I didn’t always have a beef with Etsy.

In fact, it’s where I made my first online craft sale, aaaaalll the way back in 2010. It was new year’s day, and I remember running out of my room to grab and hug the nearest roommate and show them the transaction message because it just seemed that surreal to me:

I had made a thing. And a stranger on the internet found it, AND liked it enough to buy it.

IT WAS MAGIC!

If you’ve ever sold your crafts, then you know the feeling I’m talking about…when you make your first dollar.

Creating art is such a vulnerable act, but putting your art out for everyone in the world to see it and judge you is WAY more terrifying!!

To know that someone out there loved my art enough to throw down their hard-earned money, was the only validation I needed to keep going.

So, why all the sudden am I talking about my beef with Etsy? What could have possibly gone so wrong that I felt strongly enough to create an entire program around kicking it to the curb??

Isn’t Etsy the reason I was found to begin with?

Well, yes it was, but unfortunately it’s not all rainbows and butterflies in the online selling world, and over time, things have changed.

In this post, you’re going to hear about the good, the bad, and also, the alternatives to Etsy that might be a better option for you, if you’re not super excited to jump on the Etsy bandwagon once I break everything down for you. Let’s get into it.

a little background on etsy

So what’s the deal with Etsy? Some artists swear by it, loyal supporters til the end…others think it’s circling the drain and have moved on to other sites like Etsy. Either way, why does everyone have such a strong opinion about it these days?

Well, there are a few reasons. When it started out back in the day (2005, in Brooklyn, NY to be precise), Etsy had 3 cut and dry options for sellers: Handmade, Vintage, and Supplies. Anything else you wanted to sell was not allowed.

Like any other handmade marketplace site, they charge fees in return for using their easy tools to set up an online profile - which includes access to their marketing and a decent amount of free traffic as long as you know how to optimize your profile correctly with the right keywords.

As time went on, seller’s fees increased (naturally) and the line between what was considered handmade was blurred. Many sellers went on to boycott the platform or drop it entirely after seller’s fees increased.

…to this day you’ll still see petitions and people whining online about the seller fees, for example, the quick search I just did brought up this one:

Many sellers have found themselves in a losing pricing battle in a race to the bottom, meaning that whoever has the cheapest price wins…but at what cost? If your business is barely profiting (or not at all) what’s the point of having an online shop in the first place?

Then, in 2013, they started allowing factory made supply items as well as drop shipping. Many sellers started moving to their own websites because they were fed up at this point, and not willing to compete with dirt cheap prices of factories.

On top of all this, the algorithm has consistently changed, making it more and more difficult to get your shop and listings to pop up in search unless you were actively jumping through hoops. Etsy wants you to purchase ads in order to get found consistently…not something many sellers are willing to do or able to purchase.

So that’s the gist of why many sellers have a problem with this platform. Artists started abandoning ship many years back. But what about the good stuff? Well there’s some of that too.

Benefits of etsy

As many issues that sellers have found with Etsy, I still believe that in certain circumstances, it can be the perfect place to start, and even grow your handmade business…depending on what your product is and what your goals are. So it’s important to weigh your options here.

If you are a new online seller, Etsy has everything you need to get your basics set up. A plug and play template with easy to use tools, a seller’s handbook to guide you through the shop set up process seamlessly, and your own little (tiny) corner of the internet that is going to (kind of, maybe) get some of their promised traffic.

If you are someone who just wants to make stuff, see if you can generate some side cash, and has ZERO interest in EVER growing too big or doing any marketing or ads…it might be the perfect fit!

If you get lucky, you could even do pretty well on the platform without doing any other promoting (ie: on Instagram, an email list, ads, etc). However, these cases are far and few between.

It is possible to do very well on Etsy, but you’ll still always be up against the algorithm, fighting to be seen, and victim to whatever new rule comes out of left field.

BUT, if you are wanting to have full control of your online presence and don’t like the idea of anyone being able to mess with your traffic or income…you’re probably going to want to set up anywhere other than Etsy (and also avoid any other sites like Etsy). Let’s go over some of the other popular options, plus the pros and cons of each.

Pros of Etsy

some built in traffic
plug and play, mistake proof profile setup
minimal marketing included
simplified taxes and shipping

Cons of Etsy

no control of traffic or visibility
can’t communicate with buyers (email list) and nurture for repeat sales
up against millions of other artists with similar products
fees
limited setup if you want to GROW
buyers can get easily distracted and head to another shop
difficult/almost impossible to create community and a relationship with visitors and buyers

Etsy alternatives

Now that you’ve got an idea of some of the pros and cons of Etsy, let’s talk about some alternatives to Etsy that might be a better option depending on what you’re looking for as well as your stage of business.

