In this consumerist world where everything is mass-produced, any commodity that gives you satisfaction ends up lacking the emotional touch. In such a scenario, handmade items fill in the gaps in the lives of consumers, and that’s why a massive, steady market for handmade and crafted items has emerged online. If you are wondering about the platforms where to sell handmade items in 2024, we have you covered. However, it should be noted that finding your loyal consumer base is far from being easy. That takes ample time and patience.
Nevertheless, there are many ways through which you can build a community while getting your hard-earned revenue. Moreover, all the platforms might not be suitable for the growth of your small business. That’s why we will be giving you crisp, short descriptions of every platform for selling handmade items to help you find the one that works for you.
1. Amazon
Boasting an audience of about 310 million active users on Amazon, it has come a long way from being an online bookstore to becoming the world’s biggest shopping site. If you want to find a free platform where to sell handmade items without many risks, then Amazon is the best option.
Amazon has launched a feature that has emerged as a competitor to Etsy. To help producers of handmade goods, it gives you discounts on the Professional selling fee. The selling fee amounts to around 40$ a month, and that’s why waivers for artisan sellers go a long way in supporting them.
But to get waivers, you first need to make a selling account. Then, you should submit an application to join Amazon’s Handmade program. For acceptance into this program, you’ll need to add some crucial details, a list that is comprehensively laid out on the site.
If you’re worried about customers not viewing your products because of market saturation, fret not, for Amazon has an amazing feature. Your artisan profile will have a custom URL that has proven effective in helping customers find your handcrafted goodies.
The Handmade for Amazon store is divided into multiple categories, making it easier for customers to zero in on the niche they’re searching for. The categories are as follows: Accessories, Artwork, Baby, Beauty & Personal Care, Clothing, Shoes & Handbags, Home, Outdoor & Home Care, Jewelry & Watches, Kitchen & Dining, Pet Supplies, Sporting Goods, Stationery & Party Supplies and Toys & Games.
Sales outside of these categories like cooked food and groceries are forbidden. However, there is a regular review of what categories are included in the list.
The global store has the fulfillment option for safely shipping all the orders made by customers. For all these benefits, it charges a mere 15% of the transaction fee. For many artisans and customers, it’s arguably the best place to sell handmade items.
2. Etsy
Etsy is an amazing platform for selling and buying vintage and handcrafted items. It has a thriving community of passionate and creative sellers serving the needs of vocal buyers looking for good-quality goods.
The amazing thing about Etsy is that it charges a mere 0.2$ (or 15 Rupees) for listing your first item. If you’re still contemplating where to sell handmade items, then Etsy is a decent and relatively risk-free option.
The remaining charges like payment processing and offline advertisement charges can be paid after a successful sale has been made. However, the offline advertisement charges are optional but are nevertheless useful.
Since Etsy is an international platform, all payments for sales here are processed through PayPal. This payment method makes it easy for both you and the customer to have hassle-free payments. It is blessed with features that make it an amazing site for selling handmade items.
Making a store on Etsy gives you simple and powerful tools to increase your sales and make customers happy and satisfied with their purchases. By using the “Sell on Etsy” app, you can sell your products, respond to customers’ queries, and make necessary changes wherever you are.
If you want your products to get more traction and increase your chances of sales, you can access the promotional tools. Some of these tools are promoting your product listings or using free tools to get more traffic from social media by posting it on these channels.
You can also use their Analytics tool to track the trends in sales and traffic. Through this insight, you can make some required changes to have a higher volume of sales. Every seller gets all these benefits with the standard account.
But if you’re looking for more sophisticated tools and features like customizable templates, notifying customers when products are back in stock, etc., you can get a PLUS account then.
3. Cratejoy
Cratejoy works as a platform for individual sellers to sell subscription boxes handpicked and curated with love and attention. Getting subscription boxes where you have no idea what goods will be added to them adds layers to the purchasing experience. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best platforms for selling handmade items.
While this platform is a good platform with many sellers selling different types of subscription boxes, the fact that there are many sellers can be a huge disadvantage. This disadvantage becomes worse when you have just started your business.
However, with a strong number of about 392000 subscribers in the marketplace, finding a small community of dedicated and loyal subscribers will not be very difficult. Nurturing and maintaining it does not take much time either.
If this is your first time starting a subscription box business, Cratejoy is a remarkable place for learning as its business model is pretty simple to follow.
Many online businesses find it hard to focus on building a website, making sure that the interface is easy to navigate, etc. However, with Cratejoy, all these problems will be taken care of easily.
Making a comprehensible schedule, taking care of the billing and expenses, after-sales support will be handled by Cratejoy. They supply you with FAQs and helpful recommendations as you start searching more.
The support team has earned quite the reputation for being helpful and tardy with many sellers’ and buyers’ needs. Therefore, you would not have to worry about how to sell handmade items.
