One of the most popular ways to work-at-home today is to create your own products, but choosing the best places to sell your handmade goods can be a bit of a challenge. After all, there are so many options, how does one choose?
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as creating something yourself. Many people who create handmade items do it initially because they love it, but soon find it to be a viable business option as well.
From sewing and crocheting to painting and jewelry making, there are so many unique products out there today; there’s never been a better time to go into business for yourself. Particularly with the ability to market your business and sell online.
I hope to help you with this dilemma of where to sell your handmade goods. Some of these places you’ve likely heard of and some might be new to you. Either way, I hope this will help make your decision about where to sell your wares a bit easier.
1. Online Websites
In this day and age, selling online is where it’s at. You can reach a huge audience, and there are so many sites that it’s mind-boggling! Many of these sites have their own communities where the business owners shop from and help promote each other.
Here are some of the best places to sell your homemade goods online:
Etsy – One of the most popular, Etsy has helped many hobbyists turn into full-fledged business owners. Although Etsy does charge a listing fee ($0.20) and a 3.5% transaction fee and a payment processing fee (3% + $0.25), it’s still one of the largest – if not the largest site to sell your handmade goods. You’ll receive lots of traffic since there are already millions of shoppers on the site (24 million last year, to be exact!)
Shopify – You can try Shopify free for 14 days, no credit card required. They have e-commerce software that allows you to manage pretty much your entire business on one platform. From customizing an online store to managing inventory and tracking sales, you can do it all with Shopify. It’s a great option for small businesses (although it can handle large ones as well) because of its remarkable features and ease of setup.
Zibbet – With Zibbet, you can not only create your own store but also join their Global Marketplace. Their marketplace has more than 50,000 shop owners and gains you exposure to millions of shoppers all over the world. Some of the features Zibbet offers are no listing or selling fees, easy to set up and search engine optimization. If you’re already an Etsy seller, Zibbet will copy and paste all your items over for you, which I thought was neat as it will save a lot of time.
Storenvy – Over 52,000 brands use Storenvy, and the platform prides itself on working with Indie and emerging brands. The site easy to use, and allows you to set up a store in 5 minutes. It’s free to create a custom store, and you keep 100% of your sales (minus a small transaction fee). If you want to join the Storenvy Marketplace, it will cost you only 10% of your sales. This is a good option for beginners who can’t spend a lot of money on listing fees right out of the gate.
Big Commerce – You can get started selling your handmade goods right away with a free 15-day trial. But unlike some of the sites above, Big Commerce does charge a monthly fee that ranges from $29.95 and up depending on what you need for your business. One neat thing about Big Commerce is that it’s you can also sell on eBay, Amazon, and Facebook through their platform.
2. Craft Fairs
Craft fairs are a really fun way to sell your products. You get to meet people in person and show off your goods personally, which really has an advantage, especially if your product is one that might benefit from a demonstration. People do love to be hands-on and touch items as well before they buy (I know I do!).
Holidays are the most popular time to find craft fairs, but if you do a thorough search, you might be surprised to see that they are offered all year long. Many cities have festivals and fairs in the summertime where small business owners can rent a booth and sell their wares. And depending on your type of product, there are many specialty fairs throughout the country, featuring everything from art and sculptures to clothing and sewn products. If you do your research, I’m sure you’ll find fairs in your area.
3. Trunk Shows
If you make clothing, jewelry, handbags and the like, you might think about incorporating trunk shows into your selling routine. Sometimes called Home parties, they were made famous by direct sales companies like Tupperware and Stella and Dot. But the trunk shows of today are so much more than just selling products. They allow people to come together, socialize and have a good time while browsing your products. Some small business owners even bring wine and snacks for their customers to trunk shows, and encourage customers to try on clothing and jewelry before they buy.
4. Brick and Mortar Boutiques/Rented Space
Getting your handmade products into brick and mortar boutiques might be easier than you think. Look carefully at the shops you frequent, because they all get their goods from somewhere. You’ll have better luck with smaller local boutiques than big-name stores. Some boutiques will sell your items for free, then take a commission once they sell, while others charge a monthly fee for the space you use. I know in the town I live in, we have several shops that rent space to small business owners on a month to month basis, and a couple of them are comprised entirely of leased spaces. It’s definitely worth asking around to see what’s available in your area.