To cover all our bases, I’m going to go into selling crafts in person as well as online. I know many craft artists like to bounce between and/or combine in person selling (craft shows, shops, etc) with online selling for the best results.

Selling your art online

When it comes to selling your art online, there is a lot to consider.

First off, what are your goals? Answering this question will help you make the best decision for you.

For example, if your goal is to keep your day job and just create a stream of regular side income so you can buy nice things occasionally, or maybe take a trip…then a marketplace site might be an ok option for you. That is, provided that you never want to grow it to be too big.

If your goal is to quit your day job, replace your income (even just part time), and go all in…you’re going to need a more serious setup. You can of course start out on a marketplace site if you’re wanting to get started quickly, but it probably makes a whole lot more sense to start off with your own website and start building traffic right away.

So let’s talk about some of the popular options and Etsy alternatives for ONLINE selling.

Sites like Etsy

Starting out with Marketplace sites (reminder: a marketplace site is a site that takes a cut of your sales in exchange for a plug and play profile and using their marketing).

Amazon Handmade

Everyone is obsessed with Amazon these days, so why not take advantage of all that insane traffic, post up some product and get paid?

Well there are some pros and cons to this site, let’s start with the pros:

Pros of amazon handmade

TONS of traffic. Obviously Amazon is a popular platform so there are millions and millions coming in and out of the site on a daily basis
If you choose to advertise on Amazon (and you’re successful) then you’ll get an excellent ROI on your ad spend
Fullfillment by Amazon is an amazing way to skip the whole packaging and shipping part of the process, and let Amazon handle it for you.
Amazon Handmade is a juried platform and doesn’t let just anyone sell on their site. This is great if you’re accepted because you’ll have ‘less competition’.

Cons of amazon handmade

When compared to Etsy fees, Amazon Handmade fees are higher at 15%. Personally I don’t think this is that big of a deal, you can work around this!
The return policy. This to me might be the dealbreaker, but you won’t know until you’re in it. No handmade business wants to deal with returns, especially on custom orders, but you’ll have to adapt to that if you want to sell on this platform. Amazon tends to side with the customer over the seller in most cases unfortunately.
Competing with millions of other sellers (yikes)

Who Amazon Handmade might be good for

In my opinion, if you can apply (and get accepted) as a handmade seller for Amazon Handmade, it would be worth it if you planned to sell a select few crafts that you already know are unique and popular (and don’t get a high volume of returns) that are NOT customized. For example, list a best-selling item and then sell it in a few different colorways.

I would pick a product that you could easily increase the price of in order to cover the 15% fee to make it worth it, or at least figure out a way to add more value to that product so that you can increase the price accordingly.

I would also have a system for returns to be safe. Have clear policies in case people are returning damaged items because this will obviously not be great for business.

Storenvy

Storenvy has a little sweet spot in my heart because back in my early days of handmade business, I was selling at their pop up craft shows in San Francisco and friends with some of their staff and other vendors. Such a great experience.

Anyways, I never sold too much online with Storenvy specifically (didn’t understand marketing back then ;)) but it’s one of the few places you can still go and buy exclusively handmade from other indie makers.

I consider it the most similar alternative to Etsy you can find, but here are the pros and cons:

Pros of Storenvy

Like any other marketplace site, you’ll get access to an easy to set up profile as well as some traffic
Quick setup. They brag that you can set up your site in 5 minutes
Various pricing plans you can select from depending on the number of items you’re selling
Choose between having an independent shop or being part of their social marketplace to get in front of more people
No listing fees like Etsy

Cons of Storenvy

Storenvy isn’t as well known as Etsy, so there is less traffic
Higher fees (15%+processing fees)
They don’t caluculate shipping costs for you = pain

Who Storenvy might be good for

If you’re already selling on Etsy, you may as well give Storenvy a shot and see which you prefer. You could sell the same products and track how each performs on each site. Or if you are super anti-Etsy, this would be the next best thing!

Big cartel

This enormous site launched around the same time as Etsy, and it’s grown significantly ever since. In my eyes, it’s kind of the middle ground between building out your own website from scratch and being linked up with a marketplace site. So again, depending what your goals are, this kind of site may or may not be exactly what you need.

