Etsy, Etsy, Etsy! It’s like the big sister everyone looks up to, but what about the middle children? Now, don’t get me wrong, I am addicted to Etsy like most of the world and, also like most of the world, I sell on Etsy too. However, Etsy is a big fish and sometimes I wonder if it would be easier to sell on some of the small sites out there.
For the most part I have no qualms with Etsy. I think the site itself is super easy to navigate and the analytics are very helpful for sellers. It’s just so BIG. There are so many sellers and so many users, it’s easier to get lost than it is to get found. This is what makes me wonder about listing on other sites just to see if it’s easier to get your shop found. When it comes down to it though, I know that with any creative business it’s going to take a lot of work and determination to promote your shop so that it grows and starts floating to the surface in a pool of handmade shops. However, if you have the means to give one or two other online sales platforms a try, it can’t hurt to give yourself a little more exposure.
To get started I pulled some online sales platforms for you to check out. Some are as popular as Etsy and some not so much. As a disclaimer, I have not tried any of these yet myself, just did a little digging on them.
Online Sales Platforms
- Artfire – Probably the biggest contender to Etsy. If you want to have both, Artfire makes it easy to import your Etsy listings into your Artfire shop.
- Tophatter – an auction site like eBay, but with a focus on handmade items. There are daily auctions in various categories.
- Goodsmiths – A site very similar to Etsy, but on a smaller scale as it’s just starting out.
- Handmade Catalog – There is a monthly fee, but they do all the promoting and marketing. It does not look like you can create your own storefront though.
- Meylah – Looks like there are no listing fees and you can curate a marketplace with other sellers. If you join, I recommend the Handmadeology Marketplace as they constantly promote it.
- Big Cartel – You can open your own independent store front that you can promote and link to on your blog, website, etc.
- eBay – Of course, this is always an option and easy to maintain along side an Etsy shop.
If you sell on any of the above sites, please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
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You forgot Zibbet.com!
Up to 50 free listings, and a great community willing to share and support each other!
http://www.zibbet.com/breathofthedragon
I actually hadn’t heard of this one. Thanks for sharing!
I tried storeenvy and I actually liked the shop options a lot better than etsy, but I just didn’t see the kind of traffic that I do on etsy, I only made one sale in 3 months. I closed that account for now and I’m just focusing my energy on etsy. I will have to check out some of the other places you listed though!
I have tried everywhere and haven’t sold the first thing. But went with a real brick and mortar craft mall and sold several products in 10 days. How do people get this online stuff to work? It takes way too much time away from creativity as far as my experience goes.
Hi,
Selling online is a lot of work and it can be tough to get noticed at first. It’s also not for everyone. You should go with what works best for you.
How does anyone find time to open at other sites? After creating, listing, Facebook, blog, socializing on teams, not to mention the rest of my life; I feel overwhelmed already. I want my business to succeed, but wow! I have started using Hootsuite for social media sites, but I don’t feel like it takes much of the burden off.
Hi Tisha,
I totally understand. Trust me, there are lots of things on my to-do list that never get done. All of the articles on Creative Income are suggestions and ideas. No one’s saying that you have to do all of these things, but if a time comes where you are able to or hire and intern it’s something you can try out. It’s most important to tailor these tips to your own business. Prioritize and focus on what’s working best for your business.
I have 3 shops on Etsy – for pets, jewelry and craft supplies – and only one of them is remotely successful (supplies). Just wanted to share a note about Tophatter. I tried them for several months, but it is quite impossible to get your items on the auction. They only allow the very high-volume sellers to automatically appear, and the rest of us have to languish in standyby for a very short window of time waiting for your item to be picked by buyers. And to do this, you have to be present online. This wastes an enormous amount of time!! And, you can only have 3 items listed on various auctions at a time. And, from what I understand, they have just added a fee for simply listing, whereas before the fee was only charged when you sell. Terrible site that I personally would not recommend unless if you’re a buyer.
Oh wow, thanks for sharing Laura! I actually had not tried Tophatter myself so it’s good to have a review of it.
I have many items listed on Bonanza.com and they do not charge a fee for listing, just the percentage after a sale. Your items are listed until sold and then you can relist them. The traffic is getting better there and it is more of an enjoyment to sell there than on ebay.
thank you so much for mentioning HandmadeCatalog.com. We recently upgraded our site and added many new features for our buyers and sellers. And yes, we do a lot of product marketing on and off-line. Please give us a try!
Thanks for stopping by! Your site looks like a great resource.
