Etsy is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms for selling handmade crafts. It was launched in 2005, and since then, the platform has become a go-to place for crafters and shoppers alike.
While Etsy is an excellent platform for selling manufactured items, it may not be the right fit for everyone.
Your choice of platform to sell your crafts might vary based on the size of your business, budget, and other factors. Additionally, buyers and sellers have noticed an influx of mass-market goods on the platform, which could be why you are also looking for better alternatives.
Recently Etsy announced that it’s raising the seller transaction fees from five percent to 6.5 percent which didn’t go down well with sellers.
Fortunately, there are several other websites to sell handmade items besides Etsy. Take a look if you want to broaden your business scope by selling on these platforms.
Best Websites To Sell Handmade Items
1. Amazon Handmade
Amazon Handmade is a subsidiary of the retail giant Amazon, which offers buyers crafts and other handmade goods. It might not be known to everyone, but the platform only allows artisans to join the program, and you need to get approval to sell on Amazon Handmade.
Amazon Handmade got the attention of Etsy sellers for its versatility and feature-full buying experience. Unlike Etsy, Amazon Handmade works under strong regulations to preserve its strict philosophy of keeping it “handmade.”
Amazon Handmade is more organized than Etsy, and here you’ll get 12 product categories with details that precisely fit specific categories of handmade products.
As an Amazon Handmade seller, you also benefit from shipping through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon-sponsored promotions, listings with unlimited shelf life, and excellent web analytics.
Once you get approval to join the Artisan program, Amazon Handmade waives professional fees and gives you a custom URL for your shop to share on your social media platforms or website or include in your email newsletters.
You can create your store and list items on Amazon Handmade for free. However, if you already have a seller account on Amazon, it doesn’t mean you can automatically sell on Amazon Handmade.
You have to apply afresh as an artisan for your handmade account, though it might take a while to get approval based on the backlog of applications.
Though Amazon Handmade does not have as many categories as Etsy, it generally has a decent selection of categories, a mobile app, listings with no expiration date, business management and marketing tools, and offers a 15% referral fee.
Amazon offers two selling plans: Individual and Professional plans. To sell on Amazon Handmade, you need a professional selling account at $39.99 per month, and this monthly fee is waived for approved applications. The platform also takes a 15% commission per every transaction you make.
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2. Bonanza
Bonanza has functionality and features similar to Etsy, except for its emphasis on unique products. Bonanza offers a central hub to sell your stuff, and unlike Etsy, Bonanza doesn’t purport to be an all-crafts-only platform.
It is more of a general marketplace; here, you’ll find items like clothing, cosmetics, furniture, and more.
Bonanza can help expand your business reach and presence using their automated listings on reputable platforms like Google Shopping and eBay. With Bonanza, you’ll also get built-in marketing and analytics tools to facilitate your marketing efforts.
This platform also allows potential buyers to negotiate prices, so make sure you leave some room while setting up prices on your products.
Bonanza will charge you $25 per month to host your website. With this, you can market, sell, and list on the platform for free. Bonanza charges a $3.50 commission, which only applies to the Final Offer Value (FOV).
3. eBay
Another exciting alternative to Etsy is eBay. While eBay is not limited to handcrafted items or artisans, you can literally sell anything on this platform. eBay was initially known for reselling used items. With time, the platform became a marketplace for almost anything you could look for.
The platform has unique features that allow customers who love your craft to easily set email reminders whenever you put up a new item for sale.
If you wish to become a serious eBay retailer, you can create your shop through their Store subscription. Subscription fees are charged based on how much you are going to sell per month and the type of promotion and sales tools you’ll need to facilitate your business.
Unlike Etsy, eBay has more traffic, and since many consumers know it, they’ll search for handcrafted items on the platform.
The eBay platform has two types of selling fees; an insertion fee applied when you list your products and a final value fee after you sell your items. eBay allows you to list up to 250 items for free, after which you’ll have to pay 35 cents per month per listing.
You don’t have to worry about third-party payment processing fees when it comes to final value fees, which are calculated as the percentage of the total sale amount and $0.30 per order.
4. Aftcra
Aftcra is a limited eCommerce platform dedicated to serving artisans in America. Unlike with Etsy, where you can sell all kinds of manufactured goods, on Aftcra, you can only advocate for the “made in America” tag.
The good thing with this platform is that it doesn’t have upfront fees; you will only be charged once you are ready to upload your products.
Aftcra is one of the most popular Etsy alternatives that are worth investing in. It does not allow mass-produced items or internationally sourced products, so you don’t have to be worried about being outdone by low-quality products.
However, it would be best if you had additional marketing strategies to succeed on the platform. Unlike Etsy, few buyers frequent Aftcra, so you need to work to attract traffic from Facebook, Google Shopping, and other marketing and advertising platforms.
