Insights

The way Faire calculates payouts is inherently complex to begin with, and we were providing no intuitive moment in the product for makers to understand it on their own.

We learned through partnering with our customer support team that they were receiving between 150–200 tickets per month from makers confused about their payout calculation, most believing Faire had underpaid them. In other words, we had at least 5–7 people every day having a bad experience related to their payouts. This kind of situation can be a slippery slope into trust erosion, so our team decided to tackle it once and for all.

With the payout calculation being foundational to several other big features we were about to launch, we prioritized this work to future-proof the experience around how makers are paid out by Faire.

Approach

After partnering with my product manager to understand the initial scope, I interviewed members from our internal Support Team, as well as makers themselves, to narrow in on the root causes of confusion.

I found that makers’ only window into their payout was by diving into an individual Order page, and even then, there were details missing. We showed them the Item Subtotal on the right, and told them when they'd be paid, to which account and how much, but the discrepancy in dollar amounts between Item Total and Payout was unclear.

I then got to work figuring out all possible variables that affect payouts, and found that even our internal stakeholders had different ideas about them. After much discussion, we got everyone in alignment on the following variables related to orders that affect payouts:

• First Orders vs. Reorders

• Damaged/Missing items reported, and if so, the value

• Variable Discount Types (discussed in my case study on Maker Promotions)

• If the maker chose to ship on their own (SOYO) or to Ship With Faire (SWF)

• (if SWF) Packaging/Handling

• (if SWF) Faire Shipping Protection

• Payment Terms (Fee or No Fee)

• Commission

The first three variables alone garner over 18 possible combinations to account for, and there are innumerable edge cases to consider across the given variables. Additionally, some variables could have multiple states at once, so figuring out how to prioritize them and create rules around this payout system became a real team effort. Not only that, but nomenclature was a challenge as these variables were referred to differently by different stakeholders.

The Problems

• Complexity + lack of clarity = confusion = trust erosion

• 150–200 support tickets/month = 5–7 bad experiences/day!

• Problematic snowball effect on the product roadmap

The Challenges

• Multiple variables + innumerable combinations

• Nomenclature issues

• Establishing internal alignment from stakeholders on the way payouts should be calculated

Solutions

The calculation complexities called for rigorous documentation and models accounting for all use & edge cases so we could better communicate cross-functionally. We finally we made it to a place where everything made sense.

In the maker portal, we created a more holistic module in the lower left that organized all information relevant to the payout: status, payout total, estimated payout date (payout terms were moved here as well from the right side next to commission), a 4-digit indication of the deposit account, and a handy dandy link to click and view details about how we came up with that darn payout number.

Above is a common use case, where a retailer ordered $400.00 worth of merchandise from this maker, nothing was reported Damaged/Missing, and no discounts were applied. The maker is part of Faire Direct and Faire Insider (premium accounts) so they already receive a free shipping label, but opted into Ship With Faire to account for Packaging/Handling costs, and also for Faire Shipping Protection. They are on Net60 terms and did not opt into Next Day Payment to avoid the fee. Finally, Faire took 0% Commission on this order because the maker is part of the Faire Direct program.

Impact

Within the first few days of launching promotions, and only having announced them once via the Maker Facebook Community Page, makers were loudly proclaiming their relief and gratitude over finally having this helpful feature, and for Faire’s commitment to transparency.