Yesterday I was messing around on myspace, and I saw an add for a free alternative to etsy. I clicked on it, thinking there must be some catch. So far, I have listed 7 items and no fees. No limit to the number of listings. I'm very happy.
Here's the site: www.shophandmade.com
And here's my shop: EmilysEscape.shophandmade.com
There are a few things I don't like about it. No forums or chat rooms to promote yourself, and no way of adding google analytics (that I've discovered). However, I think that can be an advantage if I look at it the right way. It'll keep me from obsessively checking my stats and just leave me more time to promote. It DOES track the number of views on each item, though.
I really love that it's completely free and lets you list an unlimited number of items. I think I'll be much more likely to create little things (like earrings) to list in my shop. It leaves a lot more room for creativity and experimentation. There's nothing to lose, so there's no reason to avoid listing something! I also like that it's smaller than etsy. My items appear on the front page for a really long time. I think it's great, and I'm going to be listing more stuff there soon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
i might have to give this a try. thanks emily. :) let me know how your shop works out :)
ReplyDeleteSure thing! I have so far done zero promoting, so I can't expect it to do too well... but I'll post again if I have any success with it.
ReplyDeleteawesome, thanks :D
ReplyDeleteYou may want to check-out Storemate.com and artfire.com as good alternatives.
ReplyDeleteIf you want something different try out storemate.com, I registered on storemate.com and seen some sharp increase in the traffice directed to my website.
Unlike easy and artfire they are not restricted to handmade, I get to promote to a bigger audience (all design buffs).
The best about storemate is, I get to help out my customers in real-time using their 'Talk-About' feature. Helping out with questions on custom options, shipping queries etc in realtime.
I even passed on exclusive discounts to them during these help-out sessions, which turned casual enquiries into quick sales and followers for me.
I have been Storemate's "Featured Designer" for 3 weeks, straight! ( My proud moment!) :D
In my own opinion, etsy is really good online venue for selling handmade goods. I’m also using ListingDock.com on other hand, they also getting me more sales than etsy and artfire.
ReplyDelete