A little while ago, it was asked of me my opinion on the comparison between the three wonderful online selling venues for handmade things. I'm ready to give my opinion, but please keep in mind that this is simply an opinion and there is not scientific evidence backing this!
We'll start with a positive note: the pros of all three venues. Etsy has certainly been around the longest and therefore, has the most traffic. Definitely a plus! Shopping experiences are easy and search options are equally as easy. You also get a decent amount of tags for your items. Now, Artfire is in it's beginning stages, but believe it or not, I am getting a fair amount of traffic to my Artfire shop. What's better is that Artfire has integrated Rapid Cart so you can put it on your blog. Don't laugh, I got a sale last week in my Artfire shop using Rapid Cart on my blog! The fees are super reasonable ($7 a month, no more, no less), it is impossible to get lost in the shuffle because items come up at random, whereas on Etsy, they come up in order listed/relisted. Artfire also doesn't seem to favor certain sellers, every one is treated equal and you get unlimited tags. One thing to keep in mind about Arfire's $7/month deal: I purchased my spot several weeks ago when there were still 1600 out of 5000 slots open. There is now only 205 slots left open. If you do not lock into the $7/month, it will rise to $20/month. You can still have your free account, but you can only list 10 items on it. More items = more exposure. 1000Markets also just began and I get very little traffic to the site, but it is very upscale. The administrators actually "jury" your pieces. If you don't have what they are looking for, you don't get in. Kinda like Trunkt (they even have a section for 1000Markets members who are also Trunkt members!). I prefer the total look and feel of this site compared to the other two.
Now for the cons...I'm not trying to trash any venue, I am just giving my honest opinion. While Etsy does get alot of traffic, it is so very easy to get lost. There is so many sellers to compete with and items come up in order they were listed, so you have to keep yourself very visible which can be very expensive. At $.20 a pop, it tends to add up by the end of the month. In fact, my highest fees when I did my taxes were my Etsy fees! I also tend to notice that certain sellers are brought into the spotlight over and over. Favoritism? Who knows, but the bottom line is that I am getting consistent sales there, so I can't complain. Artfire, as I said before, is still in the beginning stages, so the con is not as much traffic as Etsy, but I am getting more hits and sales than at 1000Markets. Another "can't complain". However, even if I don't list anything and don't sell anything, I'm still charged $7/month. Cheaper than Etsy, but worth the gamble to see if they become more popular like Etsy. 1000Markets is still in beta mode, so there is barely any traffic at all and no sales. But when you consider the fact that I didn't pay anything to list there, I have nothing to lose. I only pay if I sell. You also get very few tags. This may be something they will change in the future, remember, this is only in beta mode right now. The other con is that 1000Markets doesn't do their money exchange through PayPal, you have to sign up for Amazon. I've never used them before, so this experience is new to me. If 1000Markets gains some momentum and I turn sales there like I do on Etsy, 1000Markets will certainly be my preferred online venue!
I do need to mention that I have accounts on DaWanda and ShopHandmade also. They have been there for about six months: barely any hits, no sales. Sure, it didn't cost anything to list on either site, but I took all my items out of the shops so I could stock Artfire and 1000Markets. Oh, a word of caution: If you sell one-of-a-kind items, don't list the same item in two shops. If it sells in both shops at the same time before you catch it, you will certainly be in a pickle. It's just bad business. Suck it up and make sure you have made enough items to stock all your shops. I'm not speaking from experience, but I certainly don't want to experience it, either!
I hope this has been helpful...now....get selling!
We'll start with a positive note: the pros of all three venues. Etsy has certainly been around the longest and therefore, has the most traffic. Definitely a plus! Shopping experiences are easy and search options are equally as easy. You also get a decent amount of tags for your items. Now, Artfire is in it's beginning stages, but believe it or not, I am getting a fair amount of traffic to my Artfire shop. What's better is that Artfire has integrated Rapid Cart so you can put it on your blog. Don't laugh, I got a sale last week in my Artfire shop using Rapid Cart on my blog! The fees are super reasonable ($7 a month, no more, no less), it is impossible to get lost in the shuffle because items come up at random, whereas on Etsy, they come up in order listed/relisted. Artfire also doesn't seem to favor certain sellers, every one is treated equal and you get unlimited tags. One thing to keep in mind about Arfire's $7/month deal: I purchased my spot several weeks ago when there were still 1600 out of 5000 slots open. There is now only 205 slots left open. If you do not lock into the $7/month, it will rise to $20/month. You can still have your free account, but you can only list 10 items on it. More items = more exposure. 1000Markets also just began and I get very little traffic to the site, but it is very upscale. The administrators actually "jury" your pieces. If you don't have what they are looking for, you don't get in. Kinda like Trunkt (they even have a section for 1000Markets members who are also Trunkt members!). I prefer the total look and feel of this site compared to the other two.
Now for the cons...I'm not trying to trash any venue, I am just giving my honest opinion. While Etsy does get alot of traffic, it is so very easy to get lost. There is so many sellers to compete with and items come up in order they were listed, so you have to keep yourself very visible which can be very expensive. At $.20 a pop, it tends to add up by the end of the month. In fact, my highest fees when I did my taxes were my Etsy fees! I also tend to notice that certain sellers are brought into the spotlight over and over. Favoritism? Who knows, but the bottom line is that I am getting consistent sales there, so I can't complain. Artfire, as I said before, is still in the beginning stages, so the con is not as much traffic as Etsy, but I am getting more hits and sales than at 1000Markets. Another "can't complain". However, even if I don't list anything and don't sell anything, I'm still charged $7/month. Cheaper than Etsy, but worth the gamble to see if they become more popular like Etsy. 1000Markets is still in beta mode, so there is barely any traffic at all and no sales. But when you consider the fact that I didn't pay anything to list there, I have nothing to lose. I only pay if I sell. You also get very few tags. This may be something they will change in the future, remember, this is only in beta mode right now. The other con is that 1000Markets doesn't do their money exchange through PayPal, you have to sign up for Amazon. I've never used them before, so this experience is new to me. If 1000Markets gains some momentum and I turn sales there like I do on Etsy, 1000Markets will certainly be my preferred online venue!
I do need to mention that I have accounts on DaWanda and ShopHandmade also. They have been there for about six months: barely any hits, no sales. Sure, it didn't cost anything to list on either site, but I took all my items out of the shops so I could stock Artfire and 1000Markets. Oh, a word of caution: If you sell one-of-a-kind items, don't list the same item in two shops. If it sells in both shops at the same time before you catch it, you will certainly be in a pickle. It's just bad business. Suck it up and make sure you have made enough items to stock all your shops. I'm not speaking from experience, but I certainly don't want to experience it, either!
I hope this has been helpful...now....get selling!
