Overjoy AI CRM Review and Maker Tips

Feb 13

During a coaching call with one of our makers, Jillian Wells of Paloverde Botanicals, she casually mentioned that she’d been using a tool called Overjoy AI for wholesale outreach.

I hadn’t heard of it but when she shared her screen and showed me how she uses it, I was intrigued. Jillian showed me how Overjoy is a CRM that integrates directly with Faire and Shopify, organizes your outreach, followups, stockist engagement, and automations… AND helps you potentially find other stores that are a good fit based on the stores who already buy from you.

So today we’re taking a closer look at Overjoy’s pros, cons, features, and pitfalls so you can decide if it could be helpful for you, now or in the future. Plus, Jillian was generous enough to share her real experience and we’ve shared her thoughtful tips and honest review throughout. If you’d had experience with Overjoy AI, we’d love to hear your thoughts down below!

Quick note: We are not an affiliate of Overjoy or any other marketplace or tool. This article is purely educational and exploratory, based on maker experience and our own analysis.

What Is Overjoy AI (and Who Is It Actually For)?

Overjoy AI is a wholesale-focused CRM designed to help product-based brands with some AI-powered assistance layered in. It’s designed to help brands organize their contacts, manage follow-ups, and discover potential retail stockists.

It’s most useful to think of Overjoy as offering:

A CRM designed for wholesale workflows
The ability to send campaigns, like a Flodesk or Kit
Lightweight AI support for finding and organizing potential stockists
Automation and integrations that reduce (but of course don’t eliminate) manual work

Who Overjoy Is For (In Theory)

Independent brands selling wholesale
Product-based businesses (especially gift, home, garden, etc.)
Makers who already have some wholesale readiness and systems in place – particularly if those systems include using Shopify and/or Faire

What Overjoy Is Not

Not a “set it and forget it” sales tool
Not a guarantee of wholesale orders
Not an oracle of the right shops to reach out to
Not a replacement for careful discernment or human relationship building.

I do also want to mention from the get-go that Overjoy is fairly expensive and there isn’t a free or starter-type option so you might want to jump to our exploration of price below, and make sure it’s not a dealbreaker for your business’s size, before getting too into the details of this article.

How Overjoy Works for Makers and Independent Product Brands

Most brands start by giving Overjoy some basic context: their product category, location, and the types of shops they want to work with (gift boutiques, nurseries, home stores, and so on). From there, Overjoy’s AI assistant generates a dashboard to organize outreach along with a list of potential stockists.

Once you’re inside Overjoy, the app is organized into two main areas: your outreach dashboard and your CRM. Your outreach dashboard is where day-to-day wholesale communication happens. It’s broken into four core sections:

Inbox: a central place where replies from retailers land, grouped by business so you can see the full conversation history in one thread.
Search: where you look for potential stockists using filters like location, shop type, and category.
Campaigns: where you send outreach emails at scale and track opens, clicks, and replies.
Automations: where you set up simple rules for follow-ups, reminders, and responses tied to buyer actions.

Alongside that sits Overjoy’s CRM, which is structured around three views:

Businesses: individual retail accounts, where you can see notes, outreach status, order history, and where each shop sits in your pipeline.
Contacts: the people associated with those businesses, i.e. buyers and store owners.
Opportunities: your active wholesale deals, where you can track stages like outreach sent, sample requested, or order placed, along with expected value and timing.

You can see a quick visual walkthrough of the platform on their website.

Is Overjoy a Good CRM for Independent Brands & Makers?

Lead generation aside, Overjoy is potentially a very powerful and useful CRM for indie brands and makers.

As you probably know, a CRM is a Customer Relationship Manager. It’s any tool that helps you keep track of your communications and relationships with your customers. For a maker or brand, we absolutely recommend using a CRM of some kind – even if it’s simply a spreadsheet – to keep track of shops and buyers, remember where each relationship stands, remind you to follow up consistently, and keep track of status of outreach, samples, and orders. Overjoy supports these core needs surprisingly well.

Like any CRM, Overjoy is a centralized place to manage your relationships. Makers can store retailer contact details, add notes and context about conversations, and move shops through simple “pipelines” – from initial outreach, to follow-up, to sample requests, and eventually to orders. Instead of juggling spreadsheets, inbox searches, and notes scribbled on the backs of receipts, everything lives in one place. This functionality exists even if you never use their lead generation, and it’s useful.

As Jillian explains, they use a straightforward pipeline — moving from “Outreach Started” to “Follow Up Needed,” then “Sample Requested,” and finally “Order Placed.” This mirrors how most makers already think about wholesale relationships and replaces inbox searches or half-kept spreadsheets with a single source of truth.