You can set up a branded Aftcra shop and list your products for free. The platform only charges you when you make a sale, and the charge is 7% of the total sale price. Once you list your product on the forum, it stays live on Aftcra.com for six months, after which you have to relist your products for free.
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5. Goimagine
Goimagine provides a platform for craftspeople and artists to sell their handmade goods. It is slightly different from Etsy in terms of functionality, as for you to sell on the platform, you have to comply with their stringent list of guidelines.
These measures ensure that you only upload handmade goods and nothing else, and you must be a resident of the United States.
Goimagine donates all of the transaction fees charged to charities helping needy children. The platform features handmade goods in various categories, including jewelry, home, living, bath and beauty, fun and games, and celebrations.
Goimagine has four plans: a free Community plan, a Starter plan at $2.50 per month, a Growth plan at $5 per month, and an All-Star plan at $10 per month.
6. iCraft
iCraft is an eCommerce platform that only allows sellers who hand-make crafts, art, and fashion items. The platform is based in Ontario, Canada, and only sells new handmade products from independent artists and crafters worldwide.
iCraft allows buyers to make custom project requests. It is easy to set up a store on this platform, and once the setup is done, you can access small business marketing services, art and crafts events, and message boards.
The platform does not have listing or transaction fees, but it strictly reviews all submitted work to ensure that everything meets its mission and values. As an iCraft seller, you’ll have an online store with the iCraft URL (icraftgifts.com) at a small one-time registration fee and a monthly fee.
You must register with a one-time non-refundable fee of $25 and a monthly subscription of $15.
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7. Ruby Lane
Ruby Lane is a vast curated marketplace for art, vintage items, antiques, and jewelry. Overall, Ruby Lane has better sales and an excellent reputation, and it does not charge a listing fee, provided you list at least 15 items per month. Ruby Lane also sets itself apart from Etsy with its secret shopper program.
Another thing that will excite you about Ruby Lane is its affluent customer base and professional support for new and existing sellers. Their quality control and rules ensure that there is no junk or reproductions.
If your customers feel that their experience while shopping did not meet their standards, the platform will privately contact you with feedback and recommendations.
While there is no listing fee when using Ruby Lane, the platform has maintenance charges at $25 though it varies based on how many items you list for sale. In addition, Ruby Lane charges a 9.9% service fee based on the total Purchase Order, exclusive of the Sales Tax.
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8. Storenvy
Storenvy is an exciting Etsy alternative that boasts over 67,000 indie brands selling their goods on the
platform. It is a marketplace that supports small independent brands and prides itself on providing high-quality products.
Storenvy also describes itself as a social marketplace. It allows buyers to like listings, message sellers directly, and add items to their collections. It regularly promotes sellers’ offerings on social media, giving your listings more mileage than a paid promotion on Etsy.
Aside from allowing you to sell your creations on the platform, Storenvy also will enable you to build a fully-customized online store with a ton of advanced features that can be hosted on their unique domain.
While it might not be as big as Etsy, Storenvy is a perfect solution for small and medium independent retailers with less than 5000 listings looking for opportunities to access an established marketplace.
Storenvy will not charge you to list or sell on their platform. However, Storenvy will charge you a 15% commission on any sales driven by the platform.
9. Cratejoy
If you are one of the makers and artisans interested in creating more revenue, then you’ll love the subscription commerce model of Cratejoy. Cratejoy works similarly to Etsy.
It allows vendors to share their products (categorized as subscription boxes on the platform), then allows customers to come to the marketplace to see which boxes are worth signing up for. The platform boasts over 30,000 customers who stop by the site daily, allowing you to keep your sales in one place.
The Cratejoy marketplace is home to 500,000 monthly subscribers. What sets Cratejoy aside from Etsy is that it is the only marketplace with subscription boxes.
Its mission is to create unique product experiences for customers by featuring the most exciting handmade products in various categories, including food and drink, bath and beauty, home and maker, books and personal growth, and entertainment.
Join over 1500 merchants on Cratejoy to enjoy over 30,000 views and benefit from the marketplace’s marking initiatives, fraud protection, and support to over 138 currencies for $0 +1.25% + 0.10 transaction fees.
10. Indie Cart
Indie Cart started as a sister site to Hyena Cart. Hyena Cart was a destination for high-demand and unique items. With time, Hyena Cart and Indie Cart merged, and all of the active Hyena stores were transferred to Indie Cart.
Indie Cart is one of the best Etsy alternatives that does not charge listing fees or commission per sale. The platform has been around for a while though its popularity is a bit scanty.
Indie Cart allows buyers to choose the sale type (reserve with a deposit, regular sale, and auction), select the currency to sell in, and integrate with Facebook to add more products to their page.
