Etsy Alternative #13 - Cargoh

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely
handcrafted goods. Today's feature is the marketplace Cargoh

Tagline: Social marketplace for independent art, design and culture

Company information: Based on Vancouver, BC, Canada and the creation of Paul & Cariann Burger with 2 FT and 5 PT employees. As of 10/1/10, Cargoh lists 4 thousand items from 425 stores. International.

Items that can be sold: Cargoh does not specify handmade but defines acceptable products as “an eclectic collection of well designed goods in a balanced marketplace." They specifically do not accept resale items or supplies. (They've taken down the FAQ to update them, but here are the Terms of Use)

Who can sell: Cargoh started out accepting all sellers but now prescreens applications by a criteria listed on their Sell Page: Great Design, Great Photos, Know Who You Are. Some sellers who set up shops before prescreening went into effect were "un-accepted" by the site and notified by email a couple of weeks ago.

Cost: No listing fees, 3.5% sales transaction fee, door open to future monthly subscription fee.

Front Page Features: Thumbnails of products fill the top of the front page and are accessed as “All” “Newest” and “Most Popular". The bottom of the front page includes a Featured Seller, and Things We Love (which is the same feature in their blog) which are selected by the site owners. There's also an official Cargoh store (sound familiar?)

Storefront: Products and pictures are loaded on a one page template, the 2nd page lets the seller assign a SKU and inventory level. Listings can be either “activate” or “inactive” and appear on the Seller Dashboard in 2 distinct sections only while in Editing Mode. To view traffic to your store, the inactive and active items are listed together. Categories and Tags are being redefined and added as the site adds more sellers and product listings.

Features/Seller Tools: Banner, Avatar, store policies, Shipping Templates, Unlimited listings & photos, inventory control, and Google Analytics. Your store can be integrated with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media outlets. You can also add video and music.
Once you list your item for the first time, it goes to the front of the queue when viewers access products by Category from the main Search function and as a Front Page feaure under "Newest".

Payment Processors: Paypal

Community: Blog with a site-selected promo section, news and help, plus an opt-in Newsletter. The site also has an Events section accessed from top menu where members can list events using a same-page template on the right hand side of the page.

Customer Service: email only, but they usually respond within a couple of hours. They have a Twitter and Facebook page also.

Impressions from The Funny One: I've used the site every day for 2 months. Navigation for sellers around the site is still fairly awkward and inefficient, especially when you need to edit listings or any other sections of the store. You have to keep going up to the top of the page to click on "Dashboard" to return back to the editing section of your store.

There is currently no function for rearranging items in your shop so the most recently listed items appear last (instead of first).

Your product photos in your storefront are cropped in an odd way, which doesn't allow a full thumbnail view, you have to click on each item to see the first full image. They also have a SALE designation on the listing template, but if you pick that, a big red slash labeled "SALE" shows up and obscures the initial thumbnail.

While the site is still working out exactly how it wants to present itself, their Front Page looks like most other sites for this kind of marketplace format, and the 2 Promo Boxes are standard and selected by the site owners. Sellers don’t currently have any access to within-site ads or promotions. Links to FB and Twitter are offered now on most marketplace sites, so those features are nothing new.

A recent article about the site in AuctionBytes noted in an interview with the Burgers that Cargoh is making a concerted effort to differentiate itself from Etsy, which it sees as “female and craft centered”, by focusing on the indie market. What this actually means isn’t clear. However, it is what new sites are trying to address — to appeal to and attract sellers who want to find an alternative to Etsy because of Etsy’s size which just hit 7 million listings and a flood of changes that don't seem to have much logic & have dramatically and negatively affected many sellers’ ability to attract traffic and sales.

There's no doubt that there are plenty of sellers to fill the pages of the new Cargoh.com, but only time will tell whether or not they are able to define and find the right shopping audience AND come up with the right mix of seller-tools that work. Since we have 6 years of experience with marketplace sites, what sellers need is well-known; sites that don't address this may ultimately not be able to recruit enough sellers to achieve financial viablility which results from their ability to drive traffic and sales.

Right now, there are too many similarities to other sites to make it stand out as something new for sellers looking for a better marketplace model. The big plus is that they prescreen their sellers which may give them a leg up as they further define themselves and try to stand out from the crowd of all-too-similar marketplace sites.

It's a perfect time to figure out whether or not a new site can attract traffic and sales because we're fast approaching the holiday season for retail. Sellers who are accepted at Cargoh.com may find traffic and sales success that are now out of reach on Etsy. Listings are free, so if you make it through the approval process, it's certainly worth a try.

Etsy Alternatives Update

From time to time we've done reviews of Etsy alternatives - we haven't had any in awhile because it seems that once we find one it disappears or is greatly disappointing. It's not much of an alternative if it has security issues, like we found efreeme does. A site should have a seller login to list items and not have the"edit this listing" link visible to everyone who visits the page - jus' saying'.

