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In recent years, the Etsy platform has seen a huge influx of less-than-honest sellers selling things that are decidedly against Etsy's policies or simply unethical – drop shipped items, items that are falsely represented as handmade, and flagrant ripoffs of original designs, just to name a few. This has sent many Etsy sellers on the search for alternatives to Etsy as a new home for their online store, and brought many first-time sellers to consider whether they want to sell their items on Etsy at all, despite its many benefits. In this guide, we’ll take a look at 10 Etsy alternatives for sellers, and discuss what factors you should consider when selecting a marketplace for your business. We'll also discuss your options for migrating your Etsy Shop to a new sales channel, and provide you with some expert tips to maximize your chances of success on a new platform.
Before we begin looking at alternatives to Etsy, it's important to understand what Etsy is and what sets it apart from other ecommerce marketplaces. There is no shortage of Etsy competitors out there, and each one has its benefits and drawbacks. Below, we'll give a brief overview of Etsy and how it works, and go over why some sellers may want to look into alternatives to Etsy in the first place.
Launched in 2005, Etsy was the first online marketplace to focus on the very specific product niche that is handmade goods, craft supplies, and vintage items. It was modeled after traditional craft fairs, and sought to offer an online version of them by providing a platform for sellers to list and sell their selection of one-of-a-kind goods. In 2013 Etsy departed from its handmade restrictions, and began allowing mass-produced goods to be listed and sold on the platform, which, in the eyes of many veteran Etsy sellers, opened the floodgates for cheaply-made goods and harmed the marketplace's reputation. Nevertheless, Etsy has only grown since, and there is still no shortage of successful sellers selling their handmade creations, unique craft supplies, and carefully curated vintage pieces.
Unlike some marketplaces, Etsy itself doesn't sell anything on its own platform. All items listed and sold are by third-party sellers, which means that sellers are in competition only with each other, and not with the very marketplace hosting their store.
As mentioned earlier, many sellers on Etsy feel like the marketplace has taken a turn for the worse in recent years, especially since it began allowing mass-produced items, and therefore believe that it is no longer the best place for their business. The competition on Etsy today is fierce, and due to the way Etsy's search algorithm works many sellers find it difficult to even get their listings seen by potential buyers. Other sellers may look for alternatives to Etsy if the products they sell don't quite fit into Etsy's product niches, while others may want a marketplace that gives them free listings. Ultimately, there are many reasons why sellers may want to find a new home for their Etsy Shop, ranging from the costs associated with listing and selling on Etsy to the overwhelming competition on the platform. No matter the reason, thoroughly researching potential alternatives to Etsy is crucial to making the right decision for you and your business.
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If you're in the market for an alternative to Etsy, we've created a list of marketplaces and platforms that can give Etsy a run for its money. This list brings together a wide variety of sales channels, ranging from niche marketplaces to creative-focused shopping cart platforms, and gives you a short overview of each one. Regardless of what you're looking for in an Etsy alternative, you're sure to find the perfect match from our list below.
Everyone knows Amazon, but not everyone knows about Amazon Handmade – yet. With all its other retail bases covered, Amazon decided to launch an artisan-only platform, one that some allege is aimed at poaching sellers who've grown weary of the fierce competition on Etsy as a result of the mass-manufactured goods on the site. Amazon Handmade is what Etsy used to be in its handmade heyday – an artisan-only platform dedicated to selling custom and handmade goods.
Amazon Handmade is a platform-within-a-platform, meaning it's not necessarily open to sellers who sell on the wider Amazon marketplace. All sellers who wish to sell on Amazon Handmade must register as Artisans and get approval to list. This vetting process means fewer unscrupulous sellers trying to pass off mass-produced items as handmade, and a much smaller pool of competing sellers on a far more even playing field.
Despite Amazon's wide selection of product categories, its Handmade marketplace is far more limited in what you can list. If you currently sell digital downloads on Etsy, you won't be able to sell them on Amazon Handmade, for example. Other popular categories that Etsy sellers often miss on Amazon Handmade include food and grocery items, as well as electronics.
