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Wondering where to sell your crafts online? Thinking about selling handmade products made with your Silhouette Portrait or Cameo or Cricut Explore or Maker?
Here is a list of places to sell handmade products.
10 Places to Sell Crafts Online
- 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.
- Pro: Friends and family want to see you succeed, and will often pass on your information to their friends.
- Con: Friends and family often want items made for really cheap (or free!) – remember to take into account your time, supplies, and talents.
- Costs: Free. Don’t forget to give your friends and family members business cards.
2. Locally Online: Most areas have local Buy and Sell groups through Facebook, Facebook Marketplace, and hyperlocal apps.
- Pro: It’s usually free to list in these groups.
- Con: With region specific groups, you have a limited market.
- Cost: Free.
3. Craft Shows, Fairs, and Co-ops: These types of sales require you to bring items to a location and set up a display with other crafters.
- Pro: Potential buyers can see and touch your items, and meet you in person.
- Con: 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.
4. Local stores and boutiques: Local stores and boutiques will often accept items to be sold in their store from crafters. Arrangements are often made based on a commission or consignment model.
- Pro: Local stores can increase your exposure.
- Con: Dealing with store owners, potential theft, and damaged products can be difficult. Make sure to have your agreement in writing.
- Costs: Vary from store to store.
5. Etsy.com: Probably the most well known and popular marketplace for handmade items online.
- Pro: Lots of buyers, and easy to set up, relatively inexpensive.
- Con: 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. Additionally, many overseas importers are on the site selling goods for a fraction of the price of actual handmade.
- 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, an additional fee is required. Additionally, payment processing costs may apply.
6. Shopify: In contrast to Etsy, Shopify is an online ecommerce platform that many crafters sell through.
- Pro: More creative control over layouts than Etsy and a number of extensions to add functionality to your site.
- Con: Shopify doesn’t drive traffic to your shop. It is similar to having your own standalone website.
- Cost: $29 to $299 per month.
7. Amazon Handmade: Amazon has its own division of the website for handmade products.
- Pro: Amazon mixes Handmade on Amazon products with regular catalog products for better exposure.
- Con: It can be difficult and slow to get accepted into Amazon Handmade.
- Cost: Handmade deducts a 15% referral fee, with no additional listing or payment processing fees.
8. A website: A stand alone website that you create (or you pay to have a web designer create).
- Pro: Low amount of overhead costs for selling items.
- Con: 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.
9. Social Media: Many social media channels have a way to sell directly in the app or through the platform.
- Facebook: Crafters can sell through Facebook Groups, Marketplace, or your own Business Page. Remember, it is against the terms and conditions to sell through your personal page.
- 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: Marketplace fees vary. There is no fee to sell in Facebook Groups or Marketplace.
- Instagram: Crafters can sell products with Instagram Shopping directly in the app.
- Pros: Instagram is highly visual with a supportive handmade community.
- Cons: You must use amazing photos to be successful on Instagram.
- Cost: The fees can be steep at 5% flat fee per shipment. For products under $8.00, a flat fee of $0.40 is charged.
- TikTok: Through Shopify, crafters can sell directly on TikTok.
- Pros: TikTok is growing at a rapid pace.
- Cons: Selling directly on TikTok is limited to a few partnerships at the moment, but there is a strong suspicion that TikTok Shops is on the way.
- Cost: Currently through Shopify or Teespring.
- Pinterest: Crafters can on Pinterest through Pinterest Shopping.
- Pros: Pinterest continues to be a high traffic site.
- Cons: You’ll still need a site for users to actually purchase through.
- Cost: Using Pinterest Shopping features are free.
10. Smaller marketplaces. There are a number of smaller marketplaces that are either very niche, are up and coming, or area out of the United States. Here are a few of them:
- 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.
- Folksy: Folksy is an online marketplace for handmade goods and craft supplies based in the U.K.
- Misi: Misi is an other online marketplace for handmade products based in the U.K.
- Ebay: 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.
- iCraft: Icraft is a smaller marketplace for handmade products.
- Mercari: Mercari is an app that allows selling all kinds of products. Some crafters do well on the platform.
- Goimagine: Goimagine is an up and coming marketplace that donates its profits to charity.
- IndieCart: IndieCart (formerly Hyena Cart) is an older marketplace that has been merged with Hyena Cart. The marketplace offers handmade goods.
- Felt: Felt is an online platform for crafters based in New Zealand.
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 or another marketplace. 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 (or other marketplace) 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.