Why Sell on eBay?

EBay started out as an online auction site for selling virtual anything, and I mean anything. That is until restrictions began to apply.

Today, however, you can set up shop on eBay and sell your craft along with tons of other commerical products and services. It's just not an online auction anymore thanks to their "buy it now" feature and ability to create your own store front.

So why would you sell your craft on eBay vs/ or along with somewhere else?

Selling on eBay gives you these benefits:

* well known site filled with repeat customers
* listing fees and commission fees for each listing sold
* high traffic area (enhance the repeat customers)
* feedback ratings
* eBay bucks (buyer incentive)
* flexibility in product sales
* search engine ranking

I personally have both sold and bought on eBay, ranking from craft supplies, gifts, and a multitude of items. But is it the best place for you? That's for you to decide.

Why Sell on Artsefest?

Artesfest is an online craft show. It features crafters from all over the United States.

Not nearly as popular as Etsy or Art Fire, this site doesn't rank as high in the search engines, but I did come across it never-the-less.

One of the biggest benefits this site promotes is it's way of bringing together crafters and buyers in a virtual craft show atmosphere.

Site features:

* Monthly fee for listings

* Limited space with option to purchase more space for photos and listings

* 100,000 unique visitors every month

* Online Craft Show - open 24/ 7

* Inventory Control

* Site Builder

* Domain URL

* SEO

You can read more about Artsfest craft benefits on their page: http://artsefest.com/pages.php?pageid=9

And their pricing at: http://artsefest.com/pages.php?pageid=7

What do you think? Would you sell here?

Why Sell on Art Fire?

 Today we start our series on where to sell your craft.

In all fairness, I thought we'd go alphabetical, starting with Art Fire.

I jumped over and visited their site. And in the words of one of their current sellers (right off one of their pages):

"Where else can you have a custom studio website within a venue that does your SEO, ranks you top in searches, links a Google friendly blog to your studio, provides comprehensive marketing insights & advice for networking your business, teaches you how to photograph, write descriptions, make video commercials, and allows you to promote yourself with live links to other places you sell? Only on ARTFIRE - and these cutting edge Mavericks are always introducing the latest tools, features, tech trends and giving insights that you could apply to other places you sell. They give you the tools AND teach you how to use them - you can't put a price on that education and you can't find this anywhere else on the web!"
Natalie of Swank and CapriciousAdornments

Art Fire offers sellers a place to sell their craft with no additional commission charges. Just one flat fee per month. Just like a regular website fee, it gives you a place for unlimited listings of your product, a built in blog, and promotional tools.

Key Features of Art Fire:

* One Monthly fee - no commission
* Blog/ Website set up layout for shop
* Personal Domain URL
* Global Shipping Profile
* Multiple Payment Processors
* Analytics
* Vacation Mode
* Rating Feedback System
* Tweet Your Items
* Pod Casts for sellers
* Search Engine Optimization
* Community

If you're interested in finding out more about setting up a shop on Art fire, you can visit: http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal

If you're already selling on another venue, Art Fire has this great article on comparing it's service to others: If You're From Etsy.


If I've left anything out or you'd like to leave a comment of your own experience on Art Fire, please do so!

Where to Sell Your Crafts Online

The Internet is full of places to shop. Type in any keyword and come up with at least a hundred places where that item can be found.

But where do you go when you're the seller? What keywords come to mind when looking for a place to sell your special craft?

Automatically, we find places like eBay, Etsy, and Artfire. Yet, there are a few more places out there, aren't there?

Where to sell your crafts online can be more of a chore of finding a reliable site, than deciding which online shopping site is right for you to set up shop.

Think of it as driving down a street or walking through a mall and seeing an empty shop. The possibility is there, but is it the right place for you to sell your craft?

When seeking a place to sell your craft online, you need to ask yourself the following questions: (just like you would if opening a store front of your local mall.)

1. Is this a good location for me?
2. Is the price to sell (rent, listing fees, etc...) affordable?
3. What benefits does one shop offer that appeals to selling my craft more than the other (comparison shopping).
4. How much traffic is the online site drawing in?
5. What type of promotion does the site offer beside you promoting yourself?

Over the next couple of days we'll be looking at each online venue available to sellers to set up shop and sell their craft online. If I miss an online venue, please let me know and I'll check it out and post it. Please feel free to express your own experience with these shops: Etsy, Art Fire, Ebay, Artsfest, Craftsu, and Handmade Catalog. (In no particular order).

Where do you sell your craft?