A great online shop - perfect for unusual gifts! (etsy.com)

Member Name: jesperado

Product:	etsy.com
Date:	30/12/08 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can find pretty much anything you want

Disadvantages: You may end up buying too much!

Etsy is an online shop through which people from all over the world can sell their handmade creations. The products range from original artwork to jewellery, home furnishings to children's clothes and just about everything in between. You can shop by category, by colour, by region or have a local at products recommended by etsy members. I've found that it is a great place to shop for gifts as you can get something truly unique and personal for a friend which you would never find in a regular shop. For example, a friend of mine is really into Fanta (she's an odd girl) so I searched for 'Fanta' on etsy and came up with a purse made from a recycled Fanta bottle label. Now where else could you possibly find something like that without trawling the internet for days? Also, as everything is handmade you often get personal thank you notes from the person you are buying from which makes shopping from etsy a really nice experience as you know you are supporting indepent artists. Etsy uses the Paypal system so that your transactions are secure and has a rating system much like Ebay so you can let others know which sellers are good at getting your purchase to you quickly.

Summary: Well worth a look