Sunday, November 15, 2015

Selling on Amazon Handmade

Like many of my fellow handmade artisan friends, I've opened a shop over on Amazon's new Handmade Marketplace. There are a growing number of us discouraged by Etsy's new policy that redefine what they consider to be handmade. They have let a number of low-cost manufacturers join the ranks of Etsy from countries where labor is cheep and 'hand assembled' can bend the rules of what the rest of us would consider artisan made. Etsy says that it is strict about who they allow to use "outside manufacturing help to support their increasing volume needs."  

Sadly, many of us artisans selling on Etsy are feeling this shift directly in traffic to our shops and reduction in our sales. The pages of Etsy are now flooded with page after page of low-cost options from overseas. There was an interesting article on this from the Huffington Post from the buyer's perspective. I, like so many of my fellow artisans on Etsy, are seeing massive drops in traffic to our shops. I have regularly seen conversations about whether people should consider closing their Etsy shops for good. Sigh. 

What it has done is encourage many of us to try other options including joining Amazon's new Handmade Marketplace this holiday season. I am starting out slowly to see how it goes over on Amazon. So I have only a few pieces listed in my shop. This necklace I am showing on the post today is listed and uses beads from Sue Kennedy. These are some of my favorite artisan beads from Sue as I love the soft sand color and overlay of silver. I've used a combination of pyrite and hematite beads to accent the design.

As with quite a few of my posts lately, the bead girl is modeling this piece. We've been having lots of fun together this Fall, and she is helping me by modeling in several of my pictures so I can photograph them and get them listed in my shops. If you have the time to stop by my new Amazon shop, please do click over!

16 comments:

  1. I really love this piece you've show cased here and the model is absolutely perfect. I also love that you did this post today with your thoughts about etsy. I had just said to Christine a couple of days ago that maybe I'm getting ready to try this after thinking about it for so long. I kept having unsettled feelings about it so I'll be very interested in hearing more about this new venue.

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  2. I love this necklace! Good luck with the new shop!

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  3. Thanks for the tip. I did Etsy about 5 years ago and I was discouraged with the fees and the amount of info you have to fill in for each piece you list. And all my pics had to be resized to fit. Now I get most of my sales when I post a pic of a craft on FB and one of my friends lays claim to it. I would like to try amazon handmade.

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  4. I hope this is a smashing success for you -- I've heard people come down on both sides of the Etsy/Amazon question, so it'll be interesting to hear your experience. If anyone can make a success of it, you and your beautiful work will!

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  5. Lovely necklace and model! My traffic is down in my shop but with tax season around the corner, the slowness is probably good timing for me. I will certainly have to rethink things though because I hate paying fees with no or just a few sales.

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  6. Beautiful necklace! I love the mix of beads here! Amazon Handmade is not yet available in Europe, but coming very soon. This might be my best option too.

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  7. Congratulations on your new shop and best luck to you! Your piece necklace is beautiful and model girl too!

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  8. This necklace is GORGEOUS!!! It is the perfect example of "simple" stringing making a big statement...Sue Kennedy beads are a statement all on their own and the pyrite and hematite offer just the right support. That must have good heft. Bead Girl is such a perfect model for all your jewelry ~ What a beautiful person! Your Amazon shop looks great...I am curious to see how it goes. I ponder daily as to whether I should open my Etsy shop back up. But for me, I just don't know that it is worth it...other than that it is listed on my cards. Now that I am on Instagram, I am going to try and lean heavier on that and Pinterest (pinterest via a blog post, I think). UGH. I just don't know. I have so much UNSHOWN jewelry, I can open my own brick and mortar store!!! I reckon this should have been an e-mail....too long!

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  9. Wishing you lots of luck with Amazon Handmade! With Amazon's power in the search engines, I think this division will really take off. I started a supply shop with Amazon in the Spring which I believe has surpassed ebay and etsy combined. I think this will happen with shoppers looking for handmade. Your new necklace is a beauty. I love the pyrite and hematite together. So cool! Your daughter looks beautiful. :)

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  10. A beautiful model and a beautiful necklace! I hope Amazon works out great for you and I look forward to hearing more about your selling experience there.

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  11. Good luck with your new shop -- you make such beautiful and unique jewelry so you should do well! I've been reading about Amazon but they don't have a category for me yet. I'm not sure about it for me -- I probably don't make enough product to warrant what will be the fees later on.

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  12. Best of luck with your shop on Amazon! I've actually had several days this month that were individually better than my entire last November on Etsy, but October was nothing special for me.

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  13. Lovely piece!!! Great combination!!!
    Have a good week!!! and my g+ for you!!!:)))

    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥

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  14. Thank you for this post! I have noticed too! Maybe I should be looking at Amazon as well! The necklace is truly beautiful!

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  15. Wishing you all the best on this new venture!

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