Etsy
Etsy is the obvious starting point for most crafters, and the reason is simple: the buyers are already there. Over 90 million active shoppers use Etsy specifically to find handmade, unique, and craft-adjacent products. You do not have to convince anyone that handmade items have value. The people on Etsy are already looking for them.
Fees: $0.20 per listing (renews every 4 months or when it sells), 6.5% transaction fee, and around 3% + $0.25 for payment processing. That totals roughly 10% per sale, which is meaningful but lower than most alternatives with similar built-in traffic.
What Etsy is good for: Getting your first sales quickly, validating whether people want your products, and building a reviews base. Etsy's search is strong for craft categories. If you make jewelry, ceramics, candles, fiber arts, resin work, paper crafts, or most other handmade goods, Etsy buyers are actively searching for them.
Etsy's limitations: You do not own the customer relationship. Etsy owns the email list, not you. Their algorithm changes can tank your visibility overnight. Fee increases are a recurring event. And because of Etsy's popularity, competition in most categories is real. Being on Etsy is necessary for most crafters. Being only on Etsy is a business risk. I know a candle maker who had her best month ever in November, then Etsy tweaked search in December and her views dropped 60% overnight. She had no email list, no Shopify store, no backup plan. Do not be that seller.
Shopify
Shopify is where you build your own branded store, on your own domain, with your own customer list. It does not bring you traffic the way Etsy does, but it gives you control that Etsy never will.
Fees: $29 to $39/month plus card processing fees (around 2.9% + 30 cents via Shopify Payments). No per-transaction fees to a marketplace.
What Shopify is good for: Owning your customer relationships, email marketing, repeat customers, higher-end branding, and freedom from marketplace dependence. When a customer buys from your Shopify store, you have their email. You can run promotions, send new product announcements, and build a real brand. You cannot do this on Etsy.
Shopify's limitations: You have to drive your own traffic. Nobody discovers your Shopify store without you marketing it. Most crafters start on Etsy for discovery and add Shopify when they have enough of an audience to bring with them.
The combination of Etsy and Shopify is extremely common among established craft sellers. Etsy handles discovery. Shopify handles direct sales and customer retention. Our handmade seller's guide to multichannel selling walks through this strategy in detail. If you run both, you need a way to keep inventory synced so you do not sell the same item twice.
Amazon Handmade
Amazon Handmade is Amazon's marketplace specifically for artisan sellers. It requires an application where you demonstrate that your products are genuinely handmade. If approved, you sell alongside Amazon's massive customer base.
Fees: 15% referral fee per sale. As of recent policy changes, Amazon has waived the Professional seller account fee ($39.99/month) for Handmade sellers, though you should verify current policy in Seller Central.
What Amazon Handmade is good for: Reaching buyers who would never think to visit Etsy. Amazon has a different customer demographic. People who buy everything on Amazon and never specifically seek out handmade goods may find your products here who would never find them anywhere else.
Amazon Handmade's limitations: The 15% referral fee is the highest of any major craft marketplace. Amazon's algorithm and interface are optimized for mass-produced goods and can work against handmade sellers who do not have high review counts. The application process adds friction at the start. Most crafters find Amazon Handmade worth trying for categories where pricing supports the higher fee margin, but it is rarely the primary channel.
Craft fairs and local markets
In-person selling gets overlooked in discussions about "online selling," but for many crafters, it is their highest-converting channel. Customers can touch the product. You can have real conversations. Trust happens instantly in a way that photos and descriptions cannot replicate.
The practical issue is that in-person events require physical presence, inventory transport, display setup, and fees for booth space. They do not scale the way online sales do. But they are excellent for:
- Validating products before listing them online
- Getting direct feedback from customers about what they like and why
- Building a local customer base who then become online repeat customers
- Higher average order values (people often buy more when they can see everything together)
If you do craft fairs, use a point-of-sale system (Shopify POS, Square) that connects to your online inventory. Otherwise you will sell something at the fair and then have to manually update your Etsy listing to prevent an online oversell. This is where inventory management tools become important.
Selling on social media
Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook are all viable for craft sellers, but they work differently from marketplaces.
Instagram and TikTok are discovery engines. They are where people stumble across your work who were not looking for it. A video of your process can go viral and send thousands of people to your Etsy shop. But converting that attention into sales requires a clear path (link in bio, Etsy shop, or Instagram Shopping setup).
Pinterest works more like a search engine for crafts. Pins have a long shelf life. A good pin showing your product can drive traffic for years. It is particularly strong for home decor, gifts, seasonal items, and anything visually distinctive.
Facebook Marketplace is worth trying for local sales of larger items. It is not right for all craft categories but can move pieces that are difficult to ship.
Social selling works best when it drives traffic to a place where checkout is easy. Instagram Shopping, linking to Etsy, or your Shopify store are all options. Trying to sell in DMs or comments creates friction that kills conversions.
Which platform should you start with?
The honest answer for most crafters: start with Etsy. The built-in buyer traffic is too valuable to ignore when you are starting out. You can get your first sales, validate your products, and build a review base without needing to drive traffic from scratch.
Once you have some traction on Etsy (20+ reviews, consistent monthly sales), start your Shopify store and begin building your own audience. Use your Etsy customers as the seed audience for your email list. Add social media to grow your top-of-funnel reach.
Amazon Handmade is worth adding if your product pricing supports the 15% fee and you want broader market reach. It is rarely the first or primary channel.
When and how to sell on multiple platforms
The main challenge with selling on multiple platforms is keeping inventory accurate. If you have 5 of a popular item and it sells simultaneously on Etsy and Shopify, you have a problem. If you have a one-of-a-kind piece listed everywhere, the moment it sells anywhere it needs to come down everywhere.
Manual inventory management (updating each platform after every sale) works when you are small and selling slowly. It breaks down fast when you are doing any real volume or selling one-of-a-kind items.
Inventory sync tools like Commerce Kitty connect your platforms so that when a sale happens anywhere, stock updates everywhere automatically. This is what makes multichannel selling sustainable without it consuming your entire day.
You make the crafts. Let software handle the stock counts.
Commerce Kitty keeps your Etsy and Shopify inventory in sync so you can focus on creating, not spreadsheet updates.
Get Started FreeThe short version: start on Etsy for buyer traffic, add Shopify when you have an audience, consider Amazon Handmade if your margins support 15% fees, and use social media to fill the top of the funnel. Price your work using materials + labor + overhead + margin, and do not undercharge for your time. If you sell on more than one platform, get inventory sync set up before your first double-sell, not after.
Related: sell handmade products on Etsy and Shopify, where to sell handmade products online, manage Etsy shop and craft fair inventory, and how to start an Etsy shop.