Overjoy also connects directly with Shopify and Faire, which affects how wholesale accounts are created and managed inside the CRM. When a retailer places an order through Faire or Shopify, that business is automatically added to Overjoy as a stockist. The retailer appears in the Businesses section with associated contact information, order history, and linked contacts. From there, makers can view past orders, track where that account sits in their pipeline, add notes, and manage follow-up communication from a single thread. Shopify integration allows sample orders and discounted orders to be created directly from Overjoy, with inventory updating automatically in Shopify. Faire orders are synced so outreach, follow-ups, and reorder reminders can be managed alongside non-Faire accounts in the same system.

How Overjoy’s Automations Can Work for Brands

Automations in Overjoy are event-based: an action happens, and a specific, pre-written email is sent from your inbox in response.In practical terms, Overjoy automations can:

Send automatic follow-ups after outreach emails
Similar to HubSpot-style sequences, Overjoy can send a personalized follow-up email if a retailer hasn’t replied to an initial intro email within a set time window. These emails use your saved templates and send from your connected Gmail or Outlook address.
Trigger replies based on expressions of interest
Automations can respond when a retailer submits an interest form, asks for more information, or requests a catalog.
Send welcome emails when a wholesale order is placed
When a retailer places their first wholesale order (via Shopify or Faire), Overjoy can automatically send a personal welcome or onboarding email.
Trigger sample follow-ups based on order status
Using Shopify integration, Overjoy can send follow-up emails when a sample order is shipped or delivered – prompting feedback, sharing catalogs, or encouraging a first order.
Send reorder check-ins using past order data
Overjoy estimates when a retailer may be running low on inventory based on historical order patterns and can automatically send a check-in email around that timeframe.
Schedule time-based nudges and reminders
Automations can send follow-ups after a defined delay (for example, “3 days after last contact”).

What Overjoy does not offer is broad, complex marketing automation like ConvertKit or CRM logic with dozens of conditional paths. Its automations are geared towards wholesale-specific follow-ups tied to outreach, samples, and orders.

Overjoy’s Approach to Newsletter-Type Emails – Can It Replace a Flodesk-Type Tool?

Jillian’s favourite feature of Overjoy is the ability to send both campaigns and one-off emails to prospective retailers, paired with a simple pipeline that shows exactly where each shop stands. Campaigns allow you to track opens, clicks, and replies, while one-off emails don’t yet include that reporting (though that may change).

Overjoy can function as the primary tool for managing wholesale customers and sending emails to individual buyers or groups of stockists, as long as you’re thinking in terms of relationship-based, 1:1 or small-batch communication, not traditional marketing newsletters.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Sending emails to individual buyers:
All emails send from your connected Gmail or Outlook inbox, so you can email buyers directly, reply in-thread, and maintain full conversation history by business.
Sending emails to groups of stockists or leads:
This is possible using campaigns or filtered contact lists. You can send the same message to multiple relevant contacts – for example, existing stockists, retailers who requested samples, or interested leads. Remember: we don’t recommend (nor is it legal) to send group email to people who haven’t signed up for your list or bought from you.

In other words, Overjoy handles your wholesale CRM + inbox + follow-up system. It can also help with occasional, targeted wholesale announcements (new line release, reorder reminder, back-in-stock note) to buyers and warm leads. If you are looking for a full newsletter engine, like Klaviyo or Mailchimp, that can help you with tools like subscriber growth, signup forms, in-depth segmentation, or large-scale broadcast marketing, you’d still want a separate email marketing tool.

Integrations: Where Overjoy Really Shines

If there’s one area where Overjoy really stands out, it’s integrations — specifically how it connects the tools many wholesale makers already rely on. As Jillian sums it up: “Overjoy is a really strong solution for product-based businesses that sell wholesale, especially because it connects the two systems most of us already live in: Shopify and Faire.”

Overjoy automatically pulls in business information when new Faire wholesale orders come through, and it integrates directly with Shopify for sample fulfilment. These are not small conveniences. They remove real operational friction and save time that would otherwise be spent copying data between platforms or manually adjusting inventory.

Jillian describes a workflow that shows this clearly in practice. When a retailer replies and asks for a sample, she can create a $0 or discounted Shopify order directly through Overjoy, choose the products to send, and have inventory automatically updated in Shopify. This ensures samples don’t throw off stock counts, “so our Disco Plant Stake inventory isn’t wonky,” in her case.

There are also a few practical details makers need to be aware of. Overjoy often pulls in the Faire relay email rather than a retailer’s direct contact email, which means information should always be double-checked. Jillian doesn’t see this as a dealbreaker — just part of using AI responsibly.

