From time to time, new artists who are just starting to think about selling their work online contact me about how to go about this. While composing another such response on Etsy this morning, I realized that a blog entry would make it even easier for new entrants to stumble across this information!
In addition to my main online store,
Jellybug.com, I have a few of online boutiques, and
Etsy has definitely been the most fruitful. I've had two sales among the four other third-party stores I maintain. However, Etsy is a vast sea of products, so it's hard for anyone to find you.
If you have programming expertise in the family, though, my own online store is the source of most of my sales. People generally find it by Googling for what they're looking for, and the vast majority of my customers use it.
Here are some online boutiques you may want to set up a storefront with. They're all free or free-per-sale sites -- I don't bother with any of the monthly-fee sites because I don't know whether they're worth it and I already have the monthly expense of Jellybug.com.
Etsy
Etsy, the 800-pound gorilla of indie art scene, is, in my experience, the best of the bunch, at least for US sellers. It's fairly easy to use (though you'll find that setting up sales is annoying and very manual), and it's been the source of most of my sales outside of
Jellybug.com.
Dawanda
Geared toward international markets, all prices are in euros and the US is considered a foreign country. I've had one sale here, and it was to a very nice lady in Switzerland.
Smashing Darling
Definitely meant for the indie clothing market, I've had one sale here. Their commissions are the highest -- 18% -- but they absorb the Paypal fee, so it's more like a 15% commission.
Shop Handmade
The tool for setting up products is incredibly irritating, so I use it minimally. No sales here. You can either pay a listing fee, or allow a sponsor's ad to appear on the product page.
SilkFair
Another zoo of a site, SilkFair has the advantage of bulk uploading (thought I've never gotten it to work, and I'm a computer professional, and it can import from your Etsy store (though it's necessary to check every product afterward for accuracy of shipping costs and such). I haven't had any sales here.
1000 Markets
Haven't tried this one yet, but I intend to.
ArtBreak
Haven't tried this one yet, but I intend to.
Made It Myself
Haven't tried this one yet, but I intend to.
Supermarket
Very indie-looking site for buying straight from the artist. Haven't tried it.
Where do you sell your work online? Any good sites I've missed? I've love to add them to the list.
Spring is in the air -- just the ask the daffodil sprouts in my front yard!
Posts