Amazon Handmade is a good choice for Etsy sellers looking for a new platform to sell their handmade crafts. It's not suitable for sellers selling vintage items, nor is it suitable for those selling digital downloads or food.
Another familiar name, eBay launched in 1995 as a marketplace for regular people to sell stuff they no longer needed. In the many years since, it has remained an active player by evolving and adapting to marketplace needs, expanding to include hobbyist and business sellers, and offering a uniquely wide variety of listing formats.
eBay is a well-known platform, with a firmly-established reputation for selling practically everything under the sun. It offers many flexible selling structures for sellers of all kinds, with a variety of listing formats, eBay Store subscriptions, and a robust advertising platform that's simple enough to navigate.
Though far from accurate today, eBay's reputation as an online garage sale persists in the minds of many shoppers. This may bode well for vintage sellers, but it can present a challenge for sellers who want to sell their own handmade goods.
eBay is a good choice for all kinds of Etsy sellers, though the sellers who will likely benefit from it the most are those who sell vintage items. For the handmade and artisan sellers, there will still be competition in the form of mass-produced items being falsely listed as handmade, though sellers who sell craft supplies have a good chance of securing a steady base of returning customers.
Stepping away from marketplace alternatives to Etsy, Big Cartel offers a shopping cart platform designed specifically to enable artisans to sell unique, handmade creations. Shopping cart platforms are intended for sellers who want to take a step back from the fierce competition on saturated marketplaces like Etsy, and try their hand at selling their creations through their own standalone ecommerce store.
Big Cartel helps you move away from crowded marketplaces, and enables you to list and sell on your terms on a shopping cart platform that's intended for creators, artisans, and small businesses. With flexible plans that suit all types of sellers and built-in Etsy migration, Big Cartel is a great option for sellers looking for a different solution to their online selling needs.
As a shopping cart platform, sellers who use Big Cartel assume far more responsibility for their online selling experience. There are no seller protections, and as a standalone vendor, you are on the hook for everything from items lost in transit to chargebacks.
Big Cartel is a good option for creators and artisans who have an established following, either on a marketplace like Etsy or on social media, which they can leverage to maintain a worthwhile volume of sales on their Big Cartel store. It's less suitable for small sellers who are just starting out and are not yet marketing-savvy, since it will be difficult to get your store seen by potential buyers.
Another deviation from a 1:1 Etsy analogue, Faire is a B2B wholesale marketplace where artisans and retailers to come together. It's designed for creators who wish to sell their original products to retailers who sell both online and in brick-and-mortar stores, and offers a simple solution for creators who've decided that dealing with customers, marketing, conversion rates, and analytics is not the selling experience they're after.
Faire is a well-established marketplace, and has brought success to many artisans, creators, and makers. It offers a way to sell your creations, strengthen your brand reputation, and expand your reach to more buyers all over the globe. It functions much like a B2C marketplace in that you have a storefront and reviews, but you don't have to deal with the end consumer or do much of the legwork associated with online retail.
Fair is exclusive to brands, and is available only in select countries. Additionally, wholesale is different from retail in many ways, which may be challenging for Etsy sellers who've become accustomed to interacting directly with the end consumer. Another main difference is that it's not intended for selling vintage items, meaning that it's not a good fit for sellers whose Etsy Shops focus on selling secondhand vintage goods. Ultimately, Faire is quite different from Etsy in many respects, and may not be the right Etsy alternative for every artisan and maker.
Faire is intended for brands who feel like they want to expand and succeed beyond Etsy, and those who prefer to sell their creations to retailers and resellers wholesale rather than to the general public. It's good for sellers who don't want to deal with listing optimization and customer service, but is not a good fit for sellers who have a long turnaround time, who sell in very small quantities, or who don't have their own brand.
Coming back to marketplaces, Bonanza is an Etsy alternative that caters to a wide variety of sellers. It's closer to eBay circa 2010 than Etsy, with sellers offering everything from spare dishwasher parts to handmade textile art. As a marketplace, it was founded with the needs of independent sellers in mind, and offers an impressive toolset for sellers to grow their business on the marketplace.
Bonanza offers a range of import options from Etsy as well as major marketplaces like Amazon, Shopify, and eBay. It also offers sellers the option to open their own webstore.
