Where To Sell Handmade Items

Does your hobby involve creating some handmade goods? Do your friends and family tell you that the quality of your creations is incredible? If that’s the case, you can actually try to make some money off of your hobby. Surely, it can be a bit daunting. But it’s actually easier than you think.

One of the things that you should consider before starting is to find the right place to sell your products. Choose wisely as this is essential for your success. Fortunately, nowadays, there are lots of different platforms that can give you access to a local, national and even global audience.

In this guide you will not only learn about the key things that should be taken into consideration, but also all the available options for selling handmade items online and offline.

Before You Start Selling Handmade Goods

Before you learn about where you can start selling your products, there are a few things that you’ll need to take into account. They will help you determine whether you actually want to monetize your hobby, and, if you actually do, ensure that your new business will run smoothly.

1. Research

First of all, you’ll have to do lots of research. You’ll need to find out what products are in demand and pick a niche. Analyze your competitors, their marketing strategies and prices as well as figure out what your target audience is.

2. Price

You’ll need to determine what the average price for products that you offer is. Then calculate the cost of materials that you use and time that you spend making your products as well as overhead expenses. Finally, factor in fees that you might need to pay to set up your store and the shipping costs. Remember that the final price should be competitive and profitable.

3. Legal Requirements

It’s vital to check for any required permits, business licenses, or tax obligations in your area. This will help you avoid potential legal trouble.

4. Product Photography

Professional-looking and well-lit images that clearly and accurately showcase your handmade goods will be the key to selling them successfully. Keep in mind that when shopping online, people largely make their decisions based on product photos and reviews.

5. Branding

In this day and age, it’s crucial for you to create a brand. You’ll need to present your products in a beautiful and professional way to make an impression on your customers. Come up with a brand name – preferably the one that’s quite easy to remember – and a brand logo. And it’s also important to add your brand logo and brand name not only to the packaging, but to all of your visual content that you share online, as well.

6. Inventory

To avoid overproduction or shortages, you will need to keep track of your materials and stock. Fortunately, there are some inventory management tools that can help you stay organized.

7. Shipping

You will also need to find out what shipping costs are as well as what kind of packaging you might need. It’s also important to learn everything you can about shipping providers and delivery times.

8. Customer Service

Determine what your return/refund policy will be. Keep in mind that you will have to communicate with your customers clearly and promptly. When customers are satisfied with your service and your product, they usually leave positive reviews and make repeat orders.

9. Marketing

Marketing is vital for your success. If you choose a small platform to sell your products, there won’t be much traffic and, thus, very few customers. But if you go for a large marketplace, then your small shop will be overshadowed by bigger, more established brands. Either way, you will have to promote your brand and market your goods for someone to actually buy them.

Where To Sell Handmade Items Online

Selling handmade items online is rather easy and beneficial. It offers more flexibility and convenience – you can sell online in several different ways. You will have to put in some time and resources into it, of course, but you will be able to do this from the comfort of your home or wherever else you want. And the second-best thing about selling online is that you will have access to a much wider audience. You will be able to reach not only locals but people from across your country or even across the world.

Here’s where you can sell your handmade goods online:

1. Your own website

Yes, this might be quite scary. But selling handmade items on your own website actually has some advantages:

• There’s no direct competition. Your online shop won’t be compared with hundreds and hundreds of others on the same platform.
• You don’t have to worry about the saturated market. Whereas, popular online marketplaces have lots of well-established brands and it might be quite hard to get noticed as a small business.
• You get nearly total control over your shop. You can design it however you want. Set your own pricing strategy. You won’t have to worry about how to compete with the prices of other sellers.
• It’s a great way to build your own loyal customer base as well as to do email marketing.

The downside is that this can be quite overwhelming and tricky for beginners. You will be fully responsible for driving the traffic to your website. Don’t think that if you create a website, it will instantly attract customers. Online marketplaces use different algorithms that help people discover new products and sellers. But by having your own website you will be in charge of drawing the attention of potential customers.

