In this video, you'll learn about all the different places that you can make money selling your handmade goods. And Etsy is not the only game in town, and you can turn your crafting side hustle into a six-figure business. Now Etsy is well known as a marketplace for buying and selling handmade, custom, and vintage goods.
If you want to sell your own arts and crafts, Etsy is an excellent starter platform with over 80 million active buyers. However, Etsy is not the only option when it comes to selling handmade products. So this video will explore Etsy alternatives and sites like Etsy that are as good or better for making money. Now to maximize your sales, you'll want to list your handmade goods on as many marketplaces as possible.
So Etsy alternative number one, Shopify. Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows you to sell your crafts and handmade goods on your own website. By starting your own online store on Shopify. You own the platform and have full control over the look and feel of your site.
And unlike Etsy, there are no referral fees and you can easily build a beautiful website to showcase your work to potential buyers and drive sales. Now to build a store on Shopify, you must pay a monthly subscription fee of $29 to $299 depending on the plan that you choose. Free credit card processing is included with Shopify payments and there are no transaction fees. For more information on costs, watch this video. on Shopify pricing.
Now if you're serious about making money with your handmade goods, you must have a Shopify store to showcase your crafts. Here are the pros of having a Shopify store. There are no selling fees. When you own your own store, you get to keep all the profit and you don't have to pay any referral fees.
You also have full control. Unlike Etsy, you have full control over the presentation and display of your products. You also have access to your customers.
Etsy does not provide access to your customers'contact information. But with your own online store, you can generate repeat sales with email marketing, SMS marketing, and other promotional channels. Now here are the downsides of Shopify.
There are monthly fees. Shopify charges a monthly fee that starts at $29 a month. There's also more upfront work to set up. You will need to learn how to build your own website with Shopify's tools and drive your own sales.
And there's no built-in audience. Unlike Etsy, you will have to drive your own traffic to your website to make sales. Etsy Alternative Number 2 Amazon Handmade.
Now Amazon Handmade is a selling program within the Amazon marketplace where artisans can sell handcrafted products such as jewelry, stationery, toys, and artwork. With over 300 million active users, Amazon is the most popular online marketplace in the U.S. Data gathered by Statista shows that Amazon dominates the U.S. e-commerce market with a 41% market share.
Now unlike other marketplaces, there is no monthly listing fee on Amazon Handmade. However, Amazon deducts a flat 15% referral fee per sale. Here are the pros of Amazon Handmade.
There is a built-in audience. Amazon has an enormous built-in audience that provides visibility to your products. There's also no listing fee. Amazon Handmade charges no monthly listing fee, unlike Etsy, which charges 20 cents per item.
The listings don't expire, and artisans only pay Amazon once a sale is made. Amazon also has a ton of brand recognition. Customers trust Amazon because it's a renowned brand that provides fraud protection. Shoppers feel more confident when making purchases from unfamiliar brands.
It's also very convenient. Amazon takes care of shipping through their Fulfillment by Amazon program, and sellers can also opt for FBA to fill their orders from other sources. But here are the downsides of Amazon Handmade. There are sign-up requirements. The application process is strict, and approval takes up to two weeks.
Amazon Handmade only accepts sellers with fewer than 20 people in their organization. There's also high commission fees. Amazon levies a 15% commission on every product, and this value is considerably higher than Etsy's 6.5%.
There's also a reputation for bargain hunting. Amazon isn't the first choice for customers looking for handmade goods, and Amazon is generally known for selling inexpensive, off-the-shelf products. There's also limited categories. Amazon Handmade has a total of 16 categories.
Digital, downloadable, and electronic product categories are currently unavailable on Amazon Handmade. You also don't get paid right away. Amazon pays every two weeks, unlike Etsy which pays after every purchase.
Etsy alternative number three is Bonanza. Bonanza is a seller-centric online marketplace that allows sellers to build a relationship with their customers. Bonanza has 5 million active monthly visitors, with most of them in the US and the rest from abroad.
Founded in Seattle. the company has over 40,000 sellers and 22 million listings. Now, Bonanza also doesn't charge a listing fee or any monthly store fees. However, it's worth noting that Bonanza has a significantly smaller user base compared to Etsy, which has 95 million monthly visitors.
However, Bonanza is a great marketplace to further diversify your sales. Here are the pros of Bonanza. There's low commission fees.