Indie Cart allows you to list your handmade products as many as you like for free and also allows you to blacklist buyers you don’t want to sell to. Unlike Etsy, Indie Cart has a calendar that showcases products that will be in stock at a particular time and is available for buyers to see.
There are no listing charges or final value fees when selling on Indie Cart. However, the platform charges you a monthly cost of $7.50 to run an Indie Cart store, including hosting and images.
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11. Just Artisan
Just Artisan is a new but promising Etsy alternative worth investing in. Just Artisan is more than a marketplace. The platform’s main objective is to support amazing makers, artists, and small businesses that put their heart and soul into creating outstanding products.
Just Artisan keeps your information private and secure and offers secure checkouts to buyers via PayPal and Stripe.
The platform was officially launched in June 2020, and by then, the marketplace had already attracted a few hundred sellers and a couple of buyers. The platform is now working on expanding its user base through retargeting on Facebook and other marketing strategies to reach new sellers.
What sets it apart from Etsy is that it does not allow reselling in any category. You can only sell products made by you, the seller, or a small team you are part of.
To join over 500 independent makers and artists on Just Artisan, you can sign up for their Starter plan for free and pay only 7.5% per transaction on final sales.
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12. Handmade Artists Shop
Handmade Artists Shop is an excellent Etsy alternative born from the need to create an avenue that cares for artists. The platform started as a forum for artists and crafters. Hence, you’ll find a tight-knit community on the platform, despite being smaller than Etsy.
With Handmade Artists, sellers and artists moderate the site while supporting each other’s businesses. The site does not allow reselling, vintage, or mass-produced items, and once you pay your subscription fee, you can set up your shop page and sell as many handmade goods as possible.
One of the drawbacks of Handmade Artists Shop is that payments can only be made through PayPal. The site handles SEO optimization and you can post multiple images in a single listing.
You can also set up a shipping profile to make it easy to give discounts on bulk purchases and set prices for global shipping.
Handmade Artists Shop offers a monthly subscription at $5 per month, but you can save more when you subscribe to their annual plan at $50 billed yearly.
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13. Uncommon Goods
Uncommon Goods is another Etsy alternative widely popular for creative gifts and beautiful products. It boasts over three million visitors per month, and while not all of its products are handmade, they are unique and creative.
Products on Uncommon Goods are sourced globally and submitted by Indie creators. Since its inception in 1999, the platform has done its best to locate unique and beautiful items, and the platform has discovered many talented artists through their online submission forms.
Uncommon Goods will excite you because it has an in-house design team to help you design exclusive products. Since the site has a niche market and audience, it is very selective in choosing sellers to work with.
This platform features an extensive product line, fair shipping policies, and supports local and international sellers.
It offers a free 14-day trial with unlimited standard shipping. To become a member of Uncommon Goods, you need to pay $19.90 per year to enjoy free shipping, among other goodies.
14. Faire
Faire is an online marketplace like Etsy that is home to independent makers and artisans, except that it only allows you to sell wholesale.
Since its launch in 2017, its concept has been well received by entrepreneurs worldwide, and now the platform boasts 2.5 to 3.5 million user visits per month. Many sellers have testified that Faire is a lucrative platform, as most sellers can make large sales within a week.
Stationery is one of the most common items on Faire, but the platform also features an array of other creative handmade products. However, Faire cannot list counterfeit products, firearms, weapons, recalled products, digital goods, used goods, fine art, and other goods on the site.
Unlike Etsy, Faire takes a hefty commission on your first sale, but despite the high fees, it still has overwhelmingly positive seller reviews.
To sell on the platform, you must apply and get approval. The standard commission rate for outgoing orders from Faire is 15%. Faire will not charge you to join or list products on the site. However, it sets a steep 25% commission on first-time store orders.
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15. Tundra
Like Etsy, Tundra also allows you to sell handmade and commercially produced goods. It has positioned itself as a modern wholesale platform for sales and marketing. Unlike Etsy, Tundra lets you keep all your revenue as it does not charge commissions or transaction fees.
It is easy to get started on the platform as all you need is to upload your handmade products and efficiently manage and fulfill orders.
Tundra lets you control who you sell to. The platform blocks all Amazon resellers from buying your products and does not allow buyers to sell your goods on third-party marketplaces. Tundra screens all sellers for fraud and verifies them before they can use the platform.
The map pricing feature lets you know exactly who is buying your products and where they are going. The venue pays you once the shipment is made, so don’t worry about buyer fraud risk.
Tundra does not charge commissions or monthly subscription fees. They only make money through optional services and features like expedited shipping, insurance, prepaid taxes, and duties for international orders during checkout.
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Final Thoughts
Amazon Handmade carries the day without any doubt. The platform charges more per sale, but no other eCommerce platform gets better traffic than Amazon.
With Amazon Handmade, you’ll also get robust storefront customization, exclusivity, exceptional seller support, and increased profitability.
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