A somewhat disappointing note in handmade is an update to the Etsy alternative 1000Markets. This site was juried to ensure handmade products (see previous review) - but it's been bought by Bonanzle. Now, many handmade people like Bonanzle, but it isn't a handmade only place though they cater to non-mass produced stuff. Also, they are changing their name to Bonanza (if you're a seller on 1000markets, see what you have to do for the switch here). We haven't reviewed the site yet, but with a million dollar infusion a couple months ago and the purchase of one of the few juried handmade sites out there, we'll be doing one. Feel free to comment with your thoughts on your experience with the site and what impact changing the name of the site may have on sellers there.

In the past year or two a number of handmade venues have closed (mintd to name one), it is nice to see one get acquired instead. In contrast, though, Artfire has been growing exponentially - in regards to features, sales, and traffic - and is leaving beta (the look of the site has also been completely redone). This is one alternative that does not seem to be going away. For those interested, many have mentioned in our comments that they are offering a $5.95/mo group deal - if 20,000 people signup, the deal goes into effect. If you're interested in this alternative the information is here. Our original review is here, and a previous update that included previous changes at Artfire is here.

EDIT: UPDATE, Today Artfire announced that anyone who signs up before 12:00 noon PST on 10/01/10 WILL get the $5.95 price. If you were one of the many saying they were waiting to see if it was going through, it is.


Silkfair has also added some functionality, including personalized shop blog, forum, and video capabilities. The homepage also now pushes "the extraordinary" - handmade, vintage, antiques, collectibles - but the site is still open to any items despite the change in look. This change does address some of the "garage sale" comments that have been made about the homepage of that site. Our originial review is here.

If you have suggestions on Etsy alternatives we should review, leave a comment or send me an email etsyanon.righteous@gmail.com I am also open to looking into any updates to Etsy alternatives we've already reviewed in order to help you make the best decisions for your business.

Etsy Alternatives - Beta Test Opportunity

I received an email from the jewelry designer behind a new handmade marketplace shop builder - WickedPlumShops. They are currently open to beta testers to setup shop using the ecommerce platform they built after being dissatisfied with Etsy.

"...the available ecommerce options still stink, especially for small crafters and non-techs, and Etsy is still the faustian compromise a lot of people make when they want to sell their crafts and products online. We're trying to fix that with the recent launch of Wicked Plum Shops. The same technology that runs the Sweet Tarragon shop is available to everyone now, for a reasonable monthly fee. We've built the whole thing so that the whole process is as simple as we could possibly make it, while still maintaining an attractive, SEO-friendly shop front, decent inventory tracking and secure, inexpensive payment processing (via Mal's Ecommerce)."

We haven't tried out the site yet (it appears to be a handmade alternative to BigCartel with a one-on-one component of shop setup), but wanted to make sure you all knew about it. There is a fee, which is laid out on their pricing page. The next round of beta testers will be $11.99/month on a month-to-month basis.

"Being a beta user also means that you’ll spend a bit of time in our queue. Right now, we’re adding sites on a first-come, first-served basis, so you may need to wait a few weeks before your site is ready for the world. You pay nothing until we’re ready to work on your site, and we’ll always let you know where you stand."

For full disclosure about who the people are behind the site, they provide the same information on their about page that they provided me.

If you decide to try it out, send me an email and let me know what you think so we can offer a more extensive review. If you're interested but not sure you want to beta test, they do have a mailing list for you to receive information when they plan a public release.

Etsy Alternative #12 - ShopHandmade

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up - ShopHandmade.

Tagline: Rewarding creativity

Company information: Big on environmentalism, the site was started as an off-shoot of a large craft retailer (though they don’t specify who). Founded by Dave Kovanen, a character a lot like a red-headed fellow we all know. See their own description.

Storefront: Not very customizable, mostly ads to other sites crowding out the items and store description, no policy pages (all information is squished on the sidebar between the items and the ads)

Cost: Free but with company sponsorship on your listing pages (you choose which company), no monthly fee or commission (unless you choose to pay a commission)

Features: Galleries (like Etsy showcases) and “Top-up listings” can be purchased, donate to rainforest protection when an item sells (optional), remove company sponsorship of listings by paying to list, edit directly from the listing page, relevance-based search similar to Google, News/blog (hasn’t been updated in a year)

Payment: Paypal integrated for purchases from shops (any promotion-based charges can be paid by Paypal)

Community: None other than seller feedback system and “high-fives” (short product reviews), no feedback left about buyers

Customer service: email, snail mail address, limited hours phone line

Items that can be sold: Handmade only, but you can destash used but still usable supplies in “re-supplies”, services specific to the crafting process

General impressions: Somewhat difficult to navigate tabs depending on the browser used, and the choose a commission aspect is a bit passive-aggressive. The buying options are a bit confusing for new buyers also.