Bonanza charges only 3.5%, which is much lower than Etsy's 6.5% commission. Sellers can also choose from commission-based tiers where Bonanza advertises products on behalf of sellers on channels such as Google Shopping. It's also really easy to import your products. Bonanza makes it easy for sellers to import products from other online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Shopify.
Bonanza also provides shipping integrations to connect your shop to third-party shipping couriers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS. But the best part is that Bonanza allows you to build customer relationships. Unlike other marketplaces, Bonanza gives sellers access to customer information. And this helps sellers build relationships with their customers and establish a brand. So overall, Bonanza is very merchant-centric.
Bonanza helps merchants build a codeless e-commerce website when they're ready to make the jump as well. Here are the downsides to Bonanza. There is low traffic and inventory.
Bonanza has few listings and doesn't attract a large audience compared to big-name competitors like Etsy and Amazon. Sellers must upgrade to higher-tier memberships and offer Bonanza a bigger cut of their sales to access Bonanza's supported ads. There's also delayed inventory syncing.
Merchants have complained that inventory syncing from eBay and Amazon to Bonanza is kind of glitchy. So if you sell the same products on Bonanza and other marketplaces, you're going to have to buy a new one. your inventory counts may not update in real time. But the biggest drawback is low sales.
Merchants have complained of low sales on Bonanza compared to larger marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. However, if you sell quirky or unique products, Bonanza can be an excellent option to explore. Etsy alternative number four, Redbubble. Now founded in 2006, Redbubble is a print-on-demand company that helps 728,000 designers sell their art globally.
Redbubble is known for its quirky and standout designs and has almost 2 million unique monthly visitors. The process to list artwork on Redbubble is simple. Once a customer buys a product with the seller's artwork, Redbubble prints the design and ships it to the end customer.
Redbubble assigns every product a base price and adds a markup value for sellers. The typical markup is about 20%, but sellers can adjust their prices at any time. Redbubble partners with brands and lets artists create their own designs.
and sell licensed fan art designs through their Redbubble partner program. Now here are the pros of Redbubble. It's a great side hustle. Redbubble can be a great source of passive income as designers don't have to do anything after uploading their designs. The company takes care of the printing and shipping.
It's also really easy to use. Redbubble has a user-friendly interface and an easy artwork upload process. And there's unlimited potential here.
Once an artist uploads a design, it stays on Redbubble forever. The designs can be a recurring source of income as long as the listing is active on the platform. And Redbubble offers a large number of products.
They offer more than 60 types to print on, and sellers can put their creations on all or choose specific product types. You don't have to deal with inventory. Redbubble manages printing and shipping on the seller's behalf, and print-on-demand is an excellent option for those who want an e-commerce store without the headache of managing inventory.
And then finally, there's no listing fee. Redbubble doesn't charge any fees whatsoever, designers just get a cut from their sales. But here are the downsides to Redbubble. There's no control over inventory.
Because Redbubble takes care of everything except design, sellers have no control over product material or print quality. You also don't get paid right away. Redbubble pays on the 15th of every month, unlike Etsy, which pays after every sale. There's also a lot of competition.
Because selling on Redbubble is free, there's a lot more competition and designers need to create unique and trendy designs to stand out from the competition. You also don't get to establish a customer relationship. Redbubble does not provide any customer details, which makes it impossible to build a relationship with customers.
Etsy Alternative 5 is eBay Now eBay, a well-known Etsy and Amazon alternative, is the third largest online marketplace with a 4.2% market share in the US. eBay has a presence in more than 180 countries and has 182 million active monthly users. Now, eBay stores allow merchants to sell new and pre-owned products in categories such as toys, automobiles, collectibles, and pet supplies. Now, eBay also has a unique selling system that lets shoppers bid on products in an auction.
Now, this feature can help sellers sell products far higher than their original selling price. Here are the pros of eBay. It's got a huge built-in audience. Like Amazon, Amazon has a vast audience and sellers can reach buyers around the world.
There's also great brand recognition. eBay is the third largest ecommerce store in the US with established brand authority. As a result, shoppers are willing to buy from unknown brands on their platform. There's also a lot of different ways you can list your products.
Sellers can list their products in an auction-based or a fixed price listing. Auction-based listings work great for collectibles. whereas fixed price listings work well for everyday items.
It's also really convenient for shipping. eBay collaborates with shipping partners so merchants can sell their products locally and globally. You can also sell used goods.
eBay allows sellers to sell secondhand products provided they are labeled as such in the listing. You also get paid sooner. Sellers can choose to get paid either daily or weekly. But here are the downsides to eBay.
