When I was a jewelry seller promoting my own designs years ago - the designs you see on this blog - not all of these websites existed (for example, Etsy.com). So did I exclude anything from the list? Yes. Not included are:
- craft malls that didn't look legitimate to me
- those that were not fully developed or seemed unimpressive, or
- any site that seemed like a scam.
- Is the site well-established and one many people trust? Is there a professional looking storefront or advertisement interface? Would you shop there yourself?
- Does the site have good help pages to get you started, and multiple ways to get help, such as Contact Us pages and crafters forums?
- If you're not in the U.S., does the website allow international jewelry makers to participate (UK, Canada, Australia, India, etc.)?
- Is there information about how your work is promoted? You'll have to do your own promoting, but it helps if there is guidance.
Sell Artisan Jewelry at Craft Malls and Online Shopping Malls
Craft malls are an easy way to sell jewelry on the Internet. Most marketplaces charge some kind of fee to list your jewelry. Sometimes the cost involves an up-front flat fee for a storefront. Other times there's a transaction fee (commission) per sale, and other times you're charged listing fees. There may also be some combination of the above.
A few craft malls are free and supported by advertising. There are probably other fee types, too, as new business models seem to crop up on the Internet every day.
Be sure to study the craft mall to make sure it's a good match for you. The best craft malls have several advantages:
- They handle the money. You don't have to have a merchant account to accept credit cards, deal with customer payment, or keep track of receipts.
- You can associate your new small business with their trusted brand, giving you a head start in establishing your own reputation and individual jewelry brand.
- There's a support network of other crafters to help you learn how to sell your jewelry and deal with customers.
- You can study other sellers' listings to learn how to present your jewelry to greatest effect.
- You can benefit from the promotional efforts of the craft mall staff and the various sellers. Their customers might browse around and find your listings!
Free Craft Malls
Ecrater is a free ecommerce platform for collectibles, antiques, and crafts. That means you can create a retail web store there and also use its marketplace to sell your handcrafted jewelry. It is completely free - you get 100 percent of your sales. There is a support forum.
Fee-Based Craft Malls for Selling Jewelry
Rubylane is a crafts, antiques, and collectibles mall. You pay monthly listing fees, maintenance fees, and advertising fees, and a one-time setup fee. There may be other associated fees, as well. Rubylane is relatively expensive for beginning jewelry sellers, but has the advantage of being a trusted brand. It has an easy-to-use interface and a lot of help resources.
Etsy has risen quickly since its 2005 beginning to become one of the world's largest online 
ecommerce platforms. The listing fee for each item covers four months of display. There is also a transaction fee per sale. One reason Etsy is so popular is that it has very clear help pages and is very easy to work with.Artfire.com is a large ecommerce website that charges a monthly fee to create an online "studio" where you sell your jewelry. I'd never heard of it before researching this list. To me, it looks big and impressive and has a nice interface, if a little busy, with a lot of resources for jewellers. Judging by the comparison chart of free and pay features, there appears to be a free version, too, but I couldn't find out how to get there - the sign-up free link didn't work.
Yessy.com is an online gallery focused on arts more than crafts, but there's still a substantial section for jewelry. It's got an attractive, classy look and the items sold are anything but cheap looking. Jewelry sellers pay an annual fee plus an escrow fee on transactions.
Earthling.com is an attractive arts and crafts ecommerce site that charges both commission fees and monthly or annual subscription fees. They emphasize customer service and seem to have a lot of tools to help you build your store, send listings to auctions, and promote.
Glcmall.com is an international ecommerce site for crafters that offers a full service or very limited service plan. You need a PayPal account. You can get a free basic store if you have no more than 12 items, or pay a monthly fee for unlimited products.
Link to Craftmall, Artfire, Dewanda, Handmadecatalog, Undertherainbow, Artisansmarket, and Ushops, Hyenacart, Artsefest, and Misi are now outdated and have been removed.
Sell Handcrafted Jewelry at Amazon.com
Pre-approval is needed to sell jewelry at Amazon.com. For jewelry, you have to apply as a professional merchant.
Amazon.com is more than a craft mall, of course - it is prime retail real estate and should seriously be considered as an option. But there are disadvantages to the size of its wide-ranging marketplace. You may find that building a loyal returning customer base is more challenging due to the vast size of Amazon.com.
Sell Jewelry at eBay
There are at least two ways to sell your jewelry on eBay. You can sell items individually on auction or through a Buy-it-Now listing. You can do this simply by listing items, or by opening an eBay store. There are listing fees either way.
EBay has the benefit of high traffic, a trusted brand name, and a professional interface. A good time to list jewelry on eBay is during listing fee promotions when discounts or specials are offered; however, keep in mind that at those times, there are more listings competing with yours.
Also, your jewelry is liable to command lower prices on eBay than in other locations that attract fixed-price retail buyers. The auction format means you may have to charge lower prices to attract eBay buyers, who are often looking for a bargain.
Sell Handcrafted Jewelry From Your Own Online Store Using Free Website Builders
- Blogger
- Google Sites
Although there are no storefront templates, you can use these platforms to build an ecommerce site to sell your craft. You can sign up for Google Checkout, PayPal, or another payment handling service that allows you to put a button on your site that lets your customers check out with a shopping cart on another site. (Those services do cost money - usually a portion of the transaction fee.)
It takes a lot of initial work to set up your own store and there's a lot to learn. But it can be well worth it.
What are the basic steps to start an ecommerce store to sell jewelry? On these platforms, you:
- Register with a Google account.
- Open a free blog or a website under that account.
- Pick out a template you like.
- Customize the template with a logo banner and custom colors and fonts.
- Create the static content for the website, including a customer service policy, information about your store, and contact information.
- Install shopping cart functionality with Google Checkout, PayPal or another service.
- Start loading in your photos and jewelry descriptions as blog posts or static pages.
- Promote the website.
- Remove items or mark them as sold as they sell.
- Add jewelry listings regularly to keep the interest of your customers.
Finally, you might find it helpful to read some books on online marketing to "mentor" you as you go.
Images and Text Copyright Ornatia 2009-2022.
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2 comments:
Thank you for your helpful advice; I am going to start researching some of the above recommended websites right now.
I have an etsy store, but I want to open up my own online store.
Thank you do much for your help.
I'm a single mom of 11 kids.& need all the help I can get. Before we are homeless.
Lisa
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