Selecting an Online Marketplace for Handmade Products Part 2

As promised on my previous post, Selecting an Online Marketplace for Handmade Products, I wanted to share a few more items you should consider when you are narrowing down the list of potential suitors!  Now, if I had only done this much homework on some of my past boyfriends, maybe I would have met my husband sooner!  Here are a few more topics to consider...

Image Limitations

Are you okay with paying a fee for each item you list or do you require an unlimited number of product listings?  This goes back to the ‘Cost of Marketplace’ topic I discussed in my previous post so I won’t dwell on this too long, but if you sell only a few items, you may be best served by paying a small per item fee whereas if you need to post a high quantity of items, you would probably be better off paying a flat monthly subscription to post an infinite number of items.

Aside from the actual volume of listings you have, also consider the number of images you are allotted per individual listing.  Do you want to feature your item from ten different angles or will one or two suffice?   Several marketplaces limit the number of images you can upload per product listing, make sure you are comfortable with the parameters of the marketplace you are listing in.  For example, Etsy limits sellers to five images per product listing while Artfire allows up to ten images.   While it’s nice to have the flexibility to upload as many images as possible, sometimes limitations on quantity are good to drive a clean and not-so-overwhelming viewing experience for the buyer.

In addition to images, there are online marketplaces that allow you to upload videos as well!  If that is important or intrigues you, Silkfair allows sellers to upload up to two videos per item listing.  Although I couldn’t find any stores utilizing this feature in my 10 minute search, it offers sellers a unique way to feature products.

Advertising

Is it important for you to be able to advertise on the marketplace where you sell your products?   Not all handmade marketplaces have an avenue where sellers can buy advertising space.  If they do, take a look to see if you like the presentation of the ads.  Personally, I think Etsy does a nice job on their showcase, although we all know there is only so much advertising space even if you are willing to pay.  I would love to hear more feedback from sellers on their personal experiences with this as well as experiences advertising elsewhere.

Community

One area that REALLY varies when it comes to online marketplaces to buy and sell handmade goods is the community connection, both with other sellers as well as potential buyers.  Some sites offer blogs, forums and chat rooms for artists to connect where others don’t.  Some sites even offer instant messaging for buyers and sellers to connect and communicate back and forth.  This is where you need to sit back and really evaluate what degree of involvement you would like to have within the online marketplace that you select.  Some sites do such a good job with bringing artists together that their community evolves into a relationship offline as well, such as group meetings where artists can collaborate and exchange tips and tricks to enhance their sales to organizing local art and craft fairs where artists gather and to sell together.

Integration with Social Media

Social media is your friend!  Having a blog and getting connected through communities such as Twitter and Facebook are becoming more and more common.  Even if you don’t want a presence on these venues, it can still benefit you to understand how they operate within different online marketplaces.  Evaluate whether these social media outlets are integrated into the marketplaces you are deciding upon.  Can people looking at your store easily share their favorite items with their social network?  I just tested this out with 1000 Markets and they seem to be doing it very well by making it incredibly easy for people to share your store or particular items on Facebook and Twitter, as well as the common method of emailing to a friend through the buttons on the sidebar of each seller’s store, like this below.  This means new eyes to your site, whether you lift a finger or not!

Stay tuned for part 3 where I’ll add more details on specific marketplaces.  Also, let me know if there are any topics that need to be added as I’d love to hear your feedback!