Today's
post is all about where to sell handmade jewelry online. We have found five
great marketplaces, described in detail below.
Jewelry
making is a popular hobby, with hundreds of thousands of devotees across the
globe, and a lot of crafty people with artistic inclinations make their jewelry
just for themselves, purely as a form of self expression with no other
ambitions.
But if
you've spent years honing your skills, why not take it a step further? Assuming
you're designs are cool enough, and you're willing to do a little market
research, you might be able to turn your hobby into a full-blown profession.
There are
dozens of websites out there these days where craftspeople and artists of all
types can easily put their creations up for sale, and legions of
customers who're just dying to buy handmade items.
Plenty of
artists have built good-paying careers in this niche, working out of their
homes, doing something that they love to do.
As long as
you have enough talent, and the patience to learn a little about marketing,
there's no reason why you shouldn't throw your hat into the ring and see if you
can join them.
There
might be thousands of customers out there who will happily pay big money for
your jewelry designs, but you'll never know if you don't give it a try.
In the
list below, we've assembled a few of the more popular online handmade crafts
marketplaces. Some of these have much bigger customer-bases than others, and
each site has it's own rules and quirks.
Before you
launch your own business in this field, you'll definitely want to do some
additional research and figure out exactly how to approach everything, but
these sites should serve as a good starting point for your investigation, and
give you a decent idea for how the business works.
Places To
Sell Handmade Jewelry Online
Etsy
This
company really deserves most of the credit for launching this whole industry.
They've been around longer than just about anybody, and they have a huge base
of customers who are clamoring to buy all kinds of handmade stuff, including
jewelry.
One of the
basic rules of business is to go where the customers are, and in the world of
handmade crafts, a whole lot of those customers are currently browsing Etsy.
To sell
your jewelry here, you have to pay a $0.20 listing fee for every item you put
up, but there are no transaction fees until after you record a sale.
Etsy's
shops have all the features you'll ever need, and there's a lot of information
available online about how Etsy works, which will make it easier for a beginner
to learn the ropes.
You'll
have to face a lot more competition here than on some of the lesser-known
sites, but this is one of the premier marketplaces, and you'd be crazy not to
at least give it a close look if you plan to sell handmade jewelry.
Go here to check out Etsy, or
read our Etsy review first.
Amazon
Handmade
Amazon added this crafts marketplace to their
store a few years ago, and like most things they launch, it didn't take long
for it to grow into something pretty huge.
To join
up, you'll have to go through an audit process where they check out your
products and make sure your skills are top-notch.
If you
pass muster and get an account, this barrier for entry could work in your
favor, since it means you won't have to deal with quite as many competitors as
you would in a wide-open marketplace.
But
remember, whatever competition you do face will likely be of
fairly high quality, so you'll need to bring your A-game.
As one
would probably expect from a big tech company like Amazon, their storefronts
have all the cutting-edge features a seller could ever ask for, and if you're
willing to shell out some cash, you can use their paid advertising system to
promote your business and start building a customer-base.
Amazon
charges a fifteen-percent referral fee on every sale, but it's free to set up
your Handmade store and there's no charge for listing items.
Go here to check
out Amazon Handmade, or read our Amazon Handmade review.
Shop
Handmade
The best
thing about this service is the price tag. It's one-hundred-percent free to set
up a shop, and there's no referral fee or commission on any items you sell.
Shop
Handmade isn't quite as well known as some of the bigger names, but their tools
are top notch.
They have
a well thought out category system that makes it easy to find the right spot
for your products, their system will automatically promote your products to the
right customers, and the initial setup for your storefront only takes about
five minutes.
RebelsMarket
This site
caters to edgy and rebellious styles, like punk rock, metal, and modern-day
rockabilly, so if your sensibilities are a little wilder than most, you might
find a happy home here for your Jewelry.
From the
sound of things, you'll have to go through an approval process to make sure
your designs are a good fit for their customers, but there are no upfront
transaction or setup fees at all. The only charge is a 15-percent commission on
each completed sale.
Artfire
This site
is fairly similar to Etsy in
many ways, but there are a few distinct differences. Unlike the other services
listed here, there is a monthly fee for sellers just to participate.
Artfire
has a range of plans starting at $4.95 per month, and topping out at $40 per
month. If you decide to start with the low-end plan, there are additional
listing fees, and other inconveniences.
Those who
go for the $40 package get to list items for free and are given more shop-wide
exposure. Reading between the lines, it looks like the cheap plan is mostly
just useful for giving the site a test-run.
Those who
want to put a lot of time into this marketplace will probably need to shell out
the additional cash for the premium membership.
Artfire
has a few interesting promotional tools, including the ability to automatically
share your products on social media, and they have strong community features
which make it easy to connect with other artists and learn more about selling
your designs.
The list
above is just the tip of the iceberg in this niche, and there are new handmade
markets popping up every year.
If you
know of any other cool sites to sell handmade jewelry and
other craft items, please tell us about them in the comments section
below. We're always looking for new suggestions.
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