Moreover, you won’t have to worry about getting traffic to your e-commerce site. With a highly trained and proficient team of marketing professionals, customers will not be able to stop making purchases from this site.
However, the pricing of selling on this site is quite hefty. You would have to shell out 39$ a month in addition to the transaction fees. All these expenses could affect your profit margins. Also, the templates are quite limited and don’t provide a suitable environment for creating your own brand image.
4. Craft Maestros
Craft Maestros is a platform where Indian artisans trained in their specializations sell their handcrafted goods. All the paintings, handcrafted textiles, and accessories, bangles, rings, etc., are curated selections from all over India. If you want to know the legit platforms where to sell handmade items, keep reading about Craft Maestros.
All the works of handicraft art are known for their top-tier quality. But fortunately, for you lovers of handicrafts, they are available at affordable prices. You can curate your very own selection without making a hole in your pocket.
Originally intended to enable a platform where Indian artisans could showcase their art and have a steadier flow of income, it has grown in proportion. Goods ranging from Papier Mache products to block paintings, bed covers to intricately designed pillows, terracotta pottery to Kullu and Kinnauri shawls are sold here.
The team at CraftMaestros is actively working towards the preservation of traditional handicraft forms. The artists working collaboratively with this initiative are diverse, many of them being Padma Shree awardees, Sant Kabirs, and National Award winners.
There are approximately 50 artists working with Craft Maestros desperately trying to keep the flame of culture and tradition burning even as the world shrugs off its responsibility.
With every product made and sold, they make sure to show the patrons the artist’s worldview and journey. In this way, the distance between the buyer and the artist/seller is severed and helps fight some of the problems with third-party marketplaces like this.
If you are an artist searching for the best place to sell handmade items, check out Craft Maestros.
5. Folksy
Folksy is a site based in the United Kingdom that has garnered a decent reputation for picking up and ordering premium handicraft products. It is a staunch supporter of local products and has contributed immensely to lifestyle changes in the economy. Still, pondering over where to sell handmade items? Take a look at Folksy’s offerings.
By selling on this site, you can be assured of profit margins, a loyal community of buyers, and satisfaction. Folksy ensures that you don’t face any problems with managing stock and merchandise in addition to building and maintaining your website. That’s why with Folksy, you’ll get enough time to work on your creativity and, to a lesser extent, marketing.
The site boasts 300000 visitors every month, which can shoot up to a jaw-droppingly high number of 500000 people. Having survived in the brutally competitive world for 13 years, this site proves that it is dedicated to the improvement and popularizing of handicrafts in England and all over the world.
The payments are sourced through this app and are secure. If you face any problems with the interface, unruly customers, any miscellaneous queries, then you can contact their support team any time you want.
Without any extra payments, you get your own custom URL the moment you register on the app/site as a seller. This custom URL redirects traffic to your site and increases user engagement with your products.
However, people who are not from the UK aren’t allowed to sell products on this site. Only UK residents are permitted to sell. But the buyers are from all over the world, which means that you have less competition.
If you’re looking to sell handmade crafts for sale, you should consider selling on Folksy. Sometimes, if your products do well on the website, then the site will include them in their Google ads for absolutely free.
Folksy does not allow reselling of other handicraft items. However, sales of supplies for artists are allowed on the site.
6. Storeenvy
Launched in 2012, Storeenvy functions as a third-party marketplace that connects buyers and small-scale merchants. Indie brands and small businesses sell their goods here. If you’re still thinking about where to sell handmade items, Storeenvy won’t disappoint you.
On this site, the sellers open their own custom stores, which are available in the virtual marketplace for artisans. There are plenty of customizable options giving you the ability to create your own unique brand image.
The first option to customize it would be by changing the background color, text, and banners with a mere click. If you are good with coding, HTML, etc., you can use it to seamlessly create your very own custom store.
Storeenvy works on a unique algorithm that promotes those products which are getting good reviews and reception from “watchers”. If many shoppers “envy” or vote for your products, then your online store will get more exposure and turn up on search results.
The site will give you multiple useful tools to help you set up your store. It allows you to make 20 product listings without any additional monetary charges. It gives you tools for managing emails, checking inventories, and sharing promotional tools like discounts and promo codes with customers.
Conclusion
With the rise of online shopping, many people have realized that they too can offer some unique products or services to the world. That’s how the market for selling handmade items has proliferated and expanded. While there are many online marketplaces that connect buyers with sellers, choosing the platform where to sell handmade items is far from being easy.
Some sites offer you the opportunity to set up your own store and list your products for free. However, some charge a hefty monthly price, in addition to the transaction fees sellers have to pay. So, make your decision of choosing the right platform after checking out their interface, features, pricing, customer support, etc.