In addition, the seller panel to view currently listed items is buggy and not easy to use, and the listing process is not any better than Etsy (actually, it’s worse). Overall, the site doesn’t come across as very professional, though they touted increased traffic (in 2008!) and have stuck to their mission since their inception (environment = good, handmade = good, listing fees = optional).

Not a good review, I know, but it’s a free alternative to mind games.

Let's talk shopping!

This busy shopping season you may be looking for handmade, but not know where to turn for handmade items other than Etsy when their checkout acts up or the site goes down. Well, we've compiled a list below of handmade venues, and though there are many other sites where your favorite handmade seller may setup shop, these sites are where you can browse for new sellers and handmade specifically.

1000Markets
Artfire
Coriandr
Dawanda
Folksy
iCraft
Mintd (the site is closing, but there are still sellers there at the moment)
MyEHive
Shophandmade
Silkfair - Handmade (specific section of the site as linked)
TrendyIndie
Winkelf
Zibbet

Madeitmyself

Do you sell on a handmade venue that isn't listed? We'll add to the list!

You may have noticed that our Etsy Alternatives series stalled...well, we have to be able to experience the sites to give you a good review, and it isn't easy shifting items to a new site every month. But don't despair, we'll be back with a new review (shophandmade) after the first of the year!

An offer from Zibbet for EB readers

The CEO of Zibbet has extended an offer to EtsyBitch readers.

Zibbet recently launched a new structure that includes Premium Shops, and they are offering EB readers a FREE 7-day trial of the Premium Account. All you need to do is enter the following coupon code when registering for a Premium Account: ETSYBITCH

There are still Basic shops available. For more information about the two participation levels, and a tour video of Premium Account features click here

We previously spotlighted Zibbet in our alternatives series.

Etsy Alternative #11 - Zibbet

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up - Zibbet.

Tagline: Live Handmade

Company information: Two guys from Australia, beta site launched February 2009 – Zibbet Pty Ltd.

Storefront: Store URL is zibbet.com/username. Customization includes banner, avatar, shop announcement, and favorite items. Looks similar to Etsy. Product picture is the focal point of the listings. They have the same linking policy as Etsy in regards to linking to your other shops elsewhere.

Cost: No listing fee, 7.5% commission on sales price (not including shipping). Or join referral program to pay 5% commission. Billed monthly, listings expire after 90 days. Edit 7/27/09 new policies at Zibbet - Free shops, max 15 items, no listing or sale fee. Premium shops $7 a month, unlimited listings, no listing or sale fee, new and extra perks. Read more at their blog.

Features: Item and shop view stats; list unlimited items in your shop; showroom (their version of the front page Showcase, on-site advertising); wish lists and favorites; shop by search, categories, username, or location. The search works within categories and can break down by cost or color. Flagging system. Promote the site or your shop with premade banners.

More information in their FAQ

Payment: Paypal for under US$5000, Zibbet acts as a third-party mediary via direct bank transfer for larger payments to protect the buyer. Prices are clearly in USD.

Community: Feedback system, their blog, internal messaging system.

Customer service: Onsite help ticket, social messaging systems like Twitter

Items that can be sold: Handmade, Fine art, Vintage, and Craft supplies. Read here for more information on their categories

General impressions: The layout and design is simple, but listings are somewhat busy with the upper right sidebar. The green color is also not beneficial for some shops and the Zibbet ‘brand’ is evident within the shops and listings, the seller’s info is pushed down the page.

Shop’s policy link in the listings is nice, but the lack of in-shop categories and search is evident when attempting to shop, as well as the lack of search when browsing other parts of the site, you have to click ‘buy’ then ‘search’ every time

The site is in beta, but free unless something sells, so there’s nothing but time to lose if trying it out.

Overall, it feels like they are attempting to recreate Etsy without the social aspect, and they admit the concept was developed in 2007 (Etsy has been around since 2005).

Silkfair Discount Code for EB Readers

A representative of Silkfair has passed along a discount code for us to offer you, our readers, to try out their new custom shops. The details are:

Free trial of custom shops for the first two weeks
$9.99 per month for the first six months following the free-trial period
$24.99 per month thereafter
Enter the promo code etsybitch1
*Promotion is valid for one month from date of post - August 15, 2009 (Edit July 17: Silkfair has extended the offer to the end of September)

Any questions about or problems redeeming the code or working with the site can be directed to support@silkfair.com or teams@silkfair.com

We previously reviewed silkfair in our Etsy alternatives series. They have since released the custom shop option. A basic shop on the site is still free, but lacks the customizable features.

Etsy Alternatives Update

We've noticed several changes occurring with some sites we've addressed as Etsy alternatives. So we wanted to make sure you were kept abreast of some of these things.

First off, there was a great conversation going on with a rep from Silkfair in the comments section of one of our latest features. It looks like this venue is open to discussion and suggestions, and they admit it is likely more appropriate for a certain subset of sellers. This is something to take into consideration - what will work for you and your business? The site also recently released fully customizable shops for subscribing members (the paid shops), including eliminating the Silkfair menu from the top of the page.

