• Home
  • Work with CfB
  • Contact
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Cutting for Business

  • New? Start Here!
  • Visit the Shop
    • Ebooks
    • Business Names
    • Craft Business Consultations
    • Order Forms
    • SVG Files
    • Etsy Shop
  • Join Craft Business Help
  • Must Have Products
  • Etsy Shop
  • Free Cut Files
  • Free Etsy Listings


Affiliate links may be present in the following article. For my full disclosure policy, see this link.
Additionally, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Where to Sell Your Handmade Products? With Pros and Cons!

Filed Under: Starting Your Business

Are you considering selling handmade crafts with your Silhouette Portrait or Cameo or Cricut Explore or Maker? If so, perfect! Here’s a list of places to sell handmade products.

Popular Places to Sell Handmade Products

Locally/Word-of-Mouth: When first starting out, your friends and family make great customers! It is not uncommon to give a gift to a friend or family member, and have them return to you to ask you to create something for them to gift!

  • Pros: Friends and family want to see you succeed, and will often pass on your information to their friends.
  • Cons: Friends and family often want items made for really cheap – remember to take into account your time, supplies, and talents.
  • Costs: Free! Don’t forget to give your friends and family members business cards.

Locally online: Most areas have local “Buy and Sell” groups through Craigslist or Facebook, as well as others.

  • Pros: It’s usually free to list in these groups.
  • Cons: With region specific groups, you have a limited market.
  • Cost: Free.

Craft shows/fairs/co-ops: These types of sales require you to bring items to a location and set up a display with other crafters.

  • Pros: Potential buyers can see and touch your items, and meet you in person.
  • Cons: Depending on your location, craft fairs may be hard to find. Also, it is a lot of work to haul items to a place, set up a display, and take it all down later. Some craft fairs require submitting products for sale before acceptance into the show, while others require you be legally set up as a business – so be sure to get information in advance.
  • Costs: Range from a few dollars for a local crafts fair to $1000’s for well known shows.

Local stores/boutiques: Local boutiques will often accept items to be sold in their store from crafters. Arrangements are often made based on a commission or consignment model.

  • Pros: Local stores can increase your exposure.
  • Cons: Dealing with store owners can be difficult. Make sure to have your agreement in writing.
  • Costs: Vary from store to store.

A website: A stand alone website that you create (or you pay to have a web designer create).

  • Pros: Low amount of overhead costs for selling items.
  • Cons: Time consuming to set up, there is a constant need to promote your website to drive traffic to it, and sales are often slow (or non-existent) until your website is well established.
  • Cost: Free to $1000’s.

Etsy.com: Probably the most well known and popular marketplace for handmade items online.

  • Pros: Lots of buyers, and easy to set up, relatively inexpensive.
  • Cons: Lots of competition, and many shops may offer items similar to your own. Finding a name that isn’t in use for your etsy shop can be difficult.
  • Cost: Setting up a shop is free, and each item listed is $0.20 for four months (or until sold – whichever comes first). For items that sell, etsy charges 3.5% of the item’s sale price. Additionally, payment processing costs may apply.

Facebook.com: The terms and conditions of Facebook prohibit selling items on your personal page, but you can set up a business page where you can offer items for sale.

  • Pros: Facebook is the largest social media network online. Selling on Facebook is well suited to people that have a large amount of friends that will help support the new business page by liking posts and sharing them.
  • Cons: Facebook is constantly changing their algorithms for pages, which means the posts you make from your business page may only be shown to a small portion of people that “like” your page. Most recently, Facebook is pushing for business pages to pay for ads on Facebook to receive exposure.
  • Cost: Free – although there are apps that can make selling on Facebook easier available for a cost.

Instagram.com: Instagram is hot for selling handmade goods right now. With appropriate use of hashtags and high quality images, many handmade sellers are doing well.

  • Pros: Fast and free. There are third party apps available that can make selling goods easier.
  • Cons: Instagram is not designed for selling specifically. Instagram moves fast – you’ll need to post multiple times per day to be successful.
  • Cost: Free.

Artfire.com: Artfire is an artisan marketplace that was built by artisans for artisans. In addition to handmade items, you can also find artisan goods, fine art, supplies, and more.

  • Pros: Large marketplace with lots of buyers.
  • Cons: Lots of competition, and other stores may offer items similar to your own.
  • Cost: There are no per transaction or commission fees taken from Artfire. Stores cost between $20 and $60 per month.

Ebay.com: Over the years, ebay has evolved into a wonderful place to sell items. Handmade items don’t do as well as they used to on ebay.com.

Where Do I Recommend You Sell?

I often give this advice to new sellers when they ask me where the best place to sell is: First, start with your friends and family. This allows you to get a feel for selling products and dealing with customers. Next, open a shop on Etsy. Etsy is a great first step into online selling, because they can provide the buyers. Last, strive to move to your own website. After you master online selling, stop relying on a marketplace and quit paying the fees. After you’ve started your own website, feel free to leave your Etsy store open with a limited number of products to help drive traffic to your website. This idea may seem overwhelming at first, but remember to start small and take it one step at a time. The first step to selling your handmade items is setting some goals for your new business, so read on.

Where to Sell Your Handmade Products? With Pros and Cons! A great read for those thinking of starting a business with their Silhouette Portrait or Cameo and Cricut Explore or Maker - by cuttingforbusiness.com

Related Posts

  • Free SVG ‘Fall is My Season’ Autumn Cut FileFree SVG ‘Fall is My Season’ Autumn Cut File
  • Free SVG ‘Thank a Veteran’ Patriotic Cut FileFree SVG ‘Thank a Veteran’ Patriotic Cut File
  • Free ‘Palm Trees and 85 Degrees’ Summer SVG Cut FileFree ‘Palm Trees and 85 Degrees’ Summer SVG Cut File
  • How to Sell Advertising Space in Your Silhouette or Cricut Craft BusinessHow to Sell Advertising Space in Your Silhouette or Cricut Craft Business
  • 6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start a Craft Business6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start a Craft Business
  • Does Using 3rd Party Accessories Void Your Silhouette or Cricut Warranty?Does Using 3rd Party Accessories Void Your Silhouette or Cricut Warranty?

Connect with Cutting for Business

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Get Cutting for Business in Your Inbox

Buy Books


Cutting for Business is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. See the disclosures page for full disclosure information.


How to Set Goals for Your Silhouette or Cricut Business »

Comments on Cutting for Business are moderated before posting. This ensures that this blog does not get overrun by spam or inappropriate comments. Please allow up to 7 days before you'll see your comment. Thanks, Christine

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Make Money

Love to craft and ready to make some money? You're in the right place! Whether you own a Silhouette Cameo, a Cricut Maker, a Silhouette Curio, a Cricut Joy, or even a Glowforge, get tips and tricks to make an income with your machine.



Ready to Buy Craft Business Names



Free Fonts

Copyright © 2021 · Cutting for Business
Disclosures · Privacy Policy
This site is not affiliated with Silhouette America or Cricut (Provo Craft & Novelty, Inc.)

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT