What happened to Tundra
Tundra ran a wholesale marketplace for brands and independent retailers in the US and Canada, funded by venture capital and built on charging brands no commission. In May 2023 it filed an antitrust lawsuit against Faire, and Faire filed its own suit accusing Tundra of scraping its data. Tundra then announced it was closing the marketplace, saying it could not remain viable and blaming Faire’s conduct; trade press reported that it stopped taking orders in July 2023.
Tundra pointed users toward a successor platform called Wholesale Co-Op, which itself closed on January 31, 2024. The lawsuit did not bring the marketplace back.
Why zero-commission marketplaces are hard
A marketplace spends money to attract retailers, process payments, chase late payers and support both sides. Commission is how most of them pay for that. A marketplace that charges brands nothing has to fund those costs some other way, and if that way runs out, the marketplace goes with it.
That is not a reason to avoid marketplaces. It is a reason not to keep your only copy of your customer list inside one.
It also changes how to read “zero commission” offers. Ask how the platform makes money today, not how it plans to later. A flat subscription is a plain answer: you pay for the software, and the orders stay yours.
Option 1: Faire, using Faire Direct for your own accounts
Many former Tundra brands moved to Faire. Marketplace orders cost 15% commission plus a one-time first-order charge. But retailers who come through your personalized Faire Direct link order at 0% commission, with only payment processing applied. If your retailers want Faire’s net terms, this is the cheapest way to keep offering them.
Option 2: a membership marketplace
IndieMe charges a membership subscription instead of a commission. It is limited to handmade products from the US and Canada and has a smaller buyer pool than Faire, so it suits some makers well and others not at all. Check their current plans before signing up.
Option 3: your own wholesale catalog
The most durable answer to “zero commission” is not a marketplace at all. With your own wholesale catalog you pay a fixed subscription and keep every order, and no platform decision can take your accounts away.
LINK is built for exactly this. Each retailer gets your catalog link with their own price list. You set order minimums, per-product minimums and case multiples, track variants, kits and stock, and orders arrive in your dashboard with full buyer details. Buyers need no app and no account. It costs a flat fee from $9/mo with no commission, and the trial is 30 days free with no credit card.
What LINK will not do: it is not a marketplace, so it does not bring new retailers, it does not offer net terms financing and it does not process payments. You agree payment and shipping directly with each buyer.
What to look for in any Tundra replacement
Whatever you choose, judge it by what happens if it disappears tomorrow. That is the scenario Tundra brands actually lived through.
- Can you export your customer list, with contact details, at any time?
- Are prices published, or will they be renegotiated once you depend on the platform?
- Does the cost grow with every order, or stay flat as you grow?
- Who sets minimums, terms and prices for each account: you or the platform?
- Can buyers order without creating yet another account?
Moving your retailers over
If you still have a list of the stores that ordered from you, you already have the hard part. A simple sequence works for most brands.
- Export or rebuild your product list in a spreadsheet and import it
- Group retailers by price tier and assign each one a price list
- Set the minimum order you actually need to ship profitably
- Email each account their link with a short note about what changed
- Share the same link by SMS, Instagram DM or a QR code at your next trade show
Third-party prices and policies checked in October 2026. They change; confirm on each vendor’s site before deciding.