INCREASE YOUR REACH WITH THESE TOP ONLINE MARKETPLACES
Ever since Etsy burst onto the scene in 2005, artists and creative entrepreneurs from around the globe have been switching on to using online marketplaces to showcase and sell all sorts of creative products. Etsy was definitely a groundbreaker in the online marketplace arena for artists and it still stands strong as one of the leading e-commerce sites for vintage and homemade products, but there are also tons of alternative sites where you can sell your products and increase your brand awareness. These are some of our top picks for online marketplaces for Creative Entrepreneurs.
INCREASE YOUR REACH WITH THESE ONLINE MARKETPLACES
GIFTS LESS ORDINARY
This chic online marketplace specialises in unique, high-quality gifts that veer more on the luxury side like silk scarves, jewellery, art and photography. At the moment their partners come mainly from the UK, Singapore, USA, Japan and Australia, but they are happy to hear from sellers in other countries who think they would be a good fit with the brand. Drop them a line with details on why you think your brand is unique along with images of your products and info on pricing and delivery terms.
NOT ON THE HIGH STREET
Not on the High Street is a UK company that supports local artists, designers, and creators who are selling innovative products that are a bit different from your run-of-the-mill gifts. Like many independent online gift marketplaces, they will list your products and give you a heads up when someone orders so you can send the gift directly to the client. At the moment they are only accepting UK-based sellers, but they have plans to include international sellers in the future.
HARD TO FIND
Award-winning Australian site Hard to Find brings together a global community of artisans who create, design or import unique items ranging from housewares to hampers and bikes to beers. Once you’re accepted you can set up and manage your own store using their easy-to-use content management system. You set your own prices and ship your products and they take care of all the marketing in exchange for a commission on each sale.
ETSY AND ETSY ALTERNATIVES:
ETSY
Etsy is one of the longest running and most established marketplaces for handmade and vintage items. There are many good reasons to sell your goods here including the fact that in 2016 they had over 28.6 million buyers and did nearly $2.8 billion in gross sales. However, they also had over 1.7 million sellers, which means you’ve got a lot of competition. It definitely doesn’t hurt to give them a try, but we also suggest checking out other marketplaces, as well as selling on your own website just to diversify a bit.
EBAY
Another heavyweight online marketplace, eBay has a huge global reach and allows you to sell pretty much everything and anything under the sun. Pros of selling with them include the sheer amount of traffic they get and the ease of listing your products, while cons include the fact that selling fees can add up pretty fast and buyers have a lot of leeway when it comes to returning products and leaving negative reviews, which can greatly affect your sales.
HANDMADE AT AMAZON
Launched in 2015, Handmade at Amazon is a platform for artisans and makers to sell their handmade products under the Amazon umbrella. If your products meet their requirements of what they consider handmade, you can set up a profile page to tell your story and add product pages to showcase your goods. Keep in mind that the fees to sell on Amazon are a tad on the high side and they also have strict rules about self-promotion and how much you can interact with the customers.
ZAZZLE
Zazzle is a cool alternative to Etsy with a focus on graphic design and printing artworks onto thousands of products. If you’re a designer working in printmaking, illustration or bespoke gifts and products, then this is a great marketplace to check out. We like that you don’t have to pay anything to upload your prints and products to Zazzle, and the fact that you can set your own royalty rates ranging anywhere between 5% and 99%.
ARTFIRE
Another handmade marketplace for crafty peeps, ArtFire features everything from dolls to jewellery, clothing, vintage items and even craft supplies and tools. They have three different plans starting with the Standard Shop at just $4.95, and for each plan there is no need to sign a contract, and you get a customisable shop with hundreds (or thousands) of listings and no ads.
ART MARKETPLACES:
SAATCHI ART
Saatchi is a huge online art marketplace that showcases paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photography. They accept artists from around the world as long as you are 18 or older, and they have a ton of helpful guides on their website to get you started including articles on how to price, promote and package your art. Once you start selling, you get 70% of your sales.
ARTFINDER
No matter where you are in the world you can sign up for Artfinder for free to list your original artworks including prints, paintings, sculptures and digital art. You can also interact with customers directly through their internal messaging system. Unlike some other online marketplaces, you are responsible for shipping your art to the customer, but you are reimbursed for the fees when the order is paid out.
DEVIANT ART
Deviant Art is both a social network for artists and an online art marketplace that has a huge representation of artworks in genres like surrealism, pixel art and anime. When you sign up for a registered account you have the option to sell prints and products featuring your prints from your own gallery, and they give you a space for an artist bio so you can tell people all about your philosophy and your work.
ART STACK
ArtStack markets itself as the best way to discover and share art. Giving you the opportunity to not only sell your artwork but find art that inspires you and to learn about other interesting artist, through their profiles. Share works you love or your own work in the largest archive of the world’s favourite art. Their free website and apps also provide exhibition listings anywhere in the world.
HOUZZ
If home products are your forte, then Houzz is a great place to showcase your creations. Their product marketplace features everything from art to bathtubs to floor tiles, sofas, cabinets and much more. You can create a seller profile for free, and when you make a sale Houzz takes a 15% commission. You are responsible for shipping your own products, but you can include your flat-rate shipping costs for each product and order.
MINTED
Minted takes a creative approach to the online maker’s marketplace with design competitions where artists can submit their designs and the public votes to decide which designs should be sold. If your design wins, Minted will make your products using high-quality processes and materials and take care of the shipping, and you will receive a portion of the sales. They will also set you up with your own Minted store where you can sell your designs.
www.minted.com
VANGO
We love the clever name of this online art marketplace, and the fact that they make it super easy for artists to get their art out there and sell, sell, sell! For example, they don’t require you to sign an exclusivity contract, which means you can sell your art wherever you want and not just on their site. They also take care of all the shipping costs for you and have a cool visualisation app that allows clients to see what your artwork would look like on their walls.
ARTPAL
ArtPal is definitely worth checking out, as they accept a wide variety of artworks including paintings, sculptures, handmade jewellery, photography and more. They also offer very competitive pay rates with artists earning 95% to 100% of the sale price depending on whether your piece is printed on demand or an original artwork. They also handle shipping for you and give clients a number of framing options right within your sales page.
IMAGEKIND
There are a lot of good things going for Imagekind including free registration with the option to upgrade to paid premium plans, a dedicated URL for each artist who joins, and unlimited uploads. You can also set your own markup for each piece and keep 100% of the profit, and you get commission every time a client chooses a frame, mat or glazing.
SOCIETY6
Society6 is a bit different than other online marketplaces, because you basically post your artwork for sale and then they take your image and print it on pillow cases, iphone cases, T-shirts, mugs or just as a stand-alone piece of art depending on what the customer orders. They will also pack and ship the products for you. The requirements to sell include high resolution photos of your art, and they have guidelines on what they will print based on the quality of your image.