Mintd was a venue we reviewed in November. Unfortunately, the site is still extremely buggy and there are many people left hanging in regards to billing issues as they are attempting to rebill accounts (according to some members). Dawanda also now has fees that were retroactively collected (not everyone is happy about this), but they are keeping up with retail holidays and promoting their features via email newsletters. eCrater, one of our first reviews, has adjusted the look of their shop template, which allows for less freedom to feature categories on your own front page (you have to have at least 5 categories in order to have this option now). But they do have a fully integrated shipping calculator now - though there isn't a way to add handling charges.

The most encouraging improvements in recent months (well, weeks and days actually) are the adjustments Artfire has been making. The site has been actively following up with members to improve the site, including redesigning artisan studios, categories, and the front page.

Verified Artfire sellers can now fully customize the color and layout of their shops, including the Artfire menu at the top of the page to coordinate with their brand. Three banner sizes can be chosen from, to see examples, there is a Flickr group dedicated to sellers showing off their Fusion Studios, and the number of items per row and whether categories are shown can be chosen as well. The customized shop categories also now have their own URL's for directing buyers. The front page of Artfire has also been completely redesigned, even the colors, to match the new shop designs. We've been told that they are still making some minor adjustments based on member feedback.

The site has also re-opened their free ride program and discounted monthly memberships! They also now have a RapidCart widget to sell directly from your own website using Artfire as your shopping cart and listing software. This is a great alternative if you are having trouble coding your own site for item listings, shopping carts, and paypal integration.

The Forge (like Alchemy) is also now actively going on the Artfire site, though they are still adjusting it; they now have item quantity capabilities in the shops; they've enhanced the search to be faster and to include within shop searching; and they've added featured studio spots to the categories for on site advertising. In addition, Artfire is hiring editors and columnists for their blog from the community (separate from their administration).

Overall, Artfire is still looking like it's the site to give Etsy a run for it's money. They've teamed up with an internet radio station to have a weekly radio show about handmade, collaborated to create VoteHandmade for handmade items to be showcased for free, and been actively changing their site to meet their customers' demands. It's almost unbelievable how much progress they've made since our review - and they still say they're in beta! So there is likely much more to come, which will be great news for the world outside of Etsy.

Etsy Alternative #10 - Coriandr

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up - Coriandr.

Tagline: No tagline

Company information: An ecommerce site from Mookle Studios Limited, developed in September 2008 as competition for Etsy. They have a blog.

Storefront: Has an RSS feed, upload your banner and av, add your announcement and categories, your items are in gallery view. The Coriandr toolbar always on top. Prices of listings are in British pounds.

Cost: 20p listing fee plus 2.5% commission on sales (plus Paypal fees if you use that), billed every month, but there is no credit card on file to be a seller.

Features: Blog widget called “Coriandr seedlings (just add website to grow)”, no expiration of listings, like other sites you get your own shop address. They’re currently working on item comments, front page curation by members, and faster search.
They just added order communication via a convo system and email provided after purchase. Drag and drop shop arrangement. You can search within categories.

Payment: Fully integrated with Paypal, but you can offer other options.

Community: Forum, purchase feedback system, favorite items or sellers

Customer service: Forum, Feedback form with bug report linked at the bottom of the pages.

Items that can be sold: Anything handmade and creative (i.e. art supplies), but only these things.

General impressions: It’s a lot like Etsy with the grassroots approach and “promote us!”, but they’re more lenient about the use of their brand.

The front page is unattractive and the design has much to be desired. There is also a limited amount of company information provided, there is no information about the administration, developers, or designers, making it faceless, and there’s no contact email.

It is also a relatively new site, but the basic ecommerce components (like communication between buyer and seller) are slow to be introduced. It says that shops are customizable, but they aren’t. Every store looks like the Coriandr front page, just with their own banner and avatar on white.

Has anyone used the site as a seller or buyer? What did you think?

Etsy Alternative #9 - Silkfair

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up –Silkfair.

We had been asked several times to include a review of this site, but we were hesitant because it is more of an eBay alternative as they allow all items, and the front page of the site looks like a yard sale. But it is a free alternative to setting up your own shop, so we’ve spent time with the site to provide you an analysis.

Tagline: Makes buying & selling fun and easy

Company information: It's an LLC.

At Silkfair we aim to be the premier e-commerce site for users to buy and sell their goods online. We are always looking to innovate and provide more great features and tools to our users.

Storefront: Choose what order listings occur in (most recent, oldest), viewers can choose gallery or list, choose whether you want featured items or not. Your own banner and avatar. There is quite a bit of external Silkfair graphics, but you start to tune it out.

