Attention all creative beings: If you make something worth selling (no, not those heinous crochet doilies your mother pretends to fawn over) you obviously want to showcase it and make some green. Craft shows and swap meets are okay, but this is 2012; people want to buy now, not wait 5 months from now when Farmer Fannie schedules the next craft show. The Internet is just the ticket you’re looking for and with more sites than ever available, it’s a breeze to upload what you’ve got and get to selling. Let’s take a look at 5 websites that anyone can use to sell their products- and seriously, get rid of the doilies. It’s getting ridiculous.
- eBay: This one is kind of a no-brainer. Buyers and sellers come together to trade almost anything on eBay. You list your item on the site, and buyers are given the option to bid for the item with other buyers, or to select the Buy It Now option to immediately purchase it at a fixed price. Sellers are charged some fees, which are dependent upon the final value of the item as well as an initial insertion fee.
- Etsy: Etsy is an excellent resource to use when it comes to selling handmade items. They’ve self-proclaimed themselves the “world’s handmade marketplace,” and for good reason. Sellers can list items within three categories: Handmade Goods, Vintage Items, and Supplies. It’s composed of 15 million buyers and creative businesses, who may shop and offer some of the most diverse products you’ve ever seen. And get this: there are no membership fees; it costs a measly $.20 to list an item for 4 months (or until it sells) and once the item does sell, Etsy only takes 3.5% off the sale price.
- Amazon: What started as an online bookstore turned into a place to sell items in over 20 categories. Typically sellers charge a higher price for their items listed on Amazon, which can be great for the seller, but obviously not so much for the buyer. Amazon only charges you a fee once your item has been purchased, unlike eBay.
- Craig’s List: If you’re willing to organize pickups rather than shipping your items, Craig’s List is the place for you. This site features everything and anything you can dream up- seriously, some of the items are downright creepy. Craig’s List doesn’t charge any listing or selling fees, but there is a bit more manual work involved for the seller, as arranging a pickup/delivery time and place is all on the seller’s shoulders. But if you don’t mind that, the site can be super beneficial. And besides, a little extra work on your part makes the deal that much sweeter once it’s done.
- Shopify: If you’d like to get a bit more creative when selling your items, consider trying Shopify. The site permits the seller to create their own virtual store. It’s simple: choose the template you’d like to use, upload a logo if you have one, and change the colors and fonts- the site is basically a blank canvas for you to bring to life. They take care of the technical stuff, such as the shopping cart software platform, so you can focus on making your site more appealing to buyers. You can try it for free or choose from a chart of price points, depending on how intricate you want your site to be; the least expensive fee option is $29 a month.
Kristy Kravitsky is a Pennsylvania State graduate who lives to write and travel.