While most of us spend our down time scrolling through our favorite online store, 90 percent of retail sales are still made offline. It actually makes sense, when I think about the many shopping carts dotting the web, un-purchased, in my various online accounts. We, as shoppers, still like to try on, feel, and get some face time in with items before we make the purchase. That’s why Etsy, the online marketplace for small and independent retailers, is making the jump to help designers sell their goods in brick-and-mortar stores.

Etsy Wholesale, a project that’s been in beta mode for two years, is officially launching next week, according to Forbes. The wholesale version of the online retailer will monetize the Etsy sellers’ presence in stores, which, in effect, will prevent the designers’ ideas from getting ripped off and imitated by a larger retailer with no credit.

Forbes reports that the wholesale model will charge sellers a one-time $100 fee to join and sell their products in stores and in Etsy’s online marketplace. After that, Etsy will charge the sellers a 3.5 percent transaction fee on each order.

The wholesale concept has been operating in beta mode for two years; during that time, Etsy placed small brands and independent designers in major retailers like Nordstrom and West Elm as well as an array of boutiques. The full-time launch of Etsy Wholesale will ensure that the Etsy sellers will have the opportunity to sell their goods to a mass market, offline, protecting their ideas from getting ripped off by the larger retailers.

Look out for more quirky finds in your favorite store after Etsy Wholesale launches August 5.

Image via Etsy/Facebook