Cost: 3% final value fee, no cost to list but you choose how long the listing will be up (120 days default)

Features: Silkfair considers itself to still be in beta and are taking suggestions for category expansions. There is a shop window like widget to show off your shop on your blog or website, a single page listing process, up to 4 photos and/or 2 videos per listing (currently free), no listing or setup cost, set your currency in each listing, shipping and pricing profiles, tax profiles in each listing, many options to choose from to categorize an item and have it found, one page dropdown custom shop category sorting for all items, bulk editing and presets for all listings – it takes a little time to learn what everything is and then it’s simple to just use the options you need on the listing page (depending on what you sell). Upload your items to Google Base via a link on the account page.

Payment: Fully integrated with Paypal and Google Checkout, has a check box for RME and other cash options so your buyers can use whatever you feel comfortable with.

Community: Feedback and favorite system; forums; member blogs

Customer service: A number of email addresses for different queries, twitter and facebook contact, mailing address all available from their contact page. Does anyone have any experience with Silkfair CS that they can share?

Items that can be sold: Anything except those that are illegally prohibited, including copyrighted items as your own. Mature items are allowed, though there’s a checkbox when listing to allow buyers to sort them out if they wish.

General impressions: There’s a learning curve for listing and setting up shop, but it’s a nice alternative to moving back to eBay. It’s not a handmade environment, though those listings are favored on the front page sidebar. If you only want to pay when you’ve sold something, then Silkfair is an option. You’ll have your own address (username.silkfair.com) to promote, but buyers may easily escape to other parts of the site, though not as easily as they would on Etsy.

Find out more in the FAQs

Etsy Alternative #8 - WiNKELF

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up – WiNKELF.

Tagline: Handmade by Thems-Elves.

Company information: Created by a former Ebay “boutique designer.”

Storefront:

“WinkElf is a community of boutique buyers and sellers with a love for all things handmade. Public forums and private groups are available for members to meet, greet and play”

Cost: 2.5% sales commission, not other fees for Basic Shops. Upgrade to front page exposure for “less than a quarter.” All-inclusive featured boutiques are $5 a month.

Features: The shop and go widget: fully functional shopping cart and listing showcase that can be placed on any website you have access to. Search includes by seller or item number options. Integrated social bookmarks, get your own winkelf.com email address, add your own SEO meta-tags if you like, digital listing downloads, and RSVP system for custom requests. For a longer and more detailed list, you can visit their Squidoo lens or FAQ. The forums mention Google Analytics, but there’s no mention of it via the site information or tutorials.

Payment: Integrated with Paypal, but allows sellers to accept different payment types through “direct payment” option. No information on how the bill to the site is paid by sellers.

Community: They’re on twitter. They also have forums, chat, groups, teams (some based on Javascript, which may limit some users). The forums are set up like Etsy’s, only messier.

Customer service: Mailing address, phone, and email contact form all available at one page.

Items that can be sold: They focus on handmade, but also allow supplies and some exceptions to the rule, which have to be listed in a custom store category and not in a site-wide category. No mature items are allowed.

“Everyone is welcome, there are no waiting lists or membership committees to apply to. Registration is free and does not require a credit card. To ensure the safety of our neighborhoods, every member is periodically email and/or telephone verified at no cost to our members.”

General impressions: The sidebars and main page are a little overwhelming. Being used to Etsy may make it easier, but new buyers in general may have sensory overload and not know where to go. The situation with buyers wandering off from the shop when they enter through the shop URL is present with this site as well, in store navigation is not clear.
The listings look like Ebay listings, which may be disconcerting for artists. The idea of the shops being “boutiques” is a bit of a stretch. It is a cheap alternative to ebay stores though with less organization.

Overall, it’s not the easiest site to navigate nor is it the most efficient site design aesthetically. It also, according to Alexa page rankings, has very little traffic (not even in the top 100,000 sites), which hasn’t changed over the course of the past several months to year. It also has only a 1/10 Google ranking. Compare that to Etsy: Alexa 708 and rising, Google 7/10; Artfire: Alexa 36,991 and rising, Google 4/10; Ebay: Alexa 20 and decreasing, Google 8/10.

However, if you have your own domain, their shop and go widget may be the solution to installing a shopping cart and trying to setup listings on your own!

Can anyone share experiences as buyers and/or sellers?

Etsy Alternative #7 - iCraft

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up - iCraft.

Tagline: Where creative minds mingle.

Company information: The iCraft site is a division of ArtMyriad Inc. The venue is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Storefront: Creator galleries featuring items, similar listing format as Etsy (in that it’s a listing for sale with description, price, etc.). Items are up until removed. All submitted listings are reviewed for quality and adherence to guidelines.

Cost: $25.00 CAD registration fee to create an exhibit (need credit card on file with them). List up to 5 items for free. Monthly subscription for more than 5 items varies from $5.00 CAD to $35.00 CAD for up to 100 items ($0.50 CAD per item over 100 items, read below for information on interchangeability). No commission on any sales.

