We had an email this week from a group interested in our help for marketing products online. They make crafts, and currently use Facebook to sell what they make. Although this does work, and we encourage Facebook marketing, the limitations are that they can only sell to people who come to their pages and “like” them. They’d like a wider audience. They aren’t set up with websites yet, so I looked into other possibilities for them.
My first thought was Etsy . If you aren’t familiar with the site, and you have something to sell check it out. They allow individuals to sell crafts (anything hand-made) or vintage items. Etsy charges a small fee for each item you list for sale but allows the “seller” to set up a shop and reach customers in a very easy format. I signed up for an account and set up a store to see how it works.
Details for Setting Up a Store on Etsy:
- You need to own and be the creator of what you are selling- unless it’s “vintage”.
- Take images (in good daylight) and upload them to Etsy from your computer or smartphone
- Have account information ready to set up a bank account (either checking or savings will work) to receive payments
- Have a credit, debit or prepaid debit card to set up for paying Etsy fees, which include…
- 20¢ up-front listing fee per item. You only have to pay this fee once per item you list.
- When you sell something, you pay Etsy 3.5% of what you make on the item.
(They will bill you automatically and send you a statement each month.)
That’s it! Easy to use and set-up. All in all, it took me 1.5 hours to set up my Etsy store to list two items. Check Etsy out and sell your cool stuff!
If you know of other great sites to sell your stuff please send us a comment!
Thanks-
Lorelyn
Want to check out my store on Etsy? Here it is: etsy.com/shop/MediaWorksMT