Whether Overjoy Could Find You Independent Shops That Are a Great Fit For Your Brand (AKA Help You With Lead Generation)

As you can see, Overjoy does a good job combining a CRM with automations, plus integrations to Faire AND Shopify. That combination is valuable in itself. But there is this additional component that sounds super-tantalizing – could Overjoy help you find independent brick-and-mortar shops that would be a fantastic fit for your brand and give you their contact information… so that all that’s left for you to do is reach out to them thoughtfully and personally?

My honest answer? Maybe.

As you know, I tend to approach AI tools with a healthy mix of curiosity and skepticism. Some of you may remember when the Wholesale in a Box once offered done-for-you shop research, powered by real humans rather than algorithms. That experience taught us just how nuanced (and relational) wholesale discovery really is.

I will say this: until Overjoy, I had never seen a tool for “lead generation” that was actually useful for indie wholesale because they only surfaced nationwide retailers, big names, or larger chains. Where Overjoy stands out is that it does actually give you independent retailers.

After defining your brand’s basics (category, preferred lead types, etc.) for Overjoy, its AI assistant, Joy, generates a list of potential stockists along with contact details and a dashboard to organise outreach. You can also try Overjoy’s Lookalike Store Finder, selecting a few of your best existing stockists as a starting point, and having the tool generate a list of similar retailers you can refine and add directly to your outreach workflow.

When Jillian uses Overjoy to search for brick-and-mortar shops to reach out to, she’s found there’s a real learning curve to writing the best search terms and using its filters well. For example, searching for “gift boutique” can surface a wide range of shops that technically fit the category but aren’t always a strong match. And similarly,searches for “garden nursery” (since she sells plant accessories) can include wholesale grow houses or large-scale operations. In other words, the tool still requires lots of trial and error and a fair amount of your own sifting and hunting to work. That said, Jillian has seen improvements in the search function over time:

“They’ve introduced a smart search that’s getting better at narrowing in on more specific retail profiles… I love that they’re constantly improving the platform… I wouldn’t recommend blindly adding leads without double-checking they’re really the right fit – but it’s still a great source of business contact info that I would otherwise have to find manually through Google.”

So, as with many AI tools, there is a lot of “human smartness” needed to make Overjoy work, in terms of finding stores that might actually be a good fit and in terms of verifying fit and in terms of verifying contact information. It’s also certain that your results will vary based on your product line, product type, and how well the profile of the stores you are looking for overlaps with Overjoy’s approach. So all in all, I’d recommend thinking of Overjoy’s lead generation tool as a clever helper rather than a real “solution.”

How Much Overjoy Costs & Whether It’s Worth It

As of early 2026, Overjoy costs $125/month for the Lite plan and $210/month for the Pro plan, with higher tiers starting at $600/month.

Put simply, this monthly fee makes Overjoy out of reach for many of our makers – especially for early-stage brands or business owners still experimenting with wholesale.

Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that you’re paying for a combination of things: CRM infrastructure designed specifically for wholesale, a potential replacement for a tool like Flodesk or Kit, actual help with finding stores to reach out to, integrations with Shopify and Faire, outreach and follow-up workflows, and tools that reduce the manual admin that often bogs makers down as they grow.

But no single software tool is going to solve all of your problems and it’s certainly possible that free tools will get you where you need to go, without the hit to your monthly income.

Overjoy Pros and Cons for Indie Wholesale Brands and Makers

Overjoy Works Well For:

Saving you some (how much is TBD) time when looking for independent shops to reach out to.
Giving you an intuitive and effective CRM for managing wholesale customer relationships and outreach.
[Insert more items along these lines- speak to integrations, automations, and campaigns in separate bullets]
Reducing the time you spend in “admin land” when it comes to wholesale, not just in lead discovery, but across the entire arc of outreach, follow-up, and relationship management.

Where Overjoy May Fall Short:

Cost: Overjoy simply may not be worth the monthly fee.
Its lead generation functionality will work dramatically better for some brands than others and you won’t really know until you both pay for it and spend time experimenting with it.
While it does help with automations, they’re not as sophisticated as they might be in a tool like Kit.
Not all contact information, even on stores who have bought from you, are correct. So you still need to spend time carefully checking what it gives you.
Overreliance is a tempting and real risk. AI can surface information, but it can’t assess tone, outreach materials, or fit with the nuance that wholesale relationships demand.

In other words, we believe Overjoy could be a really powerful tool, especially for brands that are already fairly established in their wholesale, looking to save time, and willing to put in the work to make Overjoy effective and accurate. Without those foundations, it risks becoming just another shiny tool that promises more than it can realistically deliver.

Alternatives to Overjoy AI

If Overjoy feels out of reach financially, or simply more of a tool than you need right now, there are plenty of other options for you. Most alternatives cover one or two features (CRM, email campaigns, or automations), but not the full combination of wholesale CRM + outreach + integrations + retail lead discovery. Below is a simplified comparison.

