Wholesale marketplaces. There are a fair few about these days!
Whether you’re looking to shop wholesale products, or start selling wholesale to retailers, stick around for an overview of some of the best wholesale marketplaces.
Because not all wholesale marketplaces are created equal.
Some are completely integrated solutions, capable of processing orders, arranging shipping, and even providing built-in finance. Hell, if you asked, they'd probably do the washing up. Others are more ‘networking’ platforms, helping you to make those all-important initial connections, but with the onus on you to take things from there.
Many fall somewhere in the middle.
All have their own requirements and terms, which we’ve done our best to helpfully summarise below. This list is in no particular order (other than the top spot, of course 👀) — these are all great, established platforms, with a unique offering for retailers and brands alike.
8 Best Wholesale Marketplaces
1. CREOATE
📍Based in: London, UK
Hi, it's us!
Here at CREOATE, we’re on a mission to make wholesale work for independents. We provide a centralised platform for small retailers to buy stock directly from independent brands according to their values; whether that’s prioritising sustainability, spotlighting women-owned businesses, or committing to being plastic-free.
Having started as a store itself, the CREOATE team understands first-hand the difficulties small retail and product businesses face; from the challenge of sourcing unique products (and the right amount of them), to managing cash flow, and trying to wear the many hats of a small business owner all at once.
We designed our platform to solve many of these challenges. So while you can use it only to buy wholesale, you can also take advantage of perks like interest-free 60-day payment terms, and the other inbuilt features designed to help your business thrive.
Buying with CREOATE:
- Requirements: You need to be a business in order to shop on CREOATE.
- Payment terms: Up to 60-day interest-free payment terms with a credit limit of up to £3,000 (or you can always pay upfront)
- Shipping: Free delivery on orders over £200. Otherwise, a flat fee per supplier of UK (£8.99), Rest of Europe (£15.99) and USA (£24.99).
- Cross-border: Any charges are correctly calculated and clear at the point of purchase
- Returns: You can return unsold stock within 60 days provided it’s the first time you’ve bought from that brand. Some items are excluded from returns — you can find more info here. You cover the cost of shipping the return to either our UK or US warehouse.
👋 Create your free CREOATE account to start browsing over 200,000 wholesale products, and see wholesale prices.
Selling with CREOATE:
- Requirements: Minimum of five distinct, permitted products, sufficient margins and a business email domain. We still carefully evaluate each brand by hand.
- Fees: No joining or ongoing fees
- Commission: 20% on first-time orders, 15% on reorders, 0% on orders from your ‘referred retailers’ (i.e. stockists you bring to the platform)
- Shipping: You typically pay nothing for shipping or duties — this is covered by CREOATE and/or your buyer. Sellers sending unusually large or heavy products may incur a small extra charge.
👋 Apply to sell on CREOATE. It only takes a few minutes to get set up, and we can even import your products straight from Shopify.
2. Faire
📍Based in: San Francisco, USA
Faire launched in the US in 2017 with the vision of becoming a marketplace of local products, and a place to help small brands find their place outside the huge Amazon or Walmart.
It remains the largest wholesale marketplace and — like CREOATE — takes care of logistics like shipping. Faire launched in the UK in early 2021.
Buying with Faire:
- Payment terms: Up to 90-day interest-free payment terms, credit limit decided on a case by case basis
- Shipping: Calculated at checkout
- Cross-border: Fees are estimated at checkout
- Returns: You can return unsold stock within 60 days provided it’s the first time you’ve bought from that brand. There are some things you can’t return (including seasonal products) — check here for more info. Faire covers the cost of the returns. Once requested, you’ll be sent a shipping label.
Selling with Faire:
- Requirements: Unclear
- Fees: No joining or ongoing fees
- Commission: 25% on first-time orders, 15% on reorders, 0% on orders from your ‘referred retailers’ (i.e. stockists you bring to the platform)
- Shipping: You pay nothing for shipping or duties — this is covered by Faire or your buyer
3. Handshake
📍Based in: San Francisco, USA
Handshake is a wholesale marketplace by ecommerce platform, Shopify. It’s only open to brands with a Shopify store, but if that’s you, it’s a great channel to add to your repertoire — especially given it doesn’t currently take commission on any orders. Just be aware that — unlike many other marketplaces — Handshake doesn’t take care of shipping. That part’s on you.
Handshake may still be in its salad days, but you can be sure of a slick experience on both sides thanks to the backing and infrastructure of Shopify. As a retailer, the only downside is a smaller pool of brands, a smaller range of product categories, and less protection if things go wrong (as shipping etc is organised by the brand itself).
Handshake is currently only available to US retailers and brands, but hopes to expand to more territories soon.
Buying with Handshake:
- Requirements: To buy on Handshake, you need to provide your legal business name, and have a US shipping and billing address
- Payment terms: None offered. All payments taken upfront
- Shipping: Each seller sets their own shipping rates and policy
- Cross-border: Currently not possible — US only
- Returns: Each seller sets their own returns policy
Selling with Handshake:
- Requirements: Open to US brands with an ‘active’ Shopify store, a history of orders, and which are selling their own products (which fit into an existing Handshake category). Just add the Handshake channel to your Shopify store to get started.
- Fees: There are no ongoing fees for selling through Handshake. Just keep in mind that you (or your buyer) will have to cover any costs associated with shipping.
- Commission: Currently 0% on all orders.
- Shipping: You arrange this, and set your own shipping policy.
