Guest Author - Carla McCune-Cano
Need a little extra money for that next wedding shower, baby shower or Christmas gift yarn? Not finding the yarn you need or perhaps you are looking for the perfect gift for a crocheter in your life? That is where Etsy comes in.
Etsy was created with the handcrafter in mind. Items sold on Etsy are handcrafted or are supplies specifically for the handcrafter. It is a great place to find unique gifts for someone in your life. I’ll admit much of my time on Etsy has been spent looking at yarn or items crafted from yarn, however there is much more on Etsy.
Etsy is as easy to use as Ebay for both buyers and sellers. Etsy has a more specific customer base than Ebay in that they are a handcrafted avenue. For the seller this has both positive and negative aspects. Customers that come to Etsy to buy are looking for unique, handcrafted gifts. Those that are looking for a more broad term of gift may not ever come across your “handcrafted crochet round ripple baby blanket” listing on Etsy.
Etsy’s listing fees and final sale fees are less than Ebay's which is a big draw for most crafters. The listing time is much longer as well. You can list an item on Etsy for four months for a small fee. Also on Etsy the prices for many of the crocheted items are higher than found on Ebay. That is because of the customer base tends to appreciate the time and effort exerted to produce a quality hand crocheted item.
The Etsy community is fantastic. It is geared to helping the handcrafter sell their creations. Ebay also has a great community but again it is just not geared to someone that is crafting items by hand. The time it takes to produce a quality piece, designing, creating and marketing is different than someone who buys and resells items. Etsy’s customers and other sellers have a different insight than those on Ebay. Even the sites tutorials are geared toward handcrafters. The community is worth checking out; there is great knowledge there if you are looking to make money with your crocheted pieces.
Etsy is a community of artisan that is full of diversity. It’s a great place to start learning how to market your hand crafted crochet. It is also a great place to buy supplies from fellow crafters. Of course you will find yourself browsing through other crafts and perhaps find some unique pieces to add to your own collections as well.