Tool	Approx. Starting Price (2026)	CRM	Automated Follow-Up Sequences	Newsletter / Campaign Emails
Overjoy AI	$125–$210/month	Yes (wholesale-focused)	Yes (event-based)	Yes (to warm leads/stockists)
HubSpot (Starter tiers)	~$20–$50/month (can scale much higher)	Yes	Yes (sales sequences)	Yes, but limited below the Marketing Hub upgrade
Flodesk	~$38/month	No	Basic workflows	Yes, very user-friendly
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)	~$29/month (scales with list size)	No	Yes (email flows & automations)	Yes, robust and powerful system
Zoho CRM	~$14–$23/month	Yes	Yes, though setup can be a heavy lift	Limited without add-ons
Airtable / Notion / Spreadsheets	Free–$20/month	DIY	No	No

How These Alternatives Compare in Real Life

HubSpot
HubSpot can absolutely function as a CRM and can send automated follow-up sequences after outreach emails (similar to Overjoy’s follow-up automations). However, it does not natively integrate with Faire, doesn’t help you discover independent retailers, and newsletter-style marketing requires upgrading into its Marketing Hub tier, which becomes significantly more expensive.

Best for brands that want a flexible CRM with structured sales sequences and are comfortable configuring it for wholesale.

Flodesk
Flodesk is a beautiful newsletter tool. It’s excellent for sending campaigns and simple email workflows to subscribers. However, it is not a CRM, does not track wholesale pipelines, does not sync orders from Shopify or Faire, and does not help with retailer discovery. It’s best thought of as a broadcast email tool as opposed to a relationship manager.

Best for brands focused on newsletter-style communication and simple email campaigns. Not a wholesale CRM.

Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit offers stronger automation flows than Flodesk (think conditional email sequences and subscriber tagging). It works well if you want structured email funnels. However, it is still not a wholesale CRM, does not integrate with Faire in a meaningful way, and does not offer retail lead generation.

Best for: creators or brands who want stronger email automation flows and segmentation for subscriber-based marketing. Not designed for retailer management.

Zoho CRM
Zoho is a more affordable traditional CRM. It can manage contacts, pipelines, and automations, but it is not built specifically for wholesale workflows and does not sync directly with Faire or provide indie retail discovery. It may require more setup and customization.

Best for: cost-conscious businesses that want a traditional CRM with automation features and are able to customize it for wholesale.

Airtable, Notion, or Spreadsheets
These are the budget-friendly, roll-up-your-sleeves options. You can absolutely manage wholesale relationships this way (many makers do), but follow-ups, reminders, and integrations must be handled manually. You would need to set up any automations through a program like Zapier or native integrations and there wouldn't be order syncing, and or built-in retailer search.

Best for: early-stage brands or makers who want a low-cost system and are comfortable managing follow-ups and organization.

What We’re Still Curious About

We have really enjoyed talking with the teams behind other wholesale marketplaces and tools over the years and have reached out to the Overjoy AI team to dig in further together. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that there are a few areas we’d love to understand more deeply when potentially recommending this tool to our community.

We are especially curious about how retailer data is sourced, validated, and kept up to date, as well as how the platform evolves as maker needs change. We’re also interested in how Overjoy balances automation, integrations, and human oversight as brands grow.

When we hear back from the Overjoy team, we’ll update this article with anything we learn. For now, we see Overjoy as a thoughtfully built platform with real potential, and we’re genuinely curious about how it continues to develop in partnership with the makers who rely on it.

Final Thoughts

Overjoy AI is a powerful, thoughtfully-built tool – especially for wholesale-ready brands already selling through Shopify and Faire.

As always, success means looking at your capacity, budget, and systems. For the right business, at the right stage, it could save meaningful time and mental energy. For others, the price and complexity may outweigh the benefits. Our key takeaway after diving into Overjoy is the same as ever: tools don’t build wholesale businesses. Systems and heart do.

How We Can Help You Grow Wholesale:

Wholesale In a Box

Our beloved comprehensive course and coaching is your all-in-one way to grow wholesale fast, steady, and long-term. Learn more here.

Getting Started With Wholesale

A free 4-part email course covering the basics of how wholesale works, keys for success, whether it’s right for you, and how to get started. Sign up here.

The Wholesale Reset

Our free email course for more advanced brands — we’ll help you reset your approach to wholesale and take concrete steps forward to change your results. Sign up here.

Line Sheet In an Afternoon

Our minicourse that gives you a 39-page comprehensive line sheet template to mix, match, and modify — along with the guidance, motivation, and help you need to make a great line sheet fast. Sign up here.

Emily Kerr-Finell https://www.wholesaleinabox.com