4. Tundra
📍Based in: San Francisco, USA
Sticking with the emerging San Francisco theme is Tundra, a wholesale marketplace with a product selection that’s a little different to the ones we’ve covered so far.
Alongside the usual homeware, fashion and lifestyle sits electronics, specialised outdoor kit, and even business supplies like packaging.
How Tundra makes money is different to most marketplaces, too. Instead of taking commission, they make it through ‘providing optional services and features. Buyers can purchase expedited shipping, insurance and prepaid duties and taxes for international orders at checkout. Suppliers can pay for promotion and additional product and brand exposure’.
Buying with Tundra:
- Requirements: You must be a business or an organisation (charity, school, etc)
- Payment terms: Inventory finance offered as a third party feature
- Shipping: Facilitated by Tundra, but unclear how much this costs
- Cross-border: Unclear how the associated costs and paperwork are handled, but ships to 206 countries (but not directly to your address in all countries)
- Returns: Not allowed
Selling with Tundra:
- Requirements: Competitive minimum order value, no counterfeit or copy items
- Fees: None
- Commission: None
- Shipping: Handled by Tundra, and free for you
5. Ankorstore
📍Based in: Paris, France
Let’s swim/sail/surf back across the pond to meet Ankorstore, which was started by two ex-Etsy employees in France, and is now present in 33 countries across the globe.
Over 20,000 brands sell through Ankorstore across lifestyle and fashion categories, and food and drink. It makes money by charging commission on orders placed through the platform.
Buying with Ankorstore:
- Requirements: Only available to retailers, and not to those reselling on Amazon or equivalent sites
- Payment terms: You can pay up to 60 days later
- Shipping: Free for orders over £300, otherwise flat fee of €30. An extra €20 for orders being shipped from ‘far off’
- Cross-border: You deal directly with customs and pay any fees directly to them, which Ankorstore later refunds when you provide proof. Ankorstore now also charges an extra €20 shipping charge for orders that are far away (which is non-refundable)
- Returns: Not allowed
Selling with Ankorstore:
- Requirements: Minimum order value of €100, no other requirements found
- Fees: No joining or ongoing fees
- Commission: 24% on first orders, 10% on reorders, 0% from invited retailers
- Shipping: Ankorstore arranges shipping, and you don’t pay for this
6. JOOR
📍Based in: New York City, USA
JOOR is a luxury fashion marketplace which is used by large retailers — think Farfetch, etc. It has powerful inventory and order management software to help brands process lots of large orders.
Unlike almost all other wholesale marketplaces, JOOR charges a subscription fee for brands looking to sell on its platform. With plenty of built-in analytics and tools, it’s a powerful tool for the right brands and retailers, but is definitely more suited to established fashion brands looking for a way in with larger retailers.
Buying with JOOR:
- Requirements: You must be an operating retailer with existing wholesale relationships with brands similar to the ones on JOOR
- Payment terms: Up to 60-day payment terms
- Shipping: Terms set by the brand
- Cross-border: Terms set by the brand
- Returns: Terms set by the brand
Selling with JOOR:
- Requirements: Unclear
- Fees: Subscriptions start at ~£8,000 per year
- Commission: 3% of every order
- Shipping: Handled by you, not by JOOR
7. Alibaba
📍Based in: Hangzhou, China
Alibaba is a Chinese wholesale marketplace with two key calling cards: low price and variety. And on both, it delivers in spades.
It wouldn’t be your first port of call for artisan soap or a locally-made ombre candle, but it does cover almost every category of ‘stuff’; from car parts to wedding dresses. And having been in business since 1999, it’s a wholesale marketplace veteran.
Alibaba has a simple fee structure, taking 7% commission on all orders made through the site. While that may sound refreshingly low compared to other wholesale websites, keep in mind that it’s a highly price-competitive site, and you’ll need to be prepared to price your products accordingly.
Buying with Alibaba:
- Requirements: Anyone can buy from Alibaba, but keep in mind that the minimum number of units you need to buy is often in the thousands
- Payment terms: Up to 60-day payment terms
- Shipping: Option to ship via freight (slow, cheap) or courier (faster, 4-8 times more expensive), but price dependent on order
- Cross-border: Applicable duties and taxes will need to be covered by you
- Returns: Not allowed
Selling with Alibaba:
- Requirements: None specified
- Fees: None
- Commission: 7% on all orders
- Shipping: Arranged by brand
8. Fairling
📍Based in: Hamburg, Germany
Fairling flips the switch on wholesale marketplaces, putting the onus on the brands to reach out to retailers on the platform which seem to be a good fit for their products. Brands pay a monthly subscription fee of between $99 and $119 per month, and all plans include a number of ‘performance calls’ with the Fairling team.
Fairling doesn’t facilitate the placing of orders between brands and retailers; it’s simply there to help brands make that first contact with retailers who are actively looking for new suppliers.
Buying with Fairling:
- Requirements: None listed
- Payment terms: N/A
- Shipping: N/A
- Cross-border: N/A
- Returns: N/A
Selling with Fairling:
- Requirements: Sufficient stock to handle wholesale orders, should not be looking for stockists with a ‘the cheaper the better’ mindset
- Fees: Subscription required — $99 - $119 per month
- Commission: N/A
- Shipping: N/A
Thanks for sticking with us as we covered some of the best wholesale marketplaces available right now! We'd love to add some more niche recommendations to this list. If there's any you'd recommend, let us know in the comments below.
In the meantime, come see what all the fuss is about. Sign up to shop, or to start selling wholesale with CREOATE. We can't wait to meet you! 👋