Bonanza is a small marketplace, and is not particularly well-known. It’s also less of an Etsy alternative in the sense that it's not a niche-oriented marketplace like Etsy. Much like on eBay, you'll be sharing the platform with sellers who sell virtually every commodity under the sun, but unlike eBay you'll have a much smaller pool of potential buyers to sell your products to.
Bonanza is a good choice for Etsy sellers who want to try a new marketplace in conjunction with Etsy with minimal commitment. It has no listing fees, and is a low-stakes avenue to discover if multichannel selling could work for you.
Billing itself as "the ecommerce marketplace for handmade products," My Community Made has a very clear objective – to provide a platform for makers to sell their handmade creations. There is a strict policy of only handmade, self-designed, or curated vintage/collectible goods on the marketplace, enforced by a team who reviews listings regularly for compliance. The marketplace has taken a unique approach to seller-platform relations – it charges no transaction fees or listing fees. Instead, its profit comes from tiered seller subscription plans, which begin with a limited free plan and enable sellers to list an increasing number products as their plan tier increases.
My Community Made is a low-risk way to expand to a handmade-first market. Makers can list some of their best-sellers with the free plan, and see how they perform on the market before making a subscription commitment. The platform's smaller community means less competition, and the listings are curated to ensure that all sellers comply with marketplace listing ethics and regulations.
My Community Made is still a very small, niche marketplace. It is not very well known, with fewer than 4000 businesses selling on the platform. Furthermore, the interface is lacking from both a buyer and seller perspective, and it's evident that this is a newly-launched marketplace still trying to find its way.
My Community Made's limited reach may not be ideal for many sellers, but for those with an already established following on social media or a name in their specific niche, it can certainly provide a solid platform for listing and selling their creations.
Society6 is a POD (print on demand) platform for artists to sell their photos or illustrations. Sellers upload their designs to the marketplace, and pay a commission and processing fee any item an item is sold. Sellers themselves don't hold any stock or do any of the printing – all the production and logistics is handled by Society6.
Society6 is a very accessible platform for sellers, with a tiered subscription model that makes it easy to try it out on a small scale before committing to a paid subscription. Selling on Society6 removes the major obstacles of online commerce – logistics, production, material sourcing, and customer service – and makes for a simple selling solution for visual artists. You'll be able to offer your designs on everything from leggings to coffee tables, and do it at the same cost across the board.
As a marketplace, Society6 is saturated with creators vying for buyer attention. The sheer volume of designs offered on the platform could mean that your creations will get seen by a relatively small number of buyers. Additionally, uploading your designs to Society6 makes them a prime target for copycats stealing your creations. Finally, your earnings are minimal – you only earn 10% of the transaction total for each sale you make.
Society6 is a good option for digital artists and designers who want a low-risk way to get paid for their designs, without having to deal with logistics, production, and customer service. It's not suitable for makers who create handmade art.
Like Society6, Redbubble is a POD platform for artists to sell their designs. It offers a more limited range of products for sale, but handles all printing, logistics, and customer service in the same way as Society6. It offers a tiered subscription system, with the most basic subscription service offing a free-to-list plan which charges you a monthly account fee only if you make a sale during a given month.
Redbubble offers a way for creatives to sell their unique designs in a low-risk manner, without having to deal with customer service, logistics, production, and material sourcing. It has an average profit margin of 25%, though margins depend on your earnings bracket, making it a potentially more attractive choice for some visual artists.
Although potentially more attractive in fees than our previous print-on-demand platform, your profit margins are still quite slim when selling on Redbubble. Furthermore, Redbubble's selection of merchandise is relatively limited and focused on lower cost items like garments, accessories, and prints, which may make it a less than ideal choice for sellers who aim for high transaction amounts.
Redbubble is a great option for artists who are just starting out and want to sell their designs without having to worry about logistics, customer service, and production. It's also good for artists with an established following, too, with account tiers specifically designed for artists with an strong social media presence. As a POD service, it's not suitable for creators who make handmade goods, nor is it suitable for Etsy sellers who sell vintage pieces.
