Open your Faire dashboard. Go to your orders and sort by retailer. Now count how many stores have ordered from you more than once. That number gives you a quick look at your Faire reorder rate.
If the answer is one or two out of every 20, your product is probably fine. Your listing is the problem.
Most makers treat the first wholesale order as the win. It feels like one. But a first order is an audition. The retailer is testing whether your product sells in her store. If it doesn’t sell through, she won’t reorder. And she almost never tells you why.
Faire has also changed. It is far more crowded than it was a few years ago. Being on Faire is a starting line. The good news is that most brands still run their shop the way they did then. A few focused fixes can put you ahead of them.
Here are the three places to look.
Fix 1: Make Your First Product Image Do Two Jobs
Your first image is the retailer’s first impression. In a few seconds, she is asking herself three questions. Where does this go in my shop? Does it belong here? Will it sell?
If your photo doesn’t answer those questions, she may skip you. Or she may buy, put your product on a low shelf, and watch it sell slowly. Sixty days later, no reorder.
Your first image needs to show scale and context. For scale, add a familiar object like a book, a shelf, or a small accent piece. This tells her how big the product is. It also prevents the “I thought this was bigger” email.
For context, style the product so she knows what it is and how to display it. A lavender candle surrounded by fresh lavender tells the story at a glance. The key is balance. The styling should support the product and never compete with it.
Fix 2: Write Descriptions for the Retailer
Read your product description out loud. If it sounds like a label (wax type, scent notes, burn time), you’re writing for the end customer. The retailer already knows it’s a candle. She needs a story she can repeat to a shopper on a busy Saturday.
Start with search language. Retailers search for what they need, like “8 oz soy candle gift under $30.” They don’t search for “Whispering Meadow.” Keep the creative product name, but make sure the description uses the words a buyer would type.
Next, tell her who buys it. Help her picture the customer who walks in and picks it up. Is it a housewarming gift? A quick grab-and-go gift? Something under $30 for a last-minute birthday?
Finally, tell her how to sell it. Where should she display it? What should it sit next to? If it’s seasonal, when does she need to order so it’s on her shelves in time? When she knows how to sell it, it sells through. When it sells through, she comes back in 30 to 60 days.
Fix 3: Make Reordering the Easiest Purchase of Her Week
Many wholesale brands set case packs of 12 or 24. That can work for an opening order. It becomes a problem at restock time.
When a retailer reorders, she wants more of what sold. She is not looking to buy your whole line again. A large case pack or a high reorder minimum stands in her way.
Three changes help. First, set case packs that match a real shelf. For many products that’s four to six units. Check the standard for your category. Second, set your reorder minimum a little lower than your opening minimum, so restocking one or two items is easy. Third, flag your best sellers. Adding “Best Seller” to the product title shows her your winners in ten seconds.
Improve Your Faire Reorder Rate With This 3-Question Audit
A reorder is a purchase you make easy. Start with your top listing and answer three questions. Does my first image show scale and context? Does my description tell her who the product is for and how it sells? Can she reorder one best seller without buying the whole line?
Make the changes. Then come back in 90 days and count your repeat retailers again.
Want the full walkthrough? Listen to Episode 238 of the She Sells Differently podcast. If you’re ready to build steady 10K+ months on Faire without relying on seasonal spikes, learn more about the Faire Accelerator at faireaccelerator.com.
Andee Hart is an award-winning sales executive who walked away from traditional success to reinvent how product-based businesses grow. After nearly 20 years in corporate America, she turned a kitchen-counter candle experiment into Hart Design Co, a wholesale brand carried by hundreds of boutiques across North America. That experience became the foundation for She Sells Differently, where Andee is teaching emerging product brand owners to redefine what it means to sell by serving with excellence, growing with strategic purpose, and shining as a light in the marketplace.
