This is the 4th article in our mini-series on Faire.com - the B2B wholesale marketplace for product based businesses. 

Read the previous articles here: 

Should I Sell On Faire.com? Wholesale Marketplace Review

How To Sell On Faire.com

What Are The Downsides To Selling On Faire

Why Sell Wholesale Internationally?

Selling internationally and winning trade distribution deals around the world is an important growth strategy for any brand looking to scale their product sales at a pace. Opening up your audience globally and reaching far more people, is always going to net you more sales - it's a volumes game.

However, connecting with the right International trade customers and independent retailers around the world, who will be perfect for your brand, when you don't speak their language or have no way of finding them, can present new CEO's and founders with a daunting task.  

How Faire Helps You Make International Connections

The Faire.com B2B wholesale marketplace is an excellent example of a platform that makes international selling and creating these trade connections pretty straightforward. 

The audience who uses this B2B marketplace is already global, so once you open your Faire account or if you already have one, once you tick to agree to sell your product Internationally - you are global! 

At the time of writing for a UK business you can sell to retailers at trade prices across Europe, Canada and the US. More than 70,000 brands and 450,000 retailers have used Faire so far to sell 35,000,000 products and make over 2 million connections.  

Now that's alot of connections and introductions that otherwise would never have happened.

Let’s take a look at how this B2B marketplace can help you expand your wholesale accounts globally and what you need to consider to get started.

1. The Basics

The great thing about the Faire.com B2B marketplace is that any brand can opt to expand their audience and reach new territories - whether that's choosing to ship into Europe, UK or US and Canada.

Faire offers international shipping options within it's account settings meaning you can decide where and how you retail all across the world, with the flick of a switch.

The same product records you've created for your home country are simply shown to this new international audience. This makes it easy to sell, and any brand can apply to do it.

You will need to make sure you understand the tax and pricing implications for your business if you start selling to customers in multiple countries - for example, does import duties make your product more expensive?  will that mean you are no longer competitive? 

and what local currency price do you want to sell at?

Once you are approved to sell Internationally on Faire, you will see within each product record that you can set your price for that product in various different currencies. 

Work through your international pricing before you launch globally and check your margins still hold too. If you are a brand that wants to sell on a B2B basis in European countries for example, you will have to apply for VAT registration. Being clear on your tax obligations is one top question for your accountant to help you with. 

2. The Compliance Challenge

Any brand that is choosing to wholesale internationally using Faire.com as a B2B marketplace is responsible for their own compliance with all trading and legal regulations in the countries you want to sell in.

So, if you're going to start selling in Canada because you think that audience will be a good fit for your product, you have to make sure that your products comply with Canadian specific regulations. This could mean getting safety testing certifications that are accepted in that country or meeting certain product, selling or packaging standards as set out by their government. 

You will need to carefully research these country specific requirements prior to selling, as the Faire marketplace will not do this for you. They simply promote your product to the audience, they can't ensure your product is fit for sale in that country. 

You may well find that your product needs to be altered in some way to meet with new compliance regulations in the new country you want to sell in. For example, we've seen that some of our clients have had to change and adapt their product to include a different cable fitting, have component parts not made of plastic or amend how a set of ingredients are disclosed to pass their safety standards and comply with local laws.

3. Payments

Most payouts using the Faire marketplace require a US-based banking set up with a routing number, as well as an account number. However, European brands that are operating in countries capable of international sales can get paid in their local currency through third-party applications which link to the Faire ecosystem.

If you have set a local currency price for your products, then your trade customers on Faire.com will see that price in their local currency.  The marketplace will then convert that payment to your own business "home" currency, based on the exchange rates at the time. 

This B2B marketplace will provide two different types of invoices for European sellers. There are commission invoices and order invoices, so you can keep track of what’s going on as currencies get converted and ensure that your "Profit Per Platform" trading is achieved.

4. International Shipping

International Shipping works on Faire.com much the same as it does for any typical online transaction you may process for your own website.

If you ship using Faire.com's own shipping system, you can print shipping labels and receive lower carrier rates, or you can handle the shipment yourself, using your own logistics provider - which gives you a bit more control on costs and process.

It’s up to you.

Tracking numbers must be provided to trade customers via the marketplace platform admin and you can message with your trade customer if need be, if any international shipping delays occur. 

Remember to be very clear in your communications to your trade customers on International delivery times and how long they should expect to wait to receive their first trade order from you. Better to set expectations carefully upfront - perhaps offering a long delivery date and then "over deliver" in the experience by actually getting the product to them earlier. This makes for a better trade customer experience and will help you secure good reviews. 

Obviously, shipping internationally requires import fees, tariffs, and extra costs that will need to be taken into consideration when setting prices for international sales.

You should also be clear with your trade customer if they will be expected to pay an import duty themselves on receipt of the parcel, once it lands in their country. You don't want them to have the nasty surprise of extra costs they weren't expecting on their doorstep. 

Make It Happen In Your Business

Selling internationally using the Faire.com B2B wholesale marketplace isn’t difficult. It’s actually quite straightforward to set up and can become an exciting way to start your global sales expansion and make new international connections.

However, don't underestimate the complexities of international shipping and customer service support required when parcels don't arrive as expected.

It’s important to make sure that you are ready to sell internationally before you "flick the switch" and go for it because a lot of businesses don’t understand how complicated the jump from domestic to international sales can be.  

Our number #1 top tip?  Make sure that you’ve done plenty of research before you start. 

Next Steps

• Research the international market you want to start selling in first - before you do anything else.  Read my blog on How To Target An International Audience to help you think strategically about what you are trying to achieve and your plan for exactly how you want to go about it. 
• When you are ready, update your Faire account settings to accept International customers and sell overseas to International trade customers. 
• Expect the unexpected when it comes to international shipping and international customer service queries. You'll soon get the hang of what shipping documentation you need and what your international trade customers are looking for. 
• Continuously review your compliance and the local regulations for successful trading. Stay up to date with all of your product safety certificates, testing and taxation reporting.  If in doubt, seek professional advisors in each of these areas to help you get it right. 
• If you would like our help in creating your International growth plans for your business, book a FREE discovery call with us. We will talk about your business growth ambitions and share how we help our clients accelerate their global sales faster than they are doing so now. 

Read The Next Article In This Mini-Series On Faire.com

Should I Sell On Faire.com? Wholesale Marketplace Review

How To Sell On Faire.com

What Are The Downsides To Selling On Faire