Handmade heaven (etsy.com)

Member Name: Nichelette

Product:	etsy.com
Date:	13/10/08 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can find almost anything on the site

Disadvantages: Exchange rate fluctuations can be a pain for sellers

I've recently made my 100th sale on etsy, so I decided this would be a good time to review the site as it's one of my favourite places on the internet.

Etsy is an American based site which specialises in selling handmade goods. The site is rather similar to ebay in the same way that sellers each have their own little shops which they can personalise. The main difference from ebay (apart from the fees) is that with the exception of vintage items, mass made products are prohibited from being sold on the site.

Being both a buyer and a seller, for the most part I have had only good experiences with the site. The only real problem I've had is buyers clicking through to buy items and not paying, but that isn't the site's fault and it happens on ebay too.

From a buyers point of view the site is an Aladdin's cave of shiney things. I honestly don't think there is something handmade that you cant find on there. All prices are displayed in US$, but as long as you have a paypal account this isn't a major issue as paypal will handle the currency conversion for you. As a rough guide £1 is usually equivalent to $2.

Being US based most sellers (and buyers) are also in the US, but the vast majority of people will post to Britain. Although some might worry about waiting a lifetime to receive their goods I'm constantly ordering supplies from abroad - including the US - and can vouch for the speed of the US postal service. I've ordered items on a Monday and received them on a Thursday before. The only thing you need to be careful of when ordering from abroad is that you may receive a customs charge. I believe this applies to goods over US$18 which are not gifts.

That aside, we should consider the site. Etsy is very easy to navigate and well laid out. It has an extensive FAQ section to advise both buyers and sellers, and has some really exciting features which I've never seen on other sites. These include:

Colours (my favourite) - An amazing interactive grid with small coloured dots. When you click on a dot etsy will find iems on the site which match the colour you click on

Treasury - A place where people can make a virtual collage of their favourite items on the site. Some of the best treasuries make it to the front page of the site

Showcase - Where sellers promote their top items

Gift guides - This feature allows you to click on an occasion, holiday, who you are buying the item for, time of year or what a person enjoys to help you find a gift for someone

Shop local - This does exactly what it says, allowing you to type in your area to find local sellers

Pounce - This shows shops who have recently sold items

Geolocator - This slows the location of the 100 most recently published items

Time machine - Allows you to browse recently listed listed items

Finally there is an alchemy feature which allows a buyer to post an idea they have for an item and sellers to contact the buyer if they are able to make it, this is along with the regular forum/chat feasture, and a blog.

The search feature is good, and will present it's results with the newest listed items first. You are able to search within handmade items (just tags and titles), or handmade items (tags, titles and descriptions), craft supplies, vintage items, all items, seller usernames, or just materials. Once you are in a sellers shop you are also allowed to search for a term within the shop alone.

From a sellers perspective the site is a godsend. Once you have opened a shop you are allowed to personalise it by creating sections and uploading a shop banner. One of the best aspects of etsy are the low fees (I used to have a shop on ebay but decided to close it due to the ridiculous fee increases which have been happening of late). It only costs $0.20 (about 10p) to list an item for a whole four months, and you get five photos thrown in for that price! Final value fees are also much lower than ebay at 3.5%, I believe ebay final value fees can cost up to 10% currently. In comparison to ebay fees this is a virtual giveaway.

At the same time though, this is one of the drawbacks to the site from a sellers point of view. As the site is US centric and prices are all in US$ the amount a seller from outside of the US will earn can vary considerably based upon exchange rate fluctuations, though obviously this can benefit British buyers when the dollar is weak.

It is very easy to list an item and upload your photos, though once you have sold an item the checkout is very simple. It basically amounts to the dispatch address, and two tick boxes. One to say that they payment has been received, and the other to note that the item has been dispatched. That said though, I don't think simple equates to bad, and I've never had any problems with the system. In fact, I think some people would welcome a bit more simplicity in their lives!

Sellers are able to choose which types of payment to accept from buyers, however bank charges usually prohibit sellers from outside the US from accepting cheques. Paypal is the most frequently used playment method, although some sellers do choose to offer other internet based methods. This may be a problem if you don't want to pay the associated paypal transaction fees.

Etsy fees are paid monthy, but again are in US$. Personally I wish I was able to pay them through paypal, but they have to be processed by card. Due to the currency issue I have to pay with a credit card, and although this isn't a huge problem I'd much rather be able to pay with a debit card as I don't really like having to have a credit card. As I like the site so much I will never leave it purely for this reason though.

In order to attract customers it is necessary to post new items regularly, or at least renew your listings. This is due to the way in which the search feature works, as newly listed items are first in search results. If you are selling items which are fairly quick to make such as jewellery this shouldn't be too much of a problem, however if you are trying to sell knitted blankets which take a long time to make this could be more of a problem.

All in all I love etsy as both a buyer and a seller. The site is extremely user friendly and has some very exciting features which I've never seen on other sites. Etsy fees are very reasonable and the site is growing all the time. This is an excellent place to find a one off gift and often you'll find it at a bargain price.

Summary: I love this site, it's really worth a look