Let’s say, you decided to give it a go. How can you create your own website? You can use Hostinger which is a web hosting company. It can be an amazing choice since it’s really affordable and available globally. Also, creating a website using Hostinger is incredibly easy. Moreover, they offer some AI tools for creating a website as well as creating listings for your items; they can actually save you lots of time and effort. By using Hostinger, you can create a professional-looking website that’s easy to navigate in little to no time and with minimum effort.

If you don’t like Hostinger, you can give a go to Shopify. It’s incredibly popular and allows you to create your own e-commerce website with customizable features. It offers a selection of AI tools, as well. But please note that it’s quite expensive and setting up a shop might be a bit tricky. Alternatively, you can go for Big Cartel. It’s pretty simple, affordable and overall, a perfect choice for a small business.

2. Marketplace platforms

If you are not ready to create your own website yet, you can set up a shop on an online marketplace platform. Most online marketplace use certain algorithms that help buyers find the products they want. What does it mean? You will need to make sure that your listings are SEO-optimized. But your products can be discovered much easier than if you have your own website. That said, please note that pretty much all marketplaces have fees.

Here are some of the online marketplaces you might consider:

Goimagine is a US-only platform that focuses on handmade, vintage and craft supplies. It’s worth saying right away that it’s a still growing platform, so it doesn’t have a lot of traffic. Also, the marketing features are limited, so you won’t be able to do much to promote your store. But their fees are lower compared to more popular marketplaces. They value their sellers and their feedback, while also offering great customer service.

ArtFire is a well-established global marketplace for indie artists. Their search filter allows buyers to sort sellers by size. Therefore, as a new seller on the platform, you will still have a chance of getting discovered; which isn’t the case on larger marketplaces. They also have low fees and commissions. But please note that ArtFire sellers handle shipping on their own.

MakerPlace is a new US-based online marketplace backed by a major brand, Michaels, which is an American arts and crafts store. This platform is specifically for selling handmade products. Since it’s new, there isn’t much competition, but not a lot of buyers, either, because not a lot of people know about it. Product listing can be made for free, but there are some fees.

Storenvy is an online store builder, but they also have an online marketplace. It’s an amazing platform for designers, artists and makers. You can list for free, but there are commissions and different pricing plans. With Storenvy, you can really create the perfect online store for your brand. And your shop will have a chance to get discovered on their marketplace. On top of that, they also offer SEO optimization and social media integration.

Also, here are a couple of websites that you should check if you are not selling in the US: Folksy (UK-based), the British Craft House (UK-based) and Madeit (Australia-based).

Additionally, you can give a try to some of the popular marketplaces that are now available globally. For instance, you can set up an online shop on Etsy, Amazon Handmade or eBay. In fact, Etsy is the top most well-known marketplaces for vintage and handmade goods. There are thousands upon thousands of buyers there. However, Etsy has some big disadvantages:

• The competition is extremely high.
• There are lots of different fees, so you probably won’t make that much money as the result.
• Etsy can actually close down your shop without further notice.

So, Etsy might not be the best place to start your side-hustle or small business.

Please note that the aforementioned online marketplaces are only the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of different online marketplaces where you can sell handmade goods. So, you might want to do some more research on this.

3. Social media

You probably know that social media is flooded with ads these days. Well, to make things easier, you can use these platforms to sell your handmade items, as well!

For instance, you can sell to local buyers using Facebook Marketplace. It’s also possible to sell in special artisan and craft Facebook groups.

In addition to that, Instagram and TikTok offer shopping features. To put it simply, you can create some engaging visual content that features a product of yours to spike the interest of potential customers, then they will simply tap a few buttons and purchase that very item. It’s incredibly effective!

It’s also a good idea to post your product photos on Pinterest and link them to your online store. This will help you get discovered and make the purchasing process easier for your customers.

Frankly speaking, you will need to have some sort of social media presence even if you decide to set up a shop on a marketplace platform or create your own website. After all, social media is perfect for getting discovered, growing your audience and increasing brand awareness. There, you have a chance to demonstrate your skills and show that you are a real human being. Remember that people buy from people – this is especially true in this day and age where the market is dominated by huge corporations.