Pros of big cartel

You can create your own site with your own domain…so you won’t be competing with similar artists on the same platform
This will also help you create your own unique brand and really show off what you’re all about!
They offer 3 affordable pricing plans including a free option
No listing or transaction fees

Cons of big cartel

You have to drive your own traffic. If you don’t know how to market, or not up for learning, this is NOT your platform!
Limits on customization compared to Shopify or Squarespace
No phone or chat support
No blogging capabilities unless you use a plug-in for WordPress

Who Big Cartel might be good for

If you are a person who wants more control over your online HQ as I like to say (ie: your products, traffic, content) and you want to create an online brand while doing just the basics site-wise without too much customization, this might be the perfect setup for you.

However, if you know nothing about marketing or driving traffic, and you’re not willing to learn or give it a shot, I would head back to one of the previous marketplace options so you don’t waste your time here.

Pattern (by Etsy)

Plot twist! Like BigCartel which we just covered, in 2018 Etsy also launched a similar setup which is yet ANOTHER option for selling your handmade crafts online in a standalone e-commerce store.

For sellers that are already selling on Etsy, it becomes super easy to ‘upgrade’ into a more real life business by creating your own shop on your own domain.

Pros of Pattern

$15/month (plus taxes) and the first 30 days are free to try
Templates for setting up a simple site
You don’t have to only sell handmade, vintage, or supplies, although there are some product limitations still
Built in blogging option
Custom domain and additional pages

Cons of Pattern

You have to drive your own traffic (yay marketing)
Not as customizable as building your own Shopify or Squarespace site
You still have to abide by certain rules of Etsy
Limited integrations (ie: pop ups, timers, etc)
You risk losing everything if Etsy decides to scrap it

Who Pattern might be good for

People who are already selling on Etsy that want to escape the algorithm, but who still want to build their own brand and do their own marketing. Personally I would trust BigCartel more as it’s a more established and comparable option, but that’s just me :). Weigh all your options here!

Other online selling options

If you’re looking to sell on a site that attracts more than just handmade buyers, you might consider looking into platforms like Facebook Marketplace or Ebay.

While they are HUGE sites with massive amounts of traffic, it’s not necessarily the right kind of traffic for the type of handmade product you’re selling.

Selling on a more handmade focused website, or sites like Etsy, will bring you more targeted, relevant traffic overall.

However that’s not to say you can’t sell your art on Ebay or Facebook…it’s just not the ideal choice. Dabble around if you want to experiment, but if you’re selling handmade, I’d personally not entertain these options and would default to either set up on a handmade marketplace site, or something a little more advanced like Shopify.

Sell online with your own website

Ok, now let’s get into the good stuff (aka what we’re really here to talk about :)) - designing your own website.

Sound intimidating? No worries, people do this every day, you got it 🙂

But first, why would you ever bother to build your own website when there are SO many options for craft selling sites out there that can supposedly help you set up a site ‘in just a few minutes’?

Isn’t designing your own site a waste of time when you can literally list up products in a template instead of starting from scratch?

Well it depends on your goals. Let’s Pro/Con it out.

Pros of building and selling crafts on your own website

You have FULL control of your traffic, sales process, branding, communication, advertising, subscribers, customer journey, content, and income
You essentially have NO CAP on your income. You can make a new craft item, digital product, or virtual event and sell it to your email list within hours (if you’re collecting subscribers…more on that here!)
You’ll have the space to be as creative as you want, to show off your brand and allow your visitors to really get to know you as a maker and what you’re all about
You’ll be able to FULLY customize your site and get it exactly how you want it (not the case with BigCartel or Pattern)
Shopify and/or Squarespace doesn’t take long to learn and they have plenty of templates you can use to help design your site

Cons of building and selling on your own website

You’ll have to do your own marketing. If you have no interest in learning to drive traffic to your website, head back to one of the marketplace options above!
You’ll have to design your own site, which may be hard for you if you’re not good with design, layout, or understand what you should include
As a creative, building a website can turn into a MAJOR time suck! It’s easy to want to spend hours and hours making things pretty and get distracted

However, here are my 2 main reasons why despite these few cons, I still think that building your own website is still the best option as an alternative to Etsy. Especially if you want to make this a part time or full time gig for yourself:

1. If you have even a tiny desire to grow your business eventually and make it a part time or full time income, you may as well start from scratch now instead of later.

2. Creating your own website will allow you to set up systems and AUTOMATE a lot of your selling down the road. If you happen to make it big on a marketplace site, you won’t have this option and will have to start from scratch, while still fulfilling orders…not ideal.

