Do I need an LLC to start wholesaling on Faire after Etsy?

It isn't required, but most brands form one once they sign with stores, take trade show orders and invoice retailers, to separate business from personal. A single-member LLC is disregarded by default, so profit still goes on Schedule C, and Faire's W-9 uses the owner's own name with an SSN or the owner's EIN. Keep Etsy and Faire on the same details.

How should I set wholesale prices on Faire?

Wholesale is commonly about half of MSRP, and Faire takes its commission from it: 15% on marketplace orders, $10 extra on a North American brand's first order with a new retailer, and 0% through Faire Direct, plus processing fees. Faire requires consistent pricing across channels, so don't inflate wholesale prices on Faire to absorb the commission.

How does sales tax work if I sell on both Etsy and Faire?

Etsy collects retail sales tax from consumers on Etsy orders. Faire, as marketplace facilitator, collects resale certificates from retailers and charges tax to business-use buyers on Faire orders. Your own retail sales need your own tax collection, and off-platform wholesale needs your own resale certificates. Register in your studio's state and wherever off-platform sales cross thresholds.

Do I just add my Etsy and Faire 1099-Ks together at tax time?

No. Both are gross amounts on different bases; Faire's counts orders shipped and paid out in the year, including shipping, so cross-year orders shift. Reconcile each platform's 1099-K to the revenue in your books, deduct expenses, and report the result on Schedule C or the business return.

Etsy to Faire wholesale: company and tax changes

Going from selling to consumers on Etsy to wholesaling to shops on Faire changes the shape of the business: lower unit prices, bigger orders, inventory to build and payouts on a schedule. The tax setup should change with it. Unify the entity and tax forms, rebuild your margins at wholesale, count your inventory, treat sales tax as a resale question instead of platform-collected retail tax, reconcile two 1099-Ks instead of one, and look at an S corporation once profit is steady.

1. Unify the entity and tax forms

Many Etsy sellers start in their own name, with a W-9 showing their name and SSN. Once you wholesale, sign with stores, take trade show orders and invoice retailers, most brands form a single-member LLC to separate business and personal money and to make a later S corporation election easy.

Consistency matters. A single-member LLC is disregarded by default, and Faire's instructions say such an LLC enters the owner's own name and SSN (or the owner's EIN) on the W-9, not the LLC's name. Use the same person and number on Etsy, Faire and Shopify so the 1099-Ks can be reconciled together. If you later elect S corporation status, switch every platform to the entity name and EIN from the effective date.

2. Rebuild margins at wholesale

Wholesale is commonly about half of the suggested retail price, and Faire takes its commission out of the wholesale price: 15% on marketplace orders, plus a one-time $10 on a North American brand's first order with a new retailer, and 0% for retailers whose first Faire order with you came through your Faire Direct link. Processing fees come on top: for North American brands, 3.5% for next-day payouts, 2.4% for 30 days and 1.9% for 60 days, each plus $0.30 per order.

Example (hypothetical numbers, to show the method): a candle sells for $28 on Etsy. After the $0.20 listing fee, the 6.5% transaction fee ($1.82) and payment processing of about 3% plus $0.25 ($1.09), about $24.89 is left; with a $7 cost, each candle earns about $17.89, but you run the traffic and customer service. The same candle wholesales on Faire for $14. After 15% commission ($2.10) and the 30-day processing fee of 2.4% ($0.34), plus $0.30 per 12-candle order, about $11.54 is left per candle; with the $7 cost, each earns about $4.54. Unit profit falls by three quarters, but each order is a case of 12, the shop does the selling, and there's no consumer customer service. Wholesale works on volume and cost, so don't budget off Etsy margins.

Faire also expects consistent pricing across channels, and retailers can't sell below MSRP. Running long discounts below MSRP on Etsy or your own site puts you at odds with the shops that stock you.

3. Count your inventory

Wholesale means building stock, often hundreds of units at a time. Under either the cash or accrual method, unsold goods are inventory, and their cost becomes cost of goods sold only when they sell. Sellers who started on Etsy often deduct every materials purchase in the year bought; once wholesale inventory piles up, that misstates profit. Businesses with average gross receipts of $32,000,000 or less over the prior 3 years (the 2026 threshold) can use simplified inventory methods, but a year-end count and costing still apply.

4. Sales tax works differently

Etsy orders: Etsy, as marketplace facilitator, collects retail sales tax from consumers.

Faire orders: Faire is registered as a marketplace facilitator in 45 states and DC, collects resale certificates from retailers and charges tax to business-use buyers. You don't collect certificates yourself.

Off-platform sales: your own site's retail and trade show retail are yours to collect tax on; direct wholesale to shops outside Faire needs your own resale certificates, Form E-595E in North Carolina.

Registration: the state where your studio or warehouse sits usually requires registration because of physical presence, and so does any state where off-platform sales cross the economic nexus threshold. Where you are registered, Faire notes you may need to list platform sales on the return and deduct them.

5. Two 1099-Ks instead of one

Etsy and Faire each issue a 1099-K when you exceed $20,000 and 200 transactions (orders, for Faire) in a year. Both are gross, on different bases: Faire's counts orders shipped and paid out in the year, including shipping, so December shipments paid in January land on next year's form. The income on your Schedule C isn't simply the two forms added together. Keep a reconciliation by platform showing 1099-K gross, cross-year adjustments, shipping, refunds and fees, tied to the revenue in your books. The 1099-K guide covers the method for each platform.

6. Look at an S corporation when profit grows

Profit often jumps a level once wholesale scales. A single-member LLC's profit goes on Schedule C and bears income tax plus 15.3% self-employment tax on 92.35% of net profit (the 2026 Social Security wage base is $184,500). Once profit is steady at around $50,000 a year or more, run the S corporation numbers: pay yourself a reasonable salary subject to payroll tax and take the rest as distributions free of self-employment tax, at the cost of running payroll, filing Form 1120-S and a higher accounting bill. Adjust quarterly estimates as profit grows; the quarter around your wholesale peak is the one most often underpaid.

The takeaway

Etsy to Faire isn't just another sales channel; it's a move from retail to wholesale. Unify the entity and tax forms, re-price at wholesale, manage inventory and sales tax channel by channel, reconcile the 1099-Ks, and change the entity once profit is steady.

Faire's commission, payouts, sales tax and entity choice are in the Faire wholesale guide; Etsy taxes are in the Etsy guide; S corporations are in the S corporation guide. To set it all up in one pass, book a free 15-minute call or add WeChat YCLUSA.