Best Place to Sell Handmade Items UK

Searching for the Best Place to Sell Handmade Items UK? In this helpful guide, we’ve identified the best places to sell crafts online and summarized each platform, so you can make an informed decision.

By selling your handmade crafts on the internet, you may be able to turn your passion or hobby into a full-time career! With millions of people across Britain purchasing from websites on a daily basis, there’s never been an easier time to tap into the market and unleash your selling potential.

Many designers and artists have grown their small home-based businesses into fully fledged studios and brands – and there’s no reason why you can’t do the same.

So without delaying any further, here’s a comprehensive guide to selling handmade items in the UK.

Read also: How much does Etsy charge sellers – 2020 seller’s guide

 

Amazon Handmade

Amazon Handmade can be great for many designers, artists and craft businesses in the UK, it doesn’t matter if you work from a studio or from your home! Being part of the Amazon family means you could potentially reach millions of people at the touch of a few buttons.

The Amazon Handmade store is available for individuals and businesses who sell ‘handcrafted products’ – Amazon will typically refer to these people as “artisans”. If you want to sell on this platform you’ll need to apply using their application process – this enables Amazon to ensure only the best products are available for their customers and only genuine handcrafted goods are on their marketplace.

If you’re accepted to Amazon Handmade, joining and creating your shop is free, as is listing products. However, they will deduct a 12% referral fee (commission) for every item you sell. You have the option to sell on all five of Amazon’s European stores and manage your listings/orders from a single account.

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Artfire

ArtFire is an online marketplace that is dedicated to the craft and maker community. Located in Tucson, Arizona, the website connects “shoppers with makers”, you can easily sell unique items and handmade goods to a worldwide audience.

By opening an ArtFire Boutique, you’ll join thousands of independent artists, small businesses and makers who sell daily on the platform. There are three subscriptions for sellers, firstly you can open a “Standard Shop”, “Popular Shop” or “Featured Shop”.

A standard shop plan is $4.95 per month, you’ll also have to pay $0.23 per item for each product you list. Listings are active for two months or until they sell – there’s also a12.75% final valuation fee on every product you sell and you’re only allowed to have 250 active listings at any one time.

 

ArtsThread

If you’re a recent design graduate then you should definitely create a portfolio of your work on ArtsThread. This website is based in London, however, it has users from across the world including Europe and North America.

Great for designers, crafters, artisans and more, you’re able to create a free online portfolio which targets specific keywords so your work can be found more easily by potential clients, recruitment agencies and other partners that ArtsThread are affiliated with. In addition, ArtsThread also has a great community vibe with a job board, competitions and they also frequently hold events too.

 

ASOS Marketplace

ASOS Marketplace was originally launched in 2010 and is now home to over 800 small businesses including independent brands and vintage boutiques.

Ideal if you produce clothing, jewelry, and related accessories, the ASOS marketplace allows you to sell to ASOS’ global audience of twenty-something fashion lovers – meaning you could easily build a strong following in no time at all. You’ll need to apply to open a boutique and if you’re accepted it will cost £20 per month. Every time you make a sale on the platform, you have to pay 20% commission to ASOS.

In addition, the boutiques are separated into two categories “Vintage Boutiques” and “Indie / Multi-Brand boutiques”, this is important as certain requirements need to be met. Firstly Indie and Multi-Brand boutiques must stock 15 styles at all times, while vintage boutiques must stock a minimum of 20 styles at all times.

It’s also extremely important that all boutiques follow the ASOS Marketplace photography rules, this requires all products to be shot on a real person (so no mock-ups) and in natural daylight. ASOS knows that high-quality imagery is vital to the marketplace and is a key sales driver.

Read also: Best Eco-friendly biodegradable packaging supplies in 2020

 

Art in the Heart

Based in Peterborough, England – Art in the Heart was founded in 2012 and is an online platform that connects customers to creative individuals and businesses. On the website you’ll find a great collection of unique and handcrafted goods such as gifts, jewelry, woodwork, artwork and much more.

It’s free to register for a storefront, there’s an easy to use seller dashboard and there are no listing fees. