Etsy.com Review

Warning! I just want to state that I am affiliated with Etsy.com by having an online shop through them.

   I love to paint and make jewelry in my spare time. Being a full time mom, I wanted to look for something I could do from home to put a little extra income in my pocket. I happened to turn on the Today Show one morning in the middle of a segment about finding home décor on a budget. They mentioned a couple of sites that I decided to do my own research on and I found them to be so great that I enlisted my items for sale on those sites! One of which I am reviewing here. . .

   Etsy.com is an online retail and networking site where you can buy and sell handmade items and network with fellow hand makers in their online community. Also sold are crafting supplies. You can find what you're looking for via tags and you can create a profile as a buyer and/or seller with a store if you hand make items that you want to sell. They have a community where you can socialize and gain knowledge from that include discussion boards, virtual labs and "The Storque," their virtual training guide, so to speak, that contains articles of "how to's" for help on making your store a success. There is a small fee for listing sales items and a very reasonable percentage fee once the item is sold. The listing is detailed to your preference with photo upload options. Etsy.com was developed by handmade crafters who wanted to create a handmade marketplace for at-home crafters to easily and inexpensively promote and retail their items in an online environment that is a community of crafting peers to connect with, get feedback and help from in a mellow atmosphere.

At Etsy, you can find a plethora of handmade items in the price range of your choice! You can create a profile with as little or as many details o your choosing where you can add your favorite items and favorite sellers for future and/or regular reference. There's an "alchemy" request option if you want a specific item made by the online sellers. The handmade items are awesome because they're all one-of-a-kind pieces that would be uniquely beautiful gifts for your loved ones to remember! Some might say that some of the items are too pricey, but they might not appreciate the time, creativity and effort it takes to create those items. It depends on who's point of view. Now, I have seen some crafters who list their items for what I think is too much, but at the same time, I do understand how those crafters consider their time and creativity as that valuable.

   Also, for those who are crafters. Etsy is a great site to list items you may be selling and to purchase supplies for items you are making. The virtual labs are very helpful and one of the weekly labs welcomes suggestions to make the site better. "The Storque" is an awesome tool that I use frequently, to find an article that might help your sales/shop. The fees are very reasonable, especially compared to E-bay and you don't have to worry about phishing because this community is very secure and gets to the bottom of those types of issues ASAP! Now, there are a lot of shops on this site, but not nearly as many as on E-bay and other such sites. So, if you're a hand maker who's not quite in the market for your own site, yet, this may be a next great option for you.

   I'm still learning and working out the kinks (not that there are kinks on the site, just with my personal sales issues with my marketing, but the articles and labs are a ton of help.

   If you'd like to see my Etsy Store, Crissy's Creations, visit http://crissymohr.etsy.com. I'm listed on VP as an artist to encourage feedback, so VP reviews are welcome!