Etsy Alternative – Artfire.com

I just found this site last week, and I figured after my long, long, LONG post about Etsy.com, I should probably mention it.

It’s another site for selling handmade goods – Artfire.com. I really hadn’t heard anything about it, until I got a update from one of my fave sock yarn dyers, Yarntini. Apparently, she’s moved over to Artfire to sell her hand dyed yarns. (Don’t be surprised if there’s nothing for sale over there – she dyes in small batches and it sells out fast.)

The announcement of Yarntini’s new shop made me look around the Artfire site. It looks like it’s still growing, but I did notice some interesting differences between Artfire and Etsy:

• Artfire does not charge fees for posting items, nor does it collect a fee when items are sold. In fact, as long as you have less than 12 items to sell at a time, you can maintain a free selling account with them.
• For larger sellers, you can upgrade to a pro account, where you pay a flat monthly fee of $12 for an unlimited amount of items to sell. For those larger sellers who may end up paying Etsy (or eBay, or their hosting company) more than $144 each year either in transaction fees or for server space, this might be a great bargain.

Now, in terms of the looks of the sites themselves, Etsy strikes me as less “busy” and more attractive, but that’s just me.

I just wanted to throw this out there as an alternative, in case any of you out there were feeling the urge to start selling your handmade items online (definitely read over the user terms and make sure I have my facts straight!). Right now, it looks like Etsy has the instant recognition of a well-established brand, which might make it easier for sellers to attract buyers. But with some savvy marketing, I’m betting a shop on Artfire would catch on with a little effort. Good luck!