Where To Sell Handmade Items Offline

Don’t limit yourself to selling your creations online. Selling in-person can be efficient and beneficial, too, since it will help you build a better relationship with your customers as well as get some immediate feedback. Let’s take a look at where you can sell your handmade items offline:

1. Craft Fairs & Artisan Markets

This is probably the most common way of selling handmade goods offline because it can help you get discovered and connect with your customers. So, find out whether there are any fairs or artisan markets in your local area. In addition to this, you can check whether any local flea and farmers’ markets allow selling handmade goods, as well.

2. Local Shops & Boutiques

Fairs and markets are usually held from time to time and last a day or two. On top of that, they usually require your presence. Whereas if you partner with a local shop or boutique, you can get your products in front of new customers for a longer period of time and without you being present. When picking a shop or a boutique, though, make sure that it caters to your target audience.

3. Consignment Stores

This is also a great way for your brand to get exposed to a broader audience without you being present. What you need to keep in mind here is that consignment stores take a commission.

4. Galleries & Art Shows

If you make some high-end handmade goods or gorgeous paintings that are more on the expensive side, then you might consider reaching out to galleries. By selling your works in art shows or a gallery you might be able to attract some serious customers who will be willing to pay a fair price for your art.

5. Workshops & Classes

Last but not least, you can host a craft class or a workshop. This will allow you to showcase your skills in-person while also selling some of your handmade goods.

Optimize And Protect Your Product Photos

Remember that product photos play a key role in the success of your online business. They shouldn’t be poorly-lit, blurry and unsharp. And, of course, they must be well-optimized for the web.

Before publishing your images online, here’s what you will need to do:

1. When you publishing images on your website, what you should worry about is the file size. If your image has a small file size, it will load quickly on a webpage – which is exactly what you want. Naturally, your images also shouldn’t be pixelated, either. So, to strike the balance between a small file size and good image quality, you should compress your product photos.
2. Marketplaces and social media platforms have their size requirements for images. Therefore, you will need to make sure that the pixel dimensions and the aspect ratio are correct. For instance, the 1:1 aspect ratio is usually preferable for the majority of marketplaces, meanwhile it’s better to post an image with the 4:5 aspect ratio on Instagram. As for the pixel dimensions, the best image size for an Instagram post is 1080x1350px. Most marketplaces require images to be around 2000x2000px. It’s a good idea to do some research and figure out what the best aspect ratio and pixel dimensions are for the platform that you want to publish your images on. Then you can resize your images if you need to change only the pixel dimensions. But if the aspect ratio needs to be changed as well, you will have to crop your photos.
3. You will also need to make sure that the format of your images is correct. To play it safe, it’s better to opt for JPG as it’s widely-supported. Use an online converter (for example, Convert to JPG) to change the image format, if necessary.

That’s how you can optimize your images for the web!

However, it might also be a good idea to watermark your images before sharing them online. Some people claim that watermarks aren’t effective. But that’s actually not true. By adding a watermark to your product photos, you will be able to protect them against unauthorized use and promote your brand! Especially if you use your brand logo as a watermark.

Fortunately, it’s really easy to add a watermark these days – just use an online watermarking app. Moreover, if you are still skeptical about watermarks, keep in mind that you can use a watermarking app simply to add some text to your product photos. It’s a great way to make your visual content for social media more engaging. You can also add key information about your product right to a photo of it – this is quite a common practice since not a lot of people actually check product descriptions.

Keep in mind that you should check whether the online platform of your choice has any restrictions regarding watermarks, their design and placement.

Final Thoughts

It’s entirely up to you where to sell your handmade goods. Do some research first, then start with trying out a couple of platforms that seem to be the most suitable. Don’t be afraid to experiment, as well. Try selling in-person, go digital or do both. Don’t be afraid to experiment, as well. Only by experimenting you will be able to figure out what works best for your brand, reach a broader audience and get more sales.