5. Local Markets
Last but not least, the good old Saturday/Local Market does really well for some folks. It’s a popular place for artists, jewelry makers, food vendors and more to sell their wares. A cool thing about local markets is the support system. Many towns are very pro buying local and encourage citizens to shop locally whenever possible. I sold at our local Saturday Market one year and had many great memories from that time. It not only helped me spread my wings business-wise, but I made new friends, some of which I still have to this day.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it! I hope this list of places to sell your handmade goods will be a help to you. Have any other ideas to add? Feel free to leave them in the comments below.
Is the site still open? I want to find a place for my sewn items. I would rather not get buried on Etsy or eBay.
Which one?
I just came across The Work At Home Woman website like 2 weeks ago, and I would like to Thank You for all your GOOD INFORMATIVE KNOWLEDGE!! This is by far one of the best websites I have stumbled on in a very long time! You do an amazing job finding and sharing all this wonderful information. I feel as though I am addicted to your website at the moment because I keep on reading one article and it leads to another and then another and more. I can’t get enough of your website! But thank you once again and believe me I am telling everyone I know about this website! I look forward to reading more of your articles and I want you to know your information has made the close of my 2018 so rewarding! Thanks and have a wonderfully blessed day!
Awww, thanks, Amber!
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the content. I also appreciate you spreading the word =)
What type of work are you looking for?
Holly, No problem on spreading the word! That is what we are suppose to do is help each other! I always share the good things I find! I am looking for a remote job. I live in Kansas, and I have been in customer service and sales management for 19 1/2 years. I recently lost my job well was laid off because the EPA came in and wanted the owner to get new fuel tanks underground and she did not want to put more money into her pumps because she said she would never turn a profit of the fuel then. I was manager and it was a Gas Station, Bait Shop and Sub Shop/Cafe all in one. I loved my job, I loved my co-workers, and my regulars! And now I am hunting for something new. I have a 3 year old daughter and I live in the country and would love to find a stay at home job making decent money in either Customer Service, Sales and Marketing, or maybe even being a researcher (which I have just learned recently from this site of yours), with that being said I think I would be a perfect fit for a researcher. Any suggestions?
How old is this post? Have you sold on any or all of these sites? What are the three top sites that worked out for you?
Hi Joy,
I’m not a crafter, so I haven’t used any of these sites personally. It depends on your business model.
If you want to try your hand at selling crafts online, I’d suggest Etsy, as you don’t have to pay anything upfront. But you also don’t own the website; you only have a storefront there. Zibbet and CraftStar are similar to Etsy.
Shopify is an e-commerce platform, but it requires a monthly fee as well as service fees on credit card payments. You own this as long as you pay your monthly fees.
Another way to do it would be to start a WordPress blog and use an e-commerce plugin like WooCommerce. Here is a step-by-step tutorial for starting a blog. https://www.theworkathomewoman.com/setup-blog/
As you can see, each platform has its own set of pros and cons. You just need to read through the terms to figure out which one is best for you.
For this blog, I use WordPress with a StudioPress theme.
Good luck!
I added my art to a lot of the top sites like redbubble and society6 but I’ve gotten the most success from blogging about my art. I do keyword research and and follow great seo strategies to form short 800 word blogs that get ranked in google and get seen by people searching for the keywords that I have in my blog. This is nothing new but just letting everyone know that it’s a method you should add to your tool box. You can take a look at a blog that I wrote about one of my paintings that is selling really well here.
https://smartworkdesigns.com/wine-art-paintings#more-642
Thanks for sharing, Don! I have to agree with you; blogging and SEO are excellent ways to build your business!
Don what platform do you use to blog on? I want to start a bog but I don’t know where to do it at.
WELL dear u are entirely fantastic! Thank you for being so informative.
I just need to find a list to get on just to sell holiday hand made goods at a local boutique so i can pay for a one time table.
I am located in woodland hills, ca
Thank you for any advice.
I would also say another great place to sell your handmade goods is an application called ADYOYO. It is a marketplace app the uses video instead of pictures so people can tell the size, shape, and exactly how your hand made good looks.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve not heard of that platform before.
adyoyo sells handmade items? All I could find were non-handmade items on there.
Awesome list thanks for putting it together :) my sales on zibbet have been a bit slow..but I’ve also found Kargow.com to be a really good place to sell! Good sales so far!
Thanks for sharing, Sarah! Keep us posted in Kargow works out for you.
very informative article, thank you
Glad you enjoyed the list, Carolyn.