Features: Advanced Search! RSS feeds conveniently located on one page, and they feed them to their own twitter. 6 images per listing, unique URL for your shop (http://icraft.ca/yourshopname). Do custom work via the “contact creator” link in your gallery. Items are interchangeable, being on a subscription for up to 15 items means that item 15 can be changed out for a different item at no additional cost, as long as only 15 items are displayed (from how we understand it. Read more on their site.) Referral program for free subscriptions. Email notifications of sales and payment, buyers have to register. List in your own currency (AUD, CAD, USD, GBP, EUR).

Payment: Integrated with Paypal, but it is up to the seller’s discretion, including accepting cheques.

Community: Forums, articles, events calendar…see their community pages here.

Customer service: Twitter responsive, online form for tech support that they try to answer within 2 days and is separate from their other departments (advertising, media, editorial).

Items that can be sold: you must be the creator of the item and no edibles or used items

“original, one-of-a-kind art, craft and fashion pieces from independent talented Creators from around the globe”

General impressions: Sophisticated, clean, streamlined look. However, the Creator exhibits (i.e. shops) have too much announcement space that pushes the items for sale to the bottom of the page, invisible without scrolling in the browser. Also, Google ads appear in the shops, at the bottom, but still distracting. These of course are subjective observations.

The categories seem somewhat limited, though they do adhere to the all handmade idea and this is reflected in the subcategories, which are sortable by price, color, and currency. Nice from a buyer’s perspective.

What have your experiences been with this venue?

Etsy Alternative #6 - 1000 Markets

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up, one you've been asking for – 1000 markets!

NOTE: 1000markets is for U.S. sellers only because they only allow Amazon payments. This is not stated explicitly in their sign up and has left many people disappointed and frustrated. If you’re not in the U.S., this venue isn’t for you (sorry).

Tagline: In the forums it says “Powering the New Artisan Economy”

Company information: 1000 markets is a juried U.S.-based marketplace that allows independently owned artisan shops to take up residence in their online mall. It was founded by Matt Trifiro, who sounds a bit like another venue-founder we know. Though, unlike his counterpart, we hear that the staff Matt brought on is responsive and knowledgeable.

Storefront: The venue front page is extremely clean and rotates featured sellers three at a time. The actual storefronts are more organized than Etsy. There are tabs at top for home, products, policies, and the seller’s blog.

Cost: Free to open a shop and list. Commission upon sale is 5.5% + 50 cents.

Features: It’s a juried site, so no resellers or non-artisans allowed, even on the weekends – or unless they have express permission from the site administrators and artists they sell. The look is streamlined and sophisticated. Each shop can designate its own categories with highlighted items on the shop home page. The shopping cart was recently changed to apply fixes to problems that sellers complained about. Those who use the site like the seller interface.

Your portrait, banner, product photos and descriptions must be clean, accurate, and reflect the high quality standards of 1000 Markets.

Payment: They process through Amazon payments, which is U.S. only and somewhat limiting (If this is wrong or there’s a way around it please tell us so the disappointed international artisans can sign up). You get paid right away just like Paypal, but the venue takes its cut immediately, so no monthly bill. There is no Amazon fee beyond the venue’s cut.

Community: They have a community page and forums. The community highlights seller blog posts, recommended blogs, the founder’s blog, and where sellers have recently been featured – magazine, press, and the like. The forums have subtabs to the administrators’ blog that includes information on upcoming features, expected changes, and solutions. The main issue seen in the forums are issues with Amazon. One of the admins is also an Etsy seller who has not been doused in cupcake frosting, which bodes well for them nipping any problems.

Customer service: They are very responsive, present in the forums, on their own blogs, and via three different email accounts. The email addresses are provided on their About page.

Items that can be sold: Handmade via their definition

1000 Markets is a venue for independently-owned artisanal businesses. An artisanal business is defined as a business that makes or intends to make a substantial portion of its income from specialty products created in small quantities, often using traditional, time-consuming, or handcraft techniques. Artisanal products are not mass produced, nor are they mass distributed.

Shop approval is through an application.

General impressions: A lack of marketing may lead to a continued buyer slump, since the site appears to have difficulty attracting viewers, and thus buyers.

It may take away some business from etsy. It's a well curated environment and its not admin driven. the shops display randomly

Their lack of flexibility with payments accepted from buyers limits the customer base for sellers. It also closes the door on international artisans and their customers.

However, it appears to be a viable choice for U.S artisans.

Etsy Alternative #5 - Artfire

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up is a venue we here at Etsy Bitch are actually pretty excited about. Why? Because the people working on it actually listen! There have been a number of issues that new registrants or members have had and they've gone in and fixed them, or added a feature they needed. The site is still in beta, but it's not an insolent teenager like another site we know. Let's talk about Artfire!

Tagline: Sell without fees, Create without limits

Company information: It's being developed by about 8 people in the U.S., the main person you'll probably interact with is Tony, the VP who handles a lot of the customer interaction. Also, one of the people they brought on board is actually an Etsy seller who has over a decade of design experience - they wanted the best for their ad campaigns (yep, they advertise! several million dollars worth actually).

