Crafting is not just a fun hobby, it can also be turned into a full-blown stay at home business.
Just ask Alicia, who makes almost 1 million dollars per year on Etsy selling handmade clothes. Etsy alone had 45 million buyers in 2019, so there’s room for everybody to make money selling handmade crafts online.
Crafting can be expensive, so if you’re going to sell your crafts online, make sure you will make a profit after all the expenses and fees.
Related: 65 Easy DIY Crafts To Make and Sell for Money
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16 of the Best Sites for Selling Your Handmade Crafts Online
1. Etsy
Etsy is a popular marketplace for sellers offering handmade and vintage items for sale. In 2019 alone, Etsy had 45 million buyers that spent 4.7 billion dollars buying handmade goods.
Creating a shop on Etsy is free, however, there’s a $0.20 listing fee for each item, regardless if it sells or not, and a 5% transaction fee if the item sells. Most people sell on Etsy for extra side money, but some people are able to turn it into a full-blown business.
2. Handmade at Amazon
Is there anything that Amazon doesn’t do? Now you can even sell your handmade crafts on Handmade at Amazon.
The process to get started is not as simple as Etsy. Your application will be individually reviewed to make sure you’re the one making your items from scratch. Handmade at Amazon doesn’t want you to sell mass-produced items, they already have a regular section for that.
The fee is a bit steep at a 15% referral fee (minimum $1) per transaction.
3. ArtFire
Artfire is another popular handmade marketplace to sell handmade goods. Due to its fee structure, ArtFire is better suited for established sellers.
ArtFire has 3 different plans you can choose from:
- Standard Shop – $4.95/month plus $0.23 listing fee per item (listings are active for two months or until they sell), and a 12.75% commission when you make a sale.
- Popular Shop – $20/month and a 4.5% commission when you make a sale (up to 1,000 active listings).
- Featured Shop – $40/month and a 4.5% commission when you make a sale (up to 2,500 active listings).
4. iCraft
iCraft is 100% for handmade items focusing mainly on jewelry, accessories, and knitted products. You will not be able to sell vintage or mass-produced items here.
iCraft has one of the best fee policies. There are no listing fees, commission fees, or transaction fees. You pay a one-time $25 registration fee and a monthly prescription ranging from $10 to $15 per month depending on how many months in advance you pay.
Keep all the money you make and can cancel your monthly prescription fee at any time.
5. eCRATER
eCRATER is a general marketplace where anyone can open an online store. Setting up an online store is free and there are no listing fees. However, there is a 2.9% transaction fee when you make a sale.
While there are no fees, the handmade craft section is also limited and you may not see as much traffic as you would on sites like Etsy.
6. indieCart
indieCart (formerly Hyena Cart) is an online marketplace for handmade items only. When filling out an application, you must include a link that shows the types of items that would be sold on indieCart.
Other than the monthly $7.50 fee, there are no listing or transaction fees to sell on indieCart. If you want to take a break from selling, you can even pause the monthly fee and resume when you’re ready to sell again.
7. Zibbet
Zibbet is a one-of-a-kind marketplace that lets you sync your business across four craft-selling websites: Etsy, Zibbet marketplace, A.C. Moore marketplace, and Stitch websites.
There are no listing fees, but there’s a $5 to $6 per month on each platform you choose to sell. Zibbet offers a 14-day free trial for you to test it out.
If you make a sale on one of the 4 websites, your inventory will be automatically updated to reflect the correct count.
8. Handmade Artists
Handmade Artists is a place for artists to sell their handmade items. To join as a seller, you pay a $5 monthly fee (or $50 for a year). You can list as many items as you want with no listing or commission fees.
9. Aftcra
Aftcra is an online marketplace that sells handmade crafts specifically made in the U.S. You cannot list vintage items or manufactured products. There are no listing fees, but there is a 7% commission fee when the item is sold.
10. Bonanza
Bonanza is both a marketplace for you to sell your handmade crafts and an e-commerce site for you to create your own online store.
