JoanHunterHandmade on Artfire!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Etsy Alternatives

Etsy is just a bunch of (often malfunctioning) code without its sellers and the community that built the DIY, Handmade, and Micro-business movement.  We are what makes it special.  We can bring our awesome community to a new home and make it every bit as awesome and special.  WE HAVE THE POWER, not the venue.  Many of us have chosen to board up our Etsy shops and move on due to our dissatisfaction with Etsy's business policies, and recent incidents.  Much discussion (and confusion) has ensued about Etsy alternatives.  What sites can act as our Methadone in our dependence upon Etsy's Heroine?  Here are a few options, feel free to add your finds and reviews as well!

www.craftisart.com
CIA has tons of awesome looking seller tools that we've been BEGGING for on E, but have never been provided for us.  How awesome would it be to just press a button and put something on sale for the specified percentage, just for example?  However, this one looks kind of desolate, from reading the forums, but I might set up a presence there, and if many dispossessed  ex-etsians do as well, it might prove to be a lively community.

www.Artfire.com
Chances are you have heard of Artfire, Etsy's main competitor in the handmade marketplace.  Many of us already have shops there, but if you are like me, your main focus has been on Etsy until now.  I am really liking what I've read in regard to the responsiveness of the staff to the needs of the sellers, its ability to accept fault, and to take ACTION to make it right when it feels it has failed.  You are also allowed to link off-site which is like a whole new level of freedom.  I have not heard anything about people being censored or cast-out to the outrageous degree that Etsy has demonstrated again and again... and again.  THis is where it seems most of us will be putting the bulk of our attention from now on.  They even offer immediate SYNDICATION!  Wow!  And they have easy-peasy coupons!  I was spending an average of 60 dollars a month on E, and for a "Pro" account on Artfire, the going rate is currently $9.95 a month.

www.Zibbet.com
I don't know all that much about it but it was easy for me to set up a shop there and listing is free.  You have basic membership where everything is free, and a paid membership with more bells and whistles.

www.supermarket.com
We need to check this one out further, but here's what I know so far; it's a juried or curated site, so your products have to be able to "make the cut".  Interesting...

It looks to me like there are considerably more options for the exclusively UK sellers, and that the USA, predictably, relies on monopolistic entities like Etsy more heavily.

Another alternative that many of us have been chewing over is starting our own Etsy Alternative, (Alternetsy?)  which is a pretty massive undertaking, not that I doubt our talented bunch could do it, and heaven knows we are all crying out for more alternatives!  Many of us are also hoping to get our own stand-alone websites ready, and I hope we can help one another out with that, too!  I have only taken SECONDS of my time to research other places we could grace with our presence, money, and energy, and they DO exist after all!  So please do keep adding to the list, and discussion of Etsy Alternatives as we begin to move forward together!

To Be Investigated:

Boingboing
http://makersmarket.com/collections/boing-boing-bazaar

http://www.rubylane.com/info/shop.html

22 comments:

  1. Muted but not silent MaureenOctober 23, 2010 at 2:27 PM

    Fantastic list! I know several Etsy sellers also use ecrater and of course bigcartel- not sure of the addies...and EB has an ongoing evalution review of alternative sites. Great work!

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  2. Just came from the ArtFire Forum and a thread caught my eye..."Exodus from Etsy"..so I just had to look....
    The OP asked a question and guess who answered it right away? Tony! OMG, I'm in shock! When the OP expanded her question with a new one, Tony returned and answered. Someone pinch me. Could this be real? Just sayin'.........

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  3. I would love to move to Artfire, but I feel that I can't get all that I need out of it without a Pro account. I just can't afford to pay for something like that...

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  4. HELLO, thank you!! thank you!! two days ago, after 2 months working hard they close my shop, they send me a questionary, and after this they said that they don,t thing i made every thing in my shop........fuck them!!! because i really make everything there... strange fascism!!!!!! let,s go!!!<<<<<I,m not going to be sad if i can,t do anything....i will put my energy in an other place.. thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

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  5. another alternative to sell online and you list and sell FREE, NO monthly fees and only pay $5.99 yearly fees. It is easy, etsy and ebay importer and has a great clean look.

    http://trembu.com/

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  8. You could also look into ezebee.com: An international marketplace, very 2.0 style with a very active community, you are allowed and able to link out from your showroom or product listing... Young, but rapidly growing.