The following sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Art Fire is your online interactive community provided and sponsored by over 25 of the internet's premier suppliers and importers of craft and art products. Art Fire was built as a marketplace for artisans to buy, sell, and interact with a focus on fostering a venue that celebrates handmade unique items. Art Fire is absolutely free for buyers and sellers and is paid for and sponsored by the site affiliates making us a truly FREE TRADE ZONE for all users, yep, no starving artists here! Finally, Art Fire is a place where artisans can prosper and grow their business and connect with likeminded members.

Storefront: Very similar to Etsy - your own banner, your own av, your own categories (unlimited), your own featured items, your own announcement and profile, even your own layout choice (currently limited to 2 gallery or list-type options), and all accounts get a unique web address (i.e. username.artfire.com).

Cost: There are two levels - free and verified. Verified members have unlimited listing with no fees, but it costs per month. Right now, if you sign up for a verified account, you'll have a bill of $7/month for life (it's normally $20). They are also having a "recruit 10 people to sign up and you get a free ride" - that's right, refer 10 people by the end of the month and you get the unlimited account for free, forever. Free, basic accounts have a 10 item limit at any given time. Listings are good for 120 days (4 months).

Features: Stats for verified members; the site is designed for your Etsy graphics to fit (no need to remake your banner); link back to your Etsy shop, they don't block outbound links; one click relist, bulk deactivate mode; view prices in any currency; vacation mode; integrated with paypal; the Forge (their version of alchemy); 10 pictures per premier listing/4 per free listing; one page listing process; sales mode coming soon, but there's a scheduled markdown manager for each listing; shipping profiles; opt in/out for allowing offers to be made on your items - read more for yourself and what's to come.

Receive Payment: Integrated with Paypal, Google Checkout, and Revolution Money Exchange (RME). Also have check, money order, and other as options.

Community: Forums, eventually member blogs, favoriting features, internal messaging system, teams/guilds for premier members coming soon, automated flagging system.

Customer service: Available in the forums, on twitter, and by email/contact form. There is also a separate "report a bug" form.

Items that can be sold: Three categories - Handmade/Fine art, Supplies/Vintage, and Design/Media. All represented on the sidebar and main page.

General impressions: The listing process is a breeze. Yes, the site is buggy at times, but it's in beta and worth checking out. Many improvements have been made in the past month or two alone based on user feedback. Now is definitely the time to check them out so a decision can be made about going verified before the promotion ends.

The folks at Artfire are pretty adamant about not making Etsy's mistakes, and we know they read this blog and take notes. We think this venue could really give Etsy a run for its money, and we're not alone.

Etsy alternative #4 - DaWanda

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods.Next up - DaWanda!

Tagline: Products with love

Company Information: DaWanda means “one of a kind” in African according to the site, which just celebrated its 2nd birthday. They boast 25,000 sellers, 200,000 buyers, and 400,000 items in over 400 categories. They recently completely revamped their category scheme based on user input. They have 2 founders plus 12 current co-workers. The site also exists in German and French, with the English version in the UK being the baby of the bunch.

Storefront: Much like Etsy, one shop among many in the venue, with your own web address, policies, favorites, etc.

Cost: No cost to list or setup, 5% commission of sale price (does not include shipping)
As of July 2008:

We guarantee that we will inform you about such fees at least 4 weeks in advance and that you can decide wether you are willing to pay such fees or not. You can thus test DaWanda without any risk until at least January 01, 2009.

When a user buys something from you, (s)he needs to settle the payment within 7 days after the purchase date. When your commission fee reaches a certain amount i.e €5, we will start sending you monthly invoices. We will send you an invoice 14 days prior to charging you commission. Comission will be charged on the 15th of the following month after an item has been sold. You have thus time to check our invoice and to notify us prior if anything is wrong. We will send you a corrected invoice before collecting the money.

Features: Timed vacation mode, organize your pinboards (favorites), participate in site wide promotions like the Advent calendar. Bulk deactivate, international venue, confirm sales so you can deny a buyer, pick your own colors to identify the item in their color picker shopping tool, basic stats, individual shop categories as well as site-wide categories, unlimited listing life, 4 images per listing.

Payment: In Euros.

Payment methods vary from seller to seller, bank transfers are one of the most common methods of payment across Europe however please be aware that sellers in certain countries (i.e. US, Thailand etc) cannot work with bank transfers and usually accept payments via PayPal. Please check carefully the accepted payment methods as described in the sellers’ shops

Community: There is a forum and a blog

Customer Service: Phone number, email, feedback form - all linked from the bottom of the pages.

Items that can be sold: Anything handmade, customized, tailored, unique. There IS a flagging system in place. You must be over the age of 18. Vintage items must apply for approval prior to listing (20 years or older is verified).

General Impressions: The pages tend to be a bit cluttered, lots of different links to click to do things, and they’re a bit redundant. This is a great alternative for UK sellers or those who want to list in languages other than English to gain customers.