There's a lot of extra fees. eBay charges a 35 cent listing fee upfront, And then once a product sells, merchants are further charged 10-15% of the final order value. It's also a lot of piracy. Although eBay has partnerships with law enforcement to fight piracy, there are still counterfeit products on the marketplace. You're also limited by what you can list.
New sellers have a listing limit of 10 products with a value of up to $500 per month. And unfortunately, eBay has a reputation for being cheap. eBay is like the go-to place for bargain shoppers. As a result, there's pressure for sellers to provide lower pricing and free shipping. Etsy alternative number six is Folksey.
Founded in 2008, Folksey is one of the biggest online marketplaces with 10,000 designers, artists, and artisans residing in the UK. Folksey has 200,000 monthly unique visitors with 85% of its traffic based in the UK. So Folksey, known as UK's Etsy, is famous for its handcrafted gifts and supplies.
Now, Folksey charges 6% for every sale, but only on the items and not on the shipping fees. So here are the pros of selling on Folksey. There's no commission on postage. Unlike Etsy and eBay, Folksey doesn't charge any commission on shipping. You can also list unlimited items.
Now, the first three listings are free and then it's 15 pence per item. However, sellers can pay just £5 a month to get unlimited free listings. You can also easily import your listings. Folksey allows sellers to import product listings from Etsy easily.
Sellers need to have a Folksy Plus account to use this service. You also get paid immediately. Once a customer buys a product, the seller receives the compensation immediately via PayPal. But here are the downsides to Folksy. You have to be a UK resident.
Folksy restricts sellers outside the UK. However, buyers can be from anywhere in the world. There's not a lot of traffic on Folksy either.
Folksy doesn't have the same reach as Etsy. However, Folksy can be used to complement Etsy. or other marketplaces.
The other downside is that it's inconvenient to ship. Folxee doesn't have fulfillment centers like Amazon or eBay, and furthermore, their shipping integration software lacks features that other marketplaces possess. Folxee also has a pretty bad mobile app.
The Folxee mobile app is buggy, and sellers need to log in through their desktop to access certain features. And then finally, there's no currency conversion. International visitors do not have the option to view pricing in their respective currencies.
Then finally, we have Etsy Alternatives'JustArtisan. JustArtisan is a handmade marketplace supporting independent artists, makers, and entrepreneurs, and they're the latest entrant in the handmade online marketplaces segment. Launched in June of 2020, JustArtisan has found mass support from ex-Etsy sellers. Now, JustArtisan doesn't allow reselling. All products must be handcrafted by the seller or a small group of sellers.
Now, products can be listed for free on JustArtisan. However, there is a selling fee of 7.5% on each sale. Now, JustArtisan still has a long way to go, and as an early adopter, you have the opportunity to grow with the company.
Now here are the pros of selling on JustArtisan. You can sell digital goods. JustArtisan allows sellers to list digital items in contrast to other marketplaces like Etsy.
There's also no listing fee. Unlike Etsy, JustArtisan doesn't charge a fee to list products on their platform. It's also Artisan-centric.
JustArtisan aims to establish a community of independent artisans and makers, and being an ex-ETC seller, their CEO listens to the input provided by sellers and is open to making changes on the platform. Now here are the downsides. There's very low traffic.
Because JustArtisan is brand new, their traffic is low, and most sellers sell on JustArtisan in addition to other marketplaces. There's also a relatively high commission fee. Although there is no listing fee, JustArtisan charges 7.5% for every sale and this value is higher than Etsy's 6.5%. So those are 9 Etsy alternatives and the question is which one is the best?
Well the best Etsy alternatives depend on the products that you sell. So for example, if you're a designer and you don't want to hassle printing and shipping products, check out print on demand companies like Redbubble or Society6. Ultimately, your goal should be to start your own ecommerce website.
Having your own online store gives you more control over your brand. And and you won't have to rely on online marketplaces that increase their commission fees on their own terms now the most important aspect of owning your own store is that you can build lasting relationships with your customers which will increase your repeat purchase rate Hope you enjoyed this video. Now if you like what you saw, there's actually a lot more where that came from if you subscribe to my channel below. And if you are interested in learning how to sell physical products online, then click over here and take my free six-day mini course where I'll walk you through everything that you need to know to get started in e-commerce. Thanks for watching.