Fixed Blade Knives

ArtFire vs. Etsy: Where to Sell Your Handmade Crafts

There has been a recent resurgence of crafting hobbies and handmade work, especially as people continue to be affected by the current economic hardships.  High quality artisan goods are being purchased online everyday and new marketplaces have emerged to try and capitalize on the trend.  The two most popular competing handmade venues are ArtFire.com and Etsy.com.  These two sites offer a similar marketplace opportunity for new artists and crafters looking to sell their work online.

While there are likely more similarities than differences between the two sites, the purpose of this article is not to declare ArtFire or Etsy a better venue.  It is simply to compare and contrast what separates them in order to help new artists make better business decisions. Here are the important differences between ArtFire and Etsy.

Cost to sell on each site:

The main difference between Etsy and ArtFire are their pricing models.  Etsy uses a traditional fee based system.  Each listing on Etsy costs $0.20* for four months, along with a 2.5%* final valuation fee if a sale is made.  However due to Etsy’s recency based search, many members choose to “re-list” before the item’s expiration date.  Improving the items visibility in search, but increasing the cost of doing business.

ArtFire’s pricing model is a stark contrast to Etsy’s.  Rather than a listing and final valuation fee, ArtFire chooses not to charge their members for listing and selling products.  Instead ArtFire has a subscription based model with two tiers, a free basic account and subscription based pro account.  Both Basic and Pro ArtFire members can list and sell unlimited items for free.  The Pro ArtFire account includes access to more promotional and management tools for $15.95* per month.

Customer Service:

Like it or not, sometimes things just go wrong.  Both ArtFire and Etsy are known for taking care of their members.  Help on Etsy can be found in their forums, via email, and they are planning to add phone support soon.  ArtFire offers similar support for their members, with help being found in their forums, via email, and via a toll free number for their pro members.  Both ArtFire and Etsy employ crowd sourcing tactics via their forums where veteran members of the site often help new members with their questions.

Traffic to each site:

One of the benefits of selling online via a marketplace rather than a stand alone website is the traffic that a marketplace can provide.  Of the two marketplaces, Etsy currently has more monthly visitors.  The most recent compete.com numbers show Etsy has averaging about five million visitors to their 750,000 artisans while ArtFire averages about 400,000 visitors to their 60,000 artisans.

 

Both ArtFire and Etsy have their advantages and disadvantages.  While some artists try and pick between one or the other, many artisans choose to list and sell their work on both sites.

*All prices are currently accurate as of 5/10/2010 but may be different in the future.

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