I have had an empty Etsy store for over two years. I finally got three items listed that took me about an hour each to list. Once you get with the flow it is not too bad. I don’t know how successful I will be as there are probably over 100 other stores selling the same or similar products. I accidently stumbled onto using the right tag to get my store in the first couple of pages of listings so we shall see.
I have had my Etsy shop for several years. A couple of years ago things were selling well, but it took a lot of time constantly participating in community groups, posting on Facebook, Twitter, etc. to break even. I got tired of spending so much time for so little return. But since I haven’t worked at it as much sales are nearly nonexistent. I have been thinking of trying Artfire. I did try Tophatter and it was horrible. Yes, if you aren’t a top seller it is impossible to get anything listed and it is practically impossible to get your foot in the door. I finally gave up trying with them, and they didn’t listen to my complaints at all. They are terrible.
I have been selling my origami flowers and wedding bouquets on Etsy for over 3 years on Etsy. I have been through all the changes on Etsy, learned about SEO, opened social media pages, a blog, etc. etc. etc. and my sales have just topped 500. The front page of Etsy remains illusive to me. My sales have jumped, lagged, lagged and jumped. This business takes almost all of my time and money. Etsy gets a good portion for listing fees, a portion of what I sell, and I break even (I think). But my goals are not to be wealthy, just to be happy. I am retired and absolutely love what I am doing each day. Etsy is a great source of education. There is a lot to learn, and I believe Etsy is a pretty good teacher. Each lucky lady who loves crafts and selling on line must find her own special niche. At this time Etsy is mine. But she’s a tough task master, that’s for sure.
I haven’t tried any of the ones you have listed. I am trying a store on Storenvy and what is nice is that it links to your business page on Facebook. I have made one sale after having it on my page for one month. I like it as my page fans can just click the store button and all my items come right up. I get paid via paypal and it is easy to set up.
I have a shop on Zibbet but haven’t made a single sale in 3 months. I don’t have the time to participate in their discussions and that is what helps you get to top of list. I am going to drop it and concentrate more on my twitter and facebook.
I may take a look at a few of the ones you have listed here and see if they will work for me too.
I do sell handmade items, but have had more success with my own designs for knitting, particularly baby and toddler garments featuring cable designs. I have had a few sales on Etsy, but with hardly any views. My Artfire shop gets tons of views and quite a few sales. I also sell knitting patterns on Craftsy and Ravelry, which work well for me with the instant download feature.
i sell on artfire and i love it! I love that they only charge a flat fee so i know what my bill is each month and i am able to make more of a profit as i only have payment processor fees after an item sells. The community there is also wonderful. You do have to do more marketing of yourself, unlike etsy, as they dont have the built in traffic but for all the features and other great things, it more then makes up for it.
I own a fat free, sugar free, gluten free bakery and used Etsy to promote our gluten free bread we now ship all over!! As for crafts, it was too slow. Tophatter was awful!! I’ve had the best luck with Artfire and Zibbet. Vistaprint prints business cards cheap!! Get some to direct people to your merchandise and hand them out!!WORKS! Carry some work with you when you can. I sell our dancing vegetable bags right off my shoulder in the supermarket to shoppers and employees!! I also keep 2 e-mails; one to catch spam, friends messages, etc. and the other strictly for business orders and inquiries, be it bakery o needlework, so I don’t miss a message. An 800# was a good investment for me too; that way someone doesn’t have to pay to inquire or order direct!! GOOD LUCK!!
Great to hear about everyone’s experiences. Have not sold anything on etsy after about a year, but I know I don’t promote it as much as I could or pay for better exposure. I got my first follower the other day, which motivated me to add more items and try to figure out how to improve my listing. I have not been able to figure out how to add tags, metadata, etc to help site come up in searches. The behind the scenes tools are sometimes not easy to use. Any advice is appreciated. Love this blog.
I have had an Etsy store for over a year and have never sold anything. I found it too time consuming and confusing to keep listing on there. I currently sell through eBay (have been an active seller for over 10 years of both crafts and general items), a Facebook business page (free and even though there’s no shopping cart, customers contact me to order and I can share my page every time I add new items), craigslist postings and a site called Listia. While selling on Listia doesn’t net me cash, it does get me credits with which to shop for other things i want or need- including supplies to make more stuff!
I’ve been using etsy for a few months. No sales and only one visitor to my store. I did try ebay aka: upay .
And found out what a scam they are. Sold under $300 and got charged seller’s fees of close to $2,000.
I didnt have much listed there either. And other people I have talked to say they got ripped off from ebay as well.
great information. Thank you. I wrote down all the resources
Have you heard anything about “Shopify”?