Update on Etsy Alternative

We want to make sure that the information we provide is as thorough as possible. In this regard, here are some more details on eCrater, the free webshop builder we profiled last month.

This site keeps adding new things, one of which is an integrated shipping calculator you can enable rather than creating a shipping matrix.

Don't forget Google Analytics! Even though you can't use HTML, you can insert the GA code. Why can't Etsy do this???90% of my hits are from Google, I don't think anyone shops eCrater as a mall venue, except maybe other sellers. I've had several shops on eCrater for about 2 years. Sales aren't great, but it's a good parking place for your stuff if you don't have a website.Another pro: Your eCrater listings show up very high in Google searches.

Also, the inventory control prevents non-paying buyers from removing the items from your shop. Let's say they click Google checkout, but the credit card doesn't work - the item is still available for someone else.

Of course there are glitches at times, but some of these things are what we've been asking for from Etsy for a long time. Someone else can do it...why can't they?

Etsy Alternative #3 - Mintd

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods. Next up, Mintd!

Company Information: Mintd is an Australian site run by Colossus Technologies and began in early 2007.

Storefront: The site is similar to Etsy, a shop hosting service where you can setup a store among many other shops. The front page is a collage of store banners.

Cost: There is no fee to setup a store, but there is more customization available for higher (yearly) subscription levels. Commission also varies based on subscription level, but ranges from 3-5%.

The more you pay the more items you can sell per year: free (10 item limit), $20 per year (25 item limit), $50 per year (50 item limit), $100 per year (250 item limit). A comparison is available here.

Features: Lookbooks to earn site points and “interestingness”, shop customization and URL depending on subscription level (see above), choose a different store name when you need to, view your recent activity, make a widget, put your items into categories AND groups of like items.

Payment: Integrated with Paypal, choose your currency.

Community: There are forums, linked at the bottom of the main page, includes a “category suggestion” section.

Customer Service: There is a contact page with a form that can be filled out as well as a separate bug report form. However, word on the street is that the site is very buggy, and slow at times.

Items that can be sold: Anything you have made or modified yourself.

General Impressions:
No stats and many people have reported problems listing items.

Etsy Alternative #2 - eCrater

In this continuing series, we bring you a review of alternative selling venues, website hosting services, shopping carts, and basically anything else that you can use to sell your lovely handcrafted goods.
Next up - eCrater!

Tagline: 100% free marketplace

Company Information: It is still basically run by one guy. That's right, it's a real independent venue.

Storefront: The site is actually a shop hosting service where you can setup a store and direct buyers in for purchases, as opposed to being one shop in the mall with buyers drifting from store to store. There is a pretty decent search though and just putting items up can sometimes get sales for hard to find items.

You can customize the color and categories, but not the layout or skin.

Each shop is its own entity, but you don’t have to know how to code to have a shop. The setup is a lot like Etsy in this regard.

Cost: There is no final value fee or commission, also no listing fee. Only those pesky Paypal/Google fees

Features: Make your own categories regardless of the global category you choose. Put entire store on hold, but still visible - or hide an item. Hvae your own About page, FAQ page, Terms page. Choose which items you want featured in your shop, at the top of categories, and even category pictures to represent your top 5 on your shop front.

Fully integrated with Google base, just type in the attributes for the item. Single page listing process with the exception of additional pictures, inventory tracking is available. Unlimited items, up to 10 pics per item! Shipping zones, weight scales, and the shipping matrix is your own to setup so you can choose how to setup your own calculator based on where you ship. Change how you charge tax, too. Bulk lister is available.

oh yeah, and Google Analytics!

Payment: Fully integrated with both Paypal and Google checkout.

Community: There are forums separate from the stores and a seller-only area within.

Customer Service: There is a contact page with a form that can be filled out as well the forums and FAQ pages.

Items that can be sold: Anything.

General Impressions: It's free!! If you have trouble coding your own site or integrating a shopping cart, this is a good alternative.

The shop URL is similar to Etsy (username.ecrater.com), but you can always have a masked domain redirect for people to know your shop name only.

ecrater is totally free. It can be used as a website shopping cart by
linking it off your website or blog. Items do show up in google searches. The
drawbacks- it's interface isn't as customizable as I would like for it to be.
And there is no way to use coupon codes.

UK Etsy Alternative - MyEhive

Many complaints have been made regarding Etsy's ineptness at handling their international customers. Well, there is a new site for those who sell handmade in the UK and Ireland.

We were twitted about MyEhive. It just opened this month. Their fee structure and listing limits are similar to BigCartel, including free shops. There are some stats available, varying based on the subscription level.

There are community forums.

They are currently offering a promotion to the first 100 stores to sign up.

The QueenBee at the site told us

"we watched esty and built in everything they left out that people really
needed"

So if you're in the UK or Ireland, you have another alternative. Let us know how it goes and we'll post a more comprehensive review of it as an alternative to Etsy!