Etsy alternatives: where to shop for handmade pieces
Selling handmade products once relied on craft fairs and artists’ open house events – with the boom of e-commerce, crafters have gotten, well, crafty, and have been selling their wares online, too. Etsy is a lot of people’s go-to platform to sell or buy handmade arts and crafts. The platform was launched in 2005 in the US and has over 2.5 million registered merchants today. The online sales platform is popular, but there are several reasons you might be looking for an Etsy alternative. We’ve got a list of other sites like Etsy to help you.
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Similar sites to Etsy
Whatever the reason you have for wanting an Etsy alternative, we’ve gathered a list of other sites like Etsy. Each store will have a description as well as its advantages and disadvantages noted – if you’re in a rush you can also take a look at our comparison table at the bottom of this article.
This article was last updated in April 2021.
Storenvy
Storenvy is an online marketplace in the US for arts, crafts, and household goods offered by independent sellers. Sellers can customize their storefront and use their own domain name. Unlike Etsy, the categorization is more flexible, so you don’t have to worry about not fitting into a pre-made category as your product offering grows over time.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Discounts can be sent to interested customers | Products from smaller sellers are offered alongside bigger businesses |
No monthly fees | Commission fees of 15% |
Analysis tools | Limited customer service |
Store customizable using CSS templates |
Amazon Handmade
Amazon has a huge reach – its massive influence and customer base hasn’t gone unnoticed within the crafting community, which is why some sellers were excited about the launch of Amazon’s alternative to Etsy. Many sellers see the platform as an extremely lucrative alternative to Etsy. With Amazon Handmade, there is now also a way to sell your own handmade goods via Amazon.
Listing products on Amazon requires a lot of work, as the products need to be accurately described with detailed information to improve their visibility. However, those who feel up to the challenge have a huge pool of potential buyers with 103 million Amazon Prime subscribers.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Good customization | Sellers must apply first |
Large audience | 15% selling fee plus shipping costs |
Detailed product descriptions | Payment will not show on seller’s account until item is shipped |
Free product listing, no monthly fee | Limited analytics tools |
A wide range of categories | No digital downloads or sale of digital products |
Zazzle
On Zazzle, designers cannot sell their own products, but they can offer their own designs that can be applied to specified products. To be accepted, you must apply with your best designs. These should be designed to be printed on office stationery, tableware, textiles, or posters, for example. The products are then sold through Zazzle. The platform then gives a certain margin to the designer.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Especially interesting for designers: designs can be sold across a wide range of products | No own products |
Personalization of products by buyers possible | Complicated margin system |
No fees |
Redbubble
As with Zazzle, the Australian marketplace Redbubble also allows artists worldwide to offer their designs, which can be printed on clothing, bags, stationery, or home decor. Over 700,000 artists worldwide are already registered. The products are aimed primarily at a young target group, as licensed fan art for series, music, films, and the like can be offered via brand partnerships.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Registration free of charge | No own products |
Manufacturing, printing, packaging, shipping, payment, customer support, and returns are handled by Redbubble | Complicated margin system |
Various payment options | |
Discount promotions and affiliate programs | |
Ability to sell officially licensed fan art through brand partnerships |
iCraftGifts
iCraftGifts is a Canadian site that offers sellers the opportunity to mingle with other creative minds. You can sell (or buy) lots of different crafted items that are perfect as gifts – as the name of the website suggests. Sellers will need to pay a one-time registration fee ($25), come up with a unique store name, and set up payment, returns, and shipping policies. There are three subscription tiers, ranging from $5-12 a month.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
No selling fees | Limited offer |
No listing fees | Smaller audience |
Old-fashioned website design |
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eCRATER
eCRATER is a kooky version of eBay – at least that’s how it appears at first glance. The online marketplace allows you to sell vintage collectibles and crafted items alike, and allows you to import your products from eBay, in case you already use that. There’s a free webstore builder to help you get your items sold.
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Google Analytics integration | 2.9% selling fee |
USPS shipping calculator | Must ship to USA from anywhere |
Webstore builder |
An overview of the Etsy alternatives
The Etsy alternatives presented differ primarily in terms of pricing systems and fees, but also in the focus of the products and the scope of the buyer network. Ultimately, which marketplace is the best choice for you and your products depends on your product, your savviness with marketing and SEO measures, and your sales goals. Whether Etsy or one of the alternatives: With a little skill and work, your product is sure to soon become a big seller.
Marketplace | Costs | Product listing | Audience |
---|---|---|---|
Etsy | - $0.20 per entry every 4 months- No monthly subscription fee ($10/month plus option)- 5% transaction fee- 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee | - As many products as you want- $0.20 fee per listing- Listings expire every 4 months | 60 million |
Storenvy | - 15% sales fee- no monthly subscription fee (pro-accounts possible)- no list fee | - 1,000 products with the free plan | 1 million |
Amazon Handmade | - 15% sales fee- No monthly subscription fee- No registration fees | - As many products as you want-No registration fees- Listings never expire- Creation of listings can be difficult | 197 million |
Zazzle | - No monthly fees- Seller receives about 15% from the purchase price | - No own products can be uploaded but as many designs as you like | 30 million |
RedBubble | - No monthly fees- Seller receives about 10-30% from the purchase price | - no own products can be uploaded but as many designs as you like | 7 million |
iCraftGifts | - $25 registration fee- $5, $10, $12 subscription fees | - 50 items for $5 subscription, 100 for $10, unlimited at $12 | Unknown |
eCRATER | - 2.9% Selling fee | Not clear – doesn’t seem to be limited | Unknown |
Your own online store – be free from marketplaces
If you don’t want to be tied to a sales platform, you can also create your own online store. With the online store builder from IONOS, you can easily start your own e-commerce business. The uncomplicated construction kit helps you design your store according to your own ideas. Many useful functions (such as various payment and shipping options) are already included here, as are marketing tools.
With your own store, you can also decide for yourself whether and how you want to categorize your products and what additional information you want to include. You do have to plan for hosting costs, but this also eliminates the need for a sales commission. The only disadvantage is that you will probably not reach as large a user base as with Etsy or other sites like Etsy. With dedication and good SEO, you can give it a good shot, though!
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