Plus, Bonanza makes it easy for you to import items you may have listed for sale on other sites like Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, or eBay. This feature allows you to sell the same items on multiple sites without having to do all the extra work.
There are no listing fees or set-up costs, and if your item sells, you’ll pay a 3.5% commission (minimum $0.50) for items under $500, and a 4.5% for items over $500.
11. Folksy
Folksy is the UK’s version of Etsy and it only allows UK crafters to set up a shop on the platform. The site has over 150,000 shoppers every month.
You can start selling your handmade crafts through a Basic account with a listing fee of £0.15 + VAT and a 6% + VAT commission fee. There is also a Plus account with unlimited listings if you plan on making a lot of sales for a monthly fee of £5 a month and a 6% + VAT commission fee.
12. Zabble
Zabble is a great marketplace place if you are interested in selling your designs or artwork. There is no cost to upload your designs on Zabble and they can be printed on shirts, mugs, and more. When someone places an order, the company creates the item and ships it and you receive a commission. You can set your own royalty rates ranging anywhere from 5% to 99%.
Set Up Your Own Shop To Sell Handmade Crafts Online
If selling on a marketplace is not your thing, you may prefer to set up your own shop. I would suggest starting with one of the above marketplaces before venturing out on your own. The e-Commerce route can take longer to succeed, but it allows you to have full control over your shop and the way you sell.
13. Shopify
Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform used by many major companies. You are provided with all the tools to create your shop and customize it to give it a professional look.
Shopify charges a steep fee of $29 to $299 per month, so this is only a good choice for high-volume sellers. You can still try Shopify for free for 14 days.
Also, Shopify makes it easy for you to sell and promote crafts on Facebook and other social media platforms to promote your products.
14. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is another e-commerce platform, similar to Shopify. It allows you to create your own shop that you can integrate into your website or your other online stores on Amazon and eBay.
BigCommerce charges a steep fee of $29.95 and $249.95 per month after a 15-day free trial, and it doesn’t include payment processing. It offers a discount with PayPal transactions. BigCommerce is more suited for people who are ready to take their online selling business to the next level.
15. Miiduu
Miiduu is another e-commerce platform with simple customizable set-up, built-in marketing tools, custom domains, and unlimited 24/7 support to help you get your online craft store up and running.
Also, if you get featured on Miiduu’s store directory, it could bring in a lot of traffic to your online store.
There are no listing fees, but there is a monthly fee ranging from $5/month for beginners to $59/month for businesses.
16. Your Own Blog
Starting your own blog like this one takes about 15 to 30 minutes and you don’t need to be tech-savvy, but there is a steep learning curve for beginners. Prior to starting my own blog, I had zero prior knowledge and many bloggers started out the same way.
You can sell things directly from your blog, but the tricky part is figuring out the payment option. Selling handmade crafts on your own blog might not be the first option, but it is something worth looking into once you get the hang of it.
You have full control over your own products and don’t have to worry about commission fees or monthly fees.
Tips On How To Sell Crafts Online
Take High-Quality Pictures
A picture is worth a thousand words. Make sure to take multiple high-quality pictures with good lighting to showcase your products. You don’t need to spend a fortune to capture the best pictures. Natural sunlight and your smartphone camera is a good starting place.
Social Media Is Your Friend
Most sellers use Pinterest to drive traffic to their stores. Pinterest is a visual search engine and is a lot easier than other social media platforms to drive traffic. Facebook and Instagram are other good options if you already have a strong following.
Ask for Customer Reviews
When you see the same product on Amazon, are you more likely to buy the one with more reviews or the one without any? Your potential buyers have only your reviews to go by, so make sure to ask for reviews from previous buyers.
You can offer discounts or include a handwritten thank-you note with every purchase to encourage the buyers to leave reviews.
Resources to Get You Started
- Take an Online Crafting Course at Crafts
- Craft Business Power
(15 Days to a Profitable Online Craft Business)
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