Like the name suggests, Artisans Cooperative is a co-op marketplace for artists to sell their creations. It was launched by former Etsy sellers in response to Etsy's 2022 fee hike and subsequent strike, which saw no concessions made towards sellers or even an acknowledgement of the strike from Etsy. Artisans Cooperative offers an artisan- and member-owned alternative to Etsy, though artisans do not have to be members to sell on the platform.
Artisans Cooperative charges a commission fee on sales, but does not charge a listing fee. This makes it a low-risk sales avenue for sellers just starting out, and its small community feel offers an inviting space for artists to showcase their craft. The entire platform is created by and for artists, with emphasis on the craftsmanship of the items sold rather than ultra-fast shipping times, or cutthroat competitive prices.
Artisans Cooperative is still in its infancy, so it doesn’t have nearly as many shoppers as Etsy or other larger marketplaces on this list. Furthermore, there is a waitlist for non-member sellers for the time being, making it less accessible as an immediate alternative for Etsy sellers.
Artisans Cooperative is a great choice for makers and artisans who want to prioritize their craftsmanship over aggressive marketing strategies and customer reply deadlines. It's not suitable for people who sell goods that are not handmade, like vintage items or mass-produced craft supplies, nor is it suitable as a marketplace for sellers who prioritize sales over meticulous craftsmanship.
Like Etsy, Storenvy is a marketplace for sellers to sell their own creations. But unlike Etsy, Storenvy has a very loose policy regarding what sellers can list. Focused on indie brands, Storenvy prioritizes the unique and at times the downright weird. Taking cues from social media platforms, Storenvy has a small and niche community feel. Sellers have their own customizable storefront, and the number of items they can list is dependent on their subscription tier. The free tier lets you list up to 20 products, while the largest tier allows you to list up to 5000.
Storenvy is a unique, independent maker marketplace that provides a space for all kinds of sellers selling all manner of unique products. Its indie-forward feel means that almost anything goes on the platform – from out-there digital art to quirky fashion – making it the perfect platform for sellers who haven't quite found their target audience on larger platforms like Etsy or Amazon. Furthermore, Storenvy is both a shopping cart platform and a marketplace, meaning you'll have two stores hosted by Storenvy: one standalone ecommerce store and another on the Storenvy marketplace.
While not an inactive marketplace by any stretch, Storenvy is still quite lacking in terms of customer activity. This may be less of an issue for smaller, niche-oriented sellers, but can pose a problem for larger Etsy sellers looking for a suitable alternative to host their shop.
Storenvy is a good choice for smaller sellers who sell unique items that don't have a market on the larger marketplaces. Its indie-focused vibe means that almost every weird and wonderful product will find its match, but this makes it less than ideal for sellers who focus on widely popular items and trends.
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Choosing an Etsy alternative is a big decision, one that must take many factors into account and weigh them against the unique needs of your ecommerce store and future selling goals. In this section, we’ll take a look at the different factors you'll want to take into consideration when choosing a platform for your online store, whether you currently have an Etsy Shop up and running or just setting out on your ecommerce journey. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all platform, and one platform may be right for one seller but not for another.
The first and most obvious consideration for the majority of sellers is the pricing and fees of each Etsy alternative, or how much they can expect to pay to list and sell on a given marketplace or shopping cart platform they choose; Etsy's selling fees are quite steep, but that doesn't mean that another marketplace will necessarily be a better option. While fees and pricing shouldn't be your only consideration, they are a major one as they will significantly affect your bottom line. That said, there are many factors that go into predicting what your pricing and fees will look like on each platform, including your sales volume and what you sell, making it an individual-seller-specific comparison point. In our experience, it's easier to narrow down platforms based the other major selling factors first, and only then look at how much it will cost you to sell. After all, if you can list for free but don't make any sales because your products don't match the target marketplace's audience, you've gained nothing but the hassle of migrating to a new platform.
In our experience, this is the most important of all factors to take into consideration when deciding on an Etsy alternative. The reason is obvious – if you're not able to get your listings in front of interested buyers, you're wasting your time. Each of the Etsy alternatives we listed above has their own unique target audience, one that cannot be found elsewhere. Artisans Cooperative is perfect for snagging sales from the type of buyer that prioritizes unique pieces and exceptional craftsmanship (and is willing to pay a premium for it, too), while Society6 is better for attracting buyers who prefer medium-range prints and a more comfortable price point.
