Did you know that the global arts and crafts market is worth nearly $51 billion?
That means there’s plenty of room for you to make some cash or even your whole living, by monetizing your favorite hobby.
And if you don’t know where to sell what you make, it’s easy! We crowdsourced our full online crafts data from some of the most enthusiastic crafters we know.
You don’t need a degree in computing to get started. With our help you’ll be selling your own handmade crafts online in no time.
The Basics Of Selling Your Crafts Online
If you don’t have anything to sell, yet, you can always start by making products from kits such as crochet kits, pottery kits, quilt kits, soap kits, tie dye kits, candle making kits, etc.
You might also want to check out our article on the most profitable crafts you can get into.
Then you need some basics in place:
- Name your business – this isn’t essential for all online marketplaces but it helps and it helps you define your market and the value you provide too.
- Decide where you shop(s) will be hosted online – see our list of potential marketplaces online below.
- Design the shop(s) – when you use an online marketplace, you will take on a virtual storefront which will need some design (this is usually fairly easy with no technical skills required).
- Get photos – you can’t sell things online without some visuals, take photographs of your products and make them good ones (get help if you can’t get good photos by yourself).
- List the products – you’re going to need to work out what keywords (the search terms people use to find your products) for each product if you want them to sell.
- Sort out pricing – you have to know what you’re going to charge and how profitable this will be (don’t forget the store’s commission and tax payments).
- Think about marketing – if you’re relying on being “discovered” by millions online, that’s not how it works, you need to build a community and market to them. That could be any or all of: using forums, setting up street teams, using social media, running a blog, running or attending workshops and craft shows, etc.
Where To Sell Your Crafts Online
- Absolute Arts – ideal for artists, sculptors and photographers. You get a small storefront for free and can pay for a larger one. They also do some marketing for you too.
- Aftcra – you can list nearly any craft on Aftcra as long as it’s handmade in the United States. You only pay when you make a sale, which is nice.
- Artfire – a well-established market for crafts and you can set up a selling account for free but if you want to run lots of listings, you may need to pay a subscription.
- BigCommerce – this is a more complex offering that lets you put your store front in many different places but it costs at least $30 a month to use.
- Bonanza – this craft marketplace also positions you on Google and Amazon marketplaces and there are no listing fees, you only pay when you start to sell.
- Cratejoy – if you want to bundle up your products and sell them on monthly subscriptions Cratejoy makes it very easy to do so.
- eBay – you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, the famous online auction site is a great place to sell crafts.
- Etsy – is probably the biggest online crafts market of them all and it’s very easy to use.
- Facebook Marketplace – this has a huge reach and is less competitive than some other platforms but be warned, Facebook doesn’t help resolve disputes with customers.
- Folksy – the UK’s answer to Aftcra is a superb place to sell if your products are handmade in the United Kingdom
- Handmade Artists Shop – jewelry, designers, woodworkers, etc. all find this a great place to sell their products and it starts at a cost of just $5 a month.
- iCraft – this is one of the best places to sell if you’re new to online selling, their seller’s bootcamp is a great resource to get you started.
- Shopify – probably the most famous place online to set up a store and Shopify is quite expensive but it’s super easy to use and very simple to promote products on.
- Zibbet – monthly fees run as little as $4 a month and they get you into multiple sales channels, Zibbet is a really solid option for building your craft empire with.