Break-Down; the Mega Master List of Online Sales Venues if You Seek an Etsy Alternative.

I decided that I need to start tackling the massive mega-list based on each group of 5 venues as this will keep it more organized for me in the long run. The aim as usual is to offer up a comprehensive view of options for those seeking an Etsy alternative.

ArtFlock is an online creative community where you can buy and sell original art and craft. The break down of the basics is as follows;

• We do not charge listing fees
• We charge just 3.5% commission on sales you promoted and 15% on sales through our exclusive partnerships with sites like MyDeco.com
• You are paid direct by the buyer, you ship direct to the buyer
• Use our hassle free checkout to track progress on sales and communicate with your latest customer and fan!
• Upload all of your work, not just what's for sale, it's a great way of attracting commissions!

An interesting feature of the site is that you can import an existing blog and upload it right to your Artflock blog which I have not yet seen anywhere else. I like that there is a "Handpicked" selection on the front page also and it seems the site is solely for the made by hand crowd. I like the layout which is pretty basic but then that means there are a few less features than what I am accustomed to with Etsy.

ArtsEfest The tag line is "Amazingly Creative". They have an excellent breakdown of their benefits right here. Interesting to note is that they are dubbed an online "craft show" and sellers are referred to as "Exhibitors". They boast over half a million page views per month with only around 500 exhibitors. (Hopefully this means there are more buyers than sellers unlike another online craft venue I know of.)



Their pricing structure is quite complex and offers many different options which you can see here but the cost varies from $2 to $18 per month as far as I can tell, depending on what options you need. The style of the layout is a little more complex and there are some interesting options so it is something to check out further on your own to see if ArtsEfest is for you.


Blujay is "your 100% free online classified marketplace."


It looks very much like a free version of Ebay and they pretty much say so right on their About page. Sometimes you can't beat free but I urge you to take a look at the Terms of Service in more detail and verify this for yourselves if you go with BluJay. Let me know what you think too! From my perusing I have to say it looks pretty good for a free site as it isn't plastered with affiliate advertising so that is refreshing. In terms of marketing you are pretty much on your own it seems but that is nothing new though is it?

Bouf "The global marketplace for designers, artists and extraordinary brands."


Image credit: "Wine Card" by We Are Family over at Bouf.com.

This site has a really nice aesthetic that I am very impressed with. Seeing as design is my background I appreciate the effort Bouf has made to put together a nice clean layout that shows off the products well. The site is a select offering, meaning it is essentially juried as they work with designers, artists and brands "to offer a mouth-watering selection of unique products that help our customers stand out from the crowd".

Check out their requirements to exclusivity right here.
Membership as a buyer is free but selling break down is as follows;

• Full Membership -£144/year +15% commission on sold items
• Intermediate Membership -£96/year +15% commission on sold items
• Items that don't sell - free
• Listing an item - free
• Credit Card payment processing by Paypal - 2.5% +£.20
• Earnings paid via Paypal - free
• Earnings paid via Bank Transfer -£5.00 (only for to UK sellers)
  
• Monthly activity summary - free
  

They offer advertising and feature options for additional fees as well. It has been announced on their blog that they are launching a sister site called Joolia which will focus on jewellery and fashion accessories so this will be interesting to watch.

BigCartel - I love Big Cartel so much that I will be doing a separate post exclusively dedicated to my favourite online sales solution for independent entrepreneurs. Stay tuned!