The Etsy alternatives we listed above run the gamut of selling tools and features, but it's important to understand that more is not necessarily better for every seller. Some sellers may not be interested in taking a deep dive into the intricacies of PPC advertising, while others may be less inclined to spend time meticulously customizing their shop front. Determine what's important to you as a seller, and what kind of tools you need for managing and growing your business. With this knowledge in mind, you'll be able to more efficiently assess your options, and find a platform that suits your selling needs.
While this is more of a "nice to have" type of thing, it is very nice to have an attentive platform that is available to help you with your selling needs. Whether it's trouble with a buyer or a technical error, it's always beneficial to have a platform and seller community that is both willing and able to help you succeed. As a very general rule, the smaller the platform, the more helpful the selling community and the seller support. Keep in mind that marketplaces and shopping carts will have different types of seller support, with the latter generally offering no support with customers (since you're essentially running your own independent shop).
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After you've decided on a platform, you'll need to consider how you'll transfer your products from Etsy to your new selling channel. Migrating from Etsy to another platform requires careful planning to ensure that your new store can be up and running as soon as possible, and to safeguard your products and data from any mistakes during transfer. We recommend downloading your listing data from Etsy to a CSV file before beginning your migration; it's very limited and includes no product attributes, but it's best to have a CSV file of your listings saved to your computer just in case.
Third-party one-time migration services are a popular choice for sellers looking to move their Etsy store to a new platform. These services offer a way to transfer products from Etsy to a new platform, oftentimes as-is and without any optimization. Third-party services generally only cater to the larger Etsy competitors, leaving sellers who want to transfer to smaller platforms without a practical solution.
Additionally, some marketplaces and platforms will have built-in migration services specifically for migration from Etsy, particularly those billed as direct competitors that offer an Etsy alternative for sellers. The problem with these migration services is that they're inherently designed to lock you into your new platform. Ultimately, you're trading one limiting platform for another, and are at the mercy of your new platform in the same way that you were with Etsy.
A good solution for both of these problems is using a third-party integration service like EasyChannel. With EasyChannel, you manage your products separately from any marketplace or sales channel, and in a way that works for you. EasyChannel helps you take control of your product management, while also enabling you to integrate with 10+ of the internet's leading sales platforms. Plus, you can easily generate detailed CSV reports through EasyChannel, and upload them to your marketplace of choice to seamlessly transfer products.
The far less practical option, if you don't want to use a third-party service and your chosen Etsy alternative platform doesn't offer a migration service, is transferring your products manually. This simply means that you'll have to create your products from scratch on your new marketplace or platform, and remove their respective listings from Etsy once they've been created in the new sales channel.
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No matter where you choose to sell, every sales channel has its own unique selling and buying culture, as well as factors like search algorithms and listing requirements, which will have an effect on how you sell. You cannot sell the exact same way on every platform, which is why expecting to simply copy and paste your items from Etsy to your new sales channel is not likely to result in a successful selling experience. Instead, it's important to take into account the differences between your desired sales channel and Etsy, and make sure you understand how to adapt your selling practices to suit your new sales channel.
No matter where you list your products, including those rare marketplaces that decentralize the almighty algorithm in favor of community exploration like Artisans Cooperative, your listings must be optimized to give them a real chance of success. Optimization will mean different things for each marketplace or platform, but the end goal is the same – get your listings seen by buyers, and make them enticing enough to drive conversion. On some marketplaces this will mean a combination of SEO and up-to-the-minute pricing optimization, while on others it could mean prioritizing quality listing images and keyword-packed titles. Before migrating your listings to your new platform, it's imperative to understand what an ideal listing on that marketplace looks like, and optimize your listings accordingly.
Successful online selling will always require some degree of social media promotion and marketing. Whether it's establishing your brand's reputation or promoting your best selling items on their new marketplace, you should go into your new sales channel with a solid vision of how you will promote your products to ensure their success. This will be much easier if you've already made a name for yourself on Etsy or have a significant following on social media, so don't hesitate to leverage these to your advantage when moving to a new platform.
Many of the Etsy alternatives we mentioned above offer a more community-driven sales experience than Etsy. Over the years, Etsy has lost much of its original "local craft fair, but online" charm, morphing into an Amazon-esque platform that prioritizes mass-produced goods, keyword-optimized listings, and high-volume sellers over small independent makers with unique, one-of-a-kind products. This shift has brought with it a change in the Etsy community, one that many of our aforementioned Etsy alternatives seek to revive in their own platforms.
Ultimately, creativity-focused marketplaces reward customer and community engagement, and for many buyers it's a key factor in the purchasing decisions they make. In our experience, this rings true across the board – even on Etsy – in the creative/handmade/vintage circles, making it an integral part of a successful selling experience.
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While Etsy alternatives are certainly worth consideration, Etsy is still the dominant marketplace in its field. As it grew unchallenged and without a direct competitor, Etsy has allowed itself to raise seller fees while enabling – and even prioritizing – sellers who sell mass-produced goods over the small-scale independent artisans that made the marketplace what it is today. Unfortunately for sellers, however, the reality remains that Etsy is the go-to for many buyers looking for a unique gift, even though they may have a harder time finding it in the sea of Etsy sellers.
The best option for sellers today is to diversify their business and sell on multiple sales channels. This way, you still retain the benefits of exposure on Etsy, while giving buyers the option of supporting you directly through your store on Shopify or Amazon Handmade. Furthermore, you don't have to worry about missing out on sales if you have a rough start on your new platform – your store will still remain active on Etsy, giving you a safety net in case things don't work out.
The easiest way to do this is with a third-party multichannel integration tool like EasyChannel, which enables you to manage your product catalog and inventory independently of any selling platform, and to easily connect and disconnect your products from sales channels. Currently, EasyChannel offers integrations for over 10 marketplaces, shopping carts, and social media selling channels, making it a perfect solution for expanding your Etsy Shop to new channels.
Sellers oftentimes have many questions about choosing an Etsy alternative, as well as about the process of migrating their Etsy store to a new platform. Below, we'll take a look at some of the more commonly asked questions about finding and migrating to an Etsy alternative.
There are many alternatives to Etsy for online sellers today, each offering its own unique benefits while suffering from its own set of drawbacks. Ultimately, the decision on which Etsy alternative is best will depend on the needs and goals of each respective online store. The best alternative for sellers who create handmade goods may be Amazon Handmade or Artisans Cooperative, while the best alternative for sellers who sell digital artwork might be Society6 or Redbubble.
Before deciding on a platform for your online store, it's important to understand what your needs are as a seller, and what kind of buyer you want to sell your products to. There are many factors that will affect your selling experience, and choosing the right platform means finding one with a balance of the selling tools you need, selling fees that make sense for you, and a customer base that aligns with your products. With these factors in mind, you'll need to conduct research on the sales channels available to you, and determine which one best suits the needs and goals of your business.
You'll have three options when it comes to transferring your products from one selling channel to another: using a third-party or built-in migration/integration service, uploading your products with a CSV file, or manually creating products in your sales channel of choice.
The first and most ideal choice for transferring your products and listings to a new sales channel is by using a migration service, which either transfers your products from one platform to another or integrates sales channels so you can simultaneously list the same products on multiple platforms. The latter has the obvious benefit of diversifying your business while keeping you safe as you get accustomed to a new platform, while the former is more of a "cold turkey" option. Some platforms will have a migration service built in, but integration is usually done with third-party selling tools like EasyChannel.
Another option is exporting your products to a third-party service like EasyChannel, and generating a CSV file of your products to upload to your marketplace of choice. This option is great for smaller platforms that don't have integration or migration services available, and helps you cross-list your products to your new sales channel quickly and efficiently.
The final and by far most tedious method is manually copying your items into your new sales channel, one-by-one. This means creating items from scratch on the new platform, and is both time-consuming and rife with potential for mistakes.
You made it! and you're now more equipped to sell more online!
Enjoy a reward for your hard work!
Learn more about how EasyChannel works for online sellers.
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