    www.ezebee.com

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  9. You may want to check-out Storemate.com and artfire.com as good alternatives.
    If you want something different try out storemate.com, I registered on storemate.com and seen some sharp increase in the traffice directed to my website.
    Unlike easy and artfire they are not restricted to handmade, I get to promote to a bigger audience (all design buffs).
    The best about storemate is, I get to help out my customers in real-time using their 'Talk-About' feature. Helping out with questions on custom options, shipping queries etc in realtime.
    I even passed on exclusive discounts to them during these help-out sessions, which turned casual enquiries into quick sales and followers for me.
    I have been Storemate's "Featured Designer" for 3 weeks, straight! ( My proud moment!) :D

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  10. After several years I stopped using etsy and have tried several others but recently found ListingDock.com to sell my homemade hairbow holders. listingdock.com. https://listingdock.com/Crafts/11/Tutu-Hair-Bow-Holders

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  11. Add me to the list of happy Etsy sellers. The etsy staff and the other sellers and buyers on it are just amazing. Another marketplace I use to sell my stuff is ListingDock.com, great place to buy/sell/trade with ease. The website is easy to navigate and when I have questions the help desk is very helpful.

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  12. I tried indigoly.com and it is great. It is special for African handmade products and everything is for free for now. Really great! Got a couple of sales in first ten days as well.

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  13. Hey all, we've recently launched a marketplace called "I Am Attitude", aimed strictly at the alternative fashion scene (think pinup, punk, goth, metal, rock, etc!)—hand-picked, high quality boutiques and designers only, including lots of handmade and currently commission free. Check it out at www.iamattitude.com

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  14. I loved reading your article on etsy alternatives. I own and operate an out of the gate new Handmade website, http://www.artyah.com We cater to artists selling handmade and vintage items. We offer auctions as well as a sellers' gallery. We provide a very attractive, elegant site. No listing fees, no member fees. One big difference is that we heavily promote all of our sellers throughout all of the social media channels and other advertising mediums like google adwords etc.
    I would appreciate it very much if you were to include our site in the next online article about etsy alternatives.
    Thank you for your consideration,

    Craig Weiss
    ArtYah.com
    530-492-3140

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    Replies
    1. Just wondering if anyone has used ArtYah?? (the place described above). It seems like it fits the bill for an alternative to Etsy or to compliment an Etsy site. I checked it out but am trying to find reviews from users/sellers. Seems like for selling on-line handmade goods selling them at multiple places would be better exposure. We sell on ebay and etsy but Etsy is much slower than ebay. ebay has its' own set of issues (mainly it is more costly....) thinking we should try other places but not give up on Etsy, just branch out... test more water.

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    2. I'm definitely giving it a try. It's going to take a long time to photograph and list my merchandise, but I've tried Etsy, Mercari, EBay and since I am just starting out, I will devote my efforts there. Is there an import tool? I don't have a lot of listings yet, but I have a LOT of inventory. I also need to learn how to calculate shipping charges. I have a lot of vintage jewelry, glassware, light fixtures, lamps, small treasures and will be selling as much uranium glass and uranium glass jewelry as I can get my hands on. I have plans to make uranium glass jewelry when things get less chaotic. I'm new to selling in general and not very tech savvy. Wish me luck!

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  15. Hey guys- If you're looking for an etsy alternative, you should check us out. http://www.kateandbean.com . Think of us as a care-free option for opening your own shop. We're going to be launching the shop in July, but we'll be accepting applications for vendors in April.

    Cheers!

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  16. Hey guys- If you're looking for an etsy alternative, you should check us out. http://www.kateandbean.com . Think of us as a care-free option for opening your own shop. We're going to be launching the shop in July, but we'll be accepting applications for vendors in April.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I have tried both Zibbet and Artfire! I do not think that are a real alternative to Etsy. I will consider checking out Artyah.

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  18. After a bunch of research of various selling venues, I think I'm going to give Artyah a shot. I like that they state they heavily promote, going to give it a try.

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  19. Artyah is just another Etsy in its larval stage. As small as the site is, resellers are already there. Many more will come if/when the site becomes more popular with buyers. A site for handmade has to have serious guidelines concerning what is allowed for sale, and the owners/managers have to be prepared to supervise the site and vigorously defend their guidelines. The owner of Artyah is a nice guy and means well, but is basically clueless about what running an authentic art, artisan and vintage site requires. In other words, he hasn't learned anything from what happened on Etsy...except that there are hundreds of thousands of girls looking for an arty venue to open shop.

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  20. Is there a REAL venue online that actually caters to the homemade/custom-made venue and not the lets just stamp some initials on a piece of china charm and call it homemade sites? I am a blacksmith and jewelry maker and I have looked at all the mentioned above sights. It all seems to be the same precast stuff everywhere. I do have storefronts at all of them, but you get lost in the market. Any advise or suggestions?

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