How Does Bridge Compare to Faire?

Stores and brands sometimes ask us: How does Bridge compare to Faire?

I thought we'd compare the two service providers.

Similarities: Bridge & Faire

• Audience. Both service the retail industry. In particular, both service brands and retailers. Bridge also services sales reps, and Faire tries to steer clear of them--which is one reason reps don't like Faire much.
• Delivery method. Both are online platforms.
• Service offered. Faire is a wholesale marketplace. It allows brands to sell and stores to buy. That's it. Bridge also offers a wholesale ordering services, but not in marketplace format. For Bridge, wholesale ordering is a very small part of our service's usage. Other services, such as an online store and gift registry, are what Bridge is known for. Faire does not offer these services. Wholesale ordering is the only thing that Faire does.

Differences: Bridge vs. Faire
Now, let's consider the differences:

• Bridge gives a retailer its own, standalone e-commerce store to sell goods. A retailer uses Bridge to sell goods. It makes money using Bridge. Faire does not offer retailers or brands an e-commerce store to sell goods. A retailer does not sell goods on Faire; a store spends money on Faire. Due to this, if one were to compare to a service, Bridge is more similar to Shopify.
• In addition to offering an online store, a retailer uses Bridge for its marketing services, including gift registry software, review software, and news sharing.
• Bridge helps a store compete with big box stores and online players like Amazon and Zola.  Faire does not offer marketing services to retailers and does not help them compete online.
• Faire and Bridge's approaches to wholesale ordering are different. Faire is a wholesale marketplace. Bridge is not.  A wholesale marketplace is when many brands pool all their products on one site and stores buy them. Bridge does offer wholesale ordering, but not in a marketplace style. We send the store to the brand’s Bridge and it buys the item at wholesale. It’s not a wholesale marketplace experience. For example, when you're on Beatriz Balls' Bridge account, you can only buy Beatriz Ball at wholesale; you can't also buy 100 other brands at wholesale. 
• Bridge allows brands to sync their products with authorized retailers.  This marketing service, called Product Syncing, helps 100 premium brands instantly show their 63,000 products on up to 1,000 indie retailers' websites. Each synced product saves a store about $1 in website maintenance. Babcock Gifts in Memphis, TN, syncs 37,000 products helping it save $37,000 in product upkeep. Faire does not have an advertising platform like this.
• Bridge allows brands and retailers to send each other 'tickets.' These tickets help members update products, archive products, load price lists, and more. This online system allows members to crowd-source product maintenance. Faire does not have this.
• As part of its e-commerce platform, Bridge has a social network that connects members. Authorized retail members can easily find each other, message each other, share news, and share files. Faire does not have a social platform.
• In sum, Bridge is a way to make money. Faire is a way to spend money.

Please learn more about Faire's services:
https://www.faire.com/support

You'll notice that if offers no e-commerce solutions or marketing services for stores. 

Learn more about Bridge's Product Syncing service:
https://www.shoplocal.org/smart-products.cfm

Learn more about Bridge's Wholesale Ordering service:
https://www.shoplocal.org/wholesale.cfm

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bridge vs faire faire wholesale ordering comparison

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