If you don’t intend to grow your business into anything more than a little side cash, a website could be overkill. Use your best judgement…and also read my post about the best place to sell your art online :)

Selling your crafts in person

You may be reading this and be thinking, ok, well I want to sell my crafts, but mostly I want to sell them in person, for example, at local craft shows, pop ups, or in shops!

Good news, you can do all that too - but before you start creating and selling product, it’s good to have an idea of how and where you want to sell them, because not all products are suited for every selling method.

I’ll explain a little more about that in a minute, but just know that you can do any combination of selling you want - ie: selling online and in shops, selling online and at craft shows, only selling at craft shows, only selling online…you can see you have lots of options.

So here are some methods for selling IRL if online selling is not your jam:

Craft Shows

Everybody loves a good craft show! I mean, what’s not to like? Crafts, snacks, lots of socializing, dogs, free DIY stations, and sometimes if you’re lucky they’ll have wine.

I’ve done my fair share of selling at craft shows, and if there’s one thing I can tell you for certain as a seller, is that they’re unpredictable.

When I say unpredictable, I mean that every single show is different. And every single crowd is different. You can never guarantee that you’ll do well, even if there’s a huge crowd and it’s the holiday season.

Sometimes there’s a huge attendance and it’s mostly people browsing, not buying. And sometimes there’s a small crowd and everyone is buying! You just never know.

After selling at show after show of all kinds for years (and surveying my vendor friends after each show), it became obvious pretty quickly that craft shows were not always worth the effort, and oftentimes we were going off a ‘cross your fingers and hope we at least break even’ kind of mentality.

Not a great way to run a business.

However, I think that if you are a new seller with a new craft product it can also be an amazing way to do some customer research, as well as get a feel for who’s buying your products and WHY (ask them!).

It can also be a great way to network and connect with other businesses. A lot of times the reason I was able to sell in shops was because they sent a scout (or the owner themself) to the show to look for new talent and wholesalers.

If you’re new to the craft show circuit, I say, give it a shot and see how you like it, but just keep in mind that there are a lot of other ways of selling that might work better for you…and more importantly might make you more profitable (which was the case with me!)

Wholesale

What exactly is wholesale? Sounds complicated and official…

Selling wholesale usually refers to selling your products at a drastically reduced price point (standard is 50% of the retail price) in exchange for a bulk order of your products, purchased flat out.

So if you’re selling handmade laptop stands, a local shop might reach out to get your wholesale rates or line sheets, then offer to buy 100 laptop stands at 50% of the price.

In this case you’re guaranteed cash in hand, whether the shop sells them or not, they now own them…BUT, you also only got half the retail price for them so hopefully you priced them at a high enough price point so that you’re actually making a profit.

Because otherwise, that’s A LOT of work to just lose money ;).

The lesson here is to not sell wholesale unless you’ve planned for it, you’re set up to sell wholesale, and you’ve designed and priced your craft items accordingly to make it worth it! Not every product is a good fit for wholesale. Most are not.

Consignment

Last but not least, we have selling your crafts through consignment. Personally, I would not touch this one with a ten foot pole, but you do you.

If you want to sell in local (or non-local) shops this is your second option. The difference from wholesale is that you might just consign a few pieces instead of an order of 100 (but who knows depending on the shop), and these shops tend to be mostly clothing, accessories, and vintage items…but some also will sell handmade.

You also don’t get paid until the product sells. The shop will take a small cut if/when it does sell, which you’ve hopefully agreed to ahead of time and gotten all your terms written out on paper (don’t skip this!!)

So in one way, it’s great because all you have to do is hand over the product and the shop will do the selling for you. However, the problem arises when something becomes damaged.

If you don’t have a detailed plan for this in a contract ahead of time, you can easily end up with damaged items and take a loss…which because of the handmade nature of your items could mean a lot of TIME down the drain.

This is the main reason I don’t recommend selling consignment for handmade craft items.

Let’s wrap this up

Is Etsy a good place to sell? Should you sell on your own website instead? Or other sites like Etsy? Should you do craft shows and/or sell in shops?

Yes!

But also no. (please don’t hate me)

But really what I mean is that this COMPLETELY depends on your goals and what you are and are not willing to do to get your work sold.

Only you can decide whether to sell on Etsy or to try out one of the Etsy alternatives. But I think at this point you should have some idea of where to start, and if you were able to get that from this post, then I feel good about that :)

Will you be selling on Etsy this year? Or will you try one of the other craft selling sites? Let me know in the comments below!

Also, if you’re ready to go ALL IN with your own website, take the next step to find out what you’ll need to start getting consistent online craft sales by watching my free workshop below.

Etsy Alternatives