If you’re a fan of vintage and handmade curiosities but Etsy just isn’t the website for you, then here are five of our top Etsy alternatives.
Zibbet
Some of the sellers who were dissatisfied with Etsy’s decision to allow outside businesses to help create “handmade” products left the website. Quite a few of them ended up on the Etsy alternative known as Zibbet. This Australian-based company has a much stricter definition of “handmade”, so while it has a smaller selection of items, there’s a much better chance that an item is actually made by the own two hands of the person who’s selling it to you (though they do also sell “vintage” items). Sellers also like the fact that running a shop only costs a flat monthly fee, and that they don’t get dinged with listing and selling charges. Zibbet also has a reputation for providing excellent customer service.
Supermarket
Supermarket is a website with a simple name and a simple interface, but that’s the beauty of it. Supermarket is similar to Etsy in that it puts you in touch with independent designers, artists, and entrepreneurs and the stuff that they make. You can also set up a shop and sell your own handmade items. Again, though, the attraction of this website is that it doesn’t have a whole bunch of fancy bells and whistles to fool around with. It’s just buying, selling, and searching for unique goods. You need to apply to become a seller (with information, pictures of your stuff, etc.), but you only get charged a monthly commission fee for how many products you sell. That means no registration or listing fees.
DaWanda
Based in Germany, DaWanda is another site like Etsy that, similar to Zibbet, maintains tight guidelines on what is considered “handmade” (though, again, they sell “vintage” stuff, too). Though most of DaWanda’s sellers are from Europe, they support international shipping and online transaction services such as PayPal, so people from North America can (and do) shop on DaWanda, too. One unique feature of DaWanda is its “Gift Finder”, which allows you to get custom suggestions for a gift based on a combination of your price ranged and either who the gift is for, what their interests are, what the occasion is, or what holiday you’re celebrating.
Artfire
As its name implies, this American-based alternative to Etsy specializes in fine art and photography, but also sells handmade, vintage, and craft items (along with a small section of commercial items). You don’t need to create an account to buy items on this website, but doing so allows you to mark items and shops as being your favourite. Like Zibbet, their seller accounts cost a flat monthly rate, and do not charge any other fees. The package also comes with lots of tools for managing your store and getting your work noticed on search engines.
iCraft Gifts
A Canadian-based company, iCraft Gifts is a website like Etsy that specializes in handmade items only. No “vintage” items, no reselling used “handmade” items, just new creations made by people’s own two hands. It’s a bit tough to become a seller on iCraft Gifts, since all items submitted are reviewed to see if they meet the website’s guidelines and critiqued for quality. The pricing plans are also a tad expensive, including a one-time $25 registration fee, plus a monthly fee for selling a certain number of items. The upside is that you’ll have tons of resources and advice at your disposal for making your shop better and promoting it to a wider audience. As a buyer, iCraft Gifts offers a relatively small selection of merchandise, but the rigorous review process means that you’ll almost never have an issue with it.
Have you shopped on any of these sites like Etsy? What was your impression of them, in terms of the helpfulness of the community, the ease-of-use of the website, or the quality of the merchandise? Are there any other online vintage and/or handmade goods marketplaces that you’ve had a positive experience with, and would like us to share with our users? Drop us a comment below, or head over to our Facebook and Twitter pages and let us know!
