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If you’re new to selling crafts online, Etsy is a great place to start. It requires very little investment and Etsy’s algorithms are designed to steer traffic to new shops.
But what about people who have been selling on Etsy for a while? Doesn’t Etsy reward loyalty?
That doesn’t always seem to be the case. Many Etsy shop owners are tired of the constantly changing fees and policies that negatively affect their shops. You can find forums with angry Etsy shop owners all over the internet. That being said… some Etsy shops do amazingly well and have never seen a drop in pageviews.
Etsy is the most popular place to sell crafts online, but it is also the most saturated market, especially if you’re trying to sell jewelry. Your products can easily get lost deep in Etsy’s search pages depending on your competition.
Is Etsy working for you? Many shop owners are still happy.
You might be angry at Etsy right now, but sometimes it’s better to wait and see what happens before jumping to a new platform to sell your handmade products. Let me help you decide whether to stay with Etsy or go.
Reasons to Stay with Etsy
Even if you can’t see it, there’s a reason why Etsy has become the leading platform for selling handmade products on the internet. You might not do any better by switching to a different selling platform.
Here are some reasons to stay with Etsy:
- You want to concentrate on making amazing handmade products instead of worrying about marketing or setting up a new shop.
- You prefer not to worry about web hosting and running your own ecommerce website.
- You like the networking opportunities and community support offered by Etsy.
- You like the free traffic offered to your shop through Etsy’s search engine.
- You like low product listing fees instead of a monthly membership fee. (Etsy only charges $0.20 per listing every four months.)
Reasons to Leave Etsy
Etsy has plenty of advantages and disadvantages. It’s not the best selling platform for everyone.
Here are some reasons to leave Etsy:
- You are seeing too much market saturation for the products you sell.
- You want to start working on brand recognition and building an audience.
- You have to constantly lower your prices to compete with lower quality Etsy shops.
- You want more control over your images and listings.
- You don’t like the shipping policies and fee structure at Etsy.
If this list has you convinced to leave Etsy, I’ve compiled a list of 32 alternative sites where you can sell handmade items. Many of them offer lower listing fees and transaction fees than Etsy. However, I really think you should just start your own website so you don’t have to deal with the limitations of any platform.
You need to decide what is best for your handmade business now and in the future.
Why You Need Your Own Website to Sell Your Crafts
I recommend you have your own website for your handmade business, whether you sell on Etsy or not. It gives you more control over your brand.
How many times have you heard someone say, “I got this on Etsy.” That means you have no brand recognition… at all. With your own website, you can get people talking about your business, and that means more repeat sales.
Bluehost is a highly recommended company for hosting an ecommerce website. You can get hosting for your website for as low as $3.95 per month! That includes a free domain name.
Creating a website isn’t as hard today as it was 10 years ago because of all the tools available to you. When you sign up for hosting, you can choose a website name (domain) and then design your website with the WordPress interface. You’ll just need to install the WooCommerce plugin to start selling.
Still scared? Bluehost will set everything up for you for $6.95 per month. Simply choose the WooCommerce plan or give them a call after you sign up for hosting. That’s a lower monthly cost than Shopify and you have a lot more customization options.
There’s no reason why you shouldn’t have your own website to sell your handmade items. If you ever get serious about making money from your handmade business, you’ll need a website of your own anyway. Even hobby sellers can have their own website for less than $10 per month.
What are you waiting for? Go get your domain name before someone takes it.
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