assumption because the actual rate is not public. Change it to your dashboard's rate. The structure is what matters: with no reorders the two cost about the same; with every reorder the gap widens in Ankorstore's favour.

Cost is only half the comparison. A cheaper platform with no retailers in your region is not cheaper. The first question is where the shops that suit your product actually buy.

How do they compare on reach and fit?

Faire is the stronger choice for reaching North American retailers and has the widest cross-border network. Ankorstore is the stronger choice for continental Europe, where its retailer base is densest and where local languages, VAT handling and delivery expectations matter.

What are the alternatives?

Several smaller platforms follow the same model, and some have not survived, which is worth knowing before you build a business on any one of them.

• Creoate: UK-founded, curated, commission-based, with terms of up to 60 days and a focus on the UK, US and EU.
• Abound: US-focused, similar buy-now-pay-later terms for retailers.
• Orderchamp: a Dutch-founded European marketplace for verified retailers.
• Regional and vertical players in fashion, food and gifts.
• Tundra: ran a commission-free model from 2017 and closed its marketplace in 2023, citing unsustainable margins; its successor closed in early 2024. A reminder that the cheapest platform is the one that is still operating next year.

Faire and Ankorstore are the two with scale. For general sourcing beyond curated brands, see how to find wholesale suppliers and the Kurums comparison of B2B purchasing marketplaces.

How should you use these platforms well?

As a customer-acquisition channel if you are a brand, and as a discovery and financing tool if you are a retailer. Neither should be your only route.

For brands

1. Onboard your existing stockists first through the commission-free direct link. It builds order history on the platform at no cost.
2. Price for the commission and set a first-order minimum that makes a parcel worth shipping.
3. Invest in photography and a clear brand story. Retailers browse visually and quickly.
4. Ship fast and communicate. Platform search favours brands with good fulfilment and reorder rates.
5. Track cost per acquired retailer and reorder rate by platform, exactly as you would track CAC and repeat rate for consumers.
6. Keep your own wholesale channel alive. A trade page on your site and direct accounts protect you from fee changes.

For retailers

1. Order small and often. Use low minimums to test, and reorder what sells.
2. Use terms deliberately. Sixty days of supplier credit is working capital; do not treat it as a reason to over-order.
3. Check resale rules before listing a brand online or on a marketplace.
4. Compare landed cost including shipping and any import charges.
5. Build direct relationships with your best-selling brands.

To see whether the range you assemble is earning its place, apply the measures in e-commerce metrics that matter per brand: sell-through, margin after shipping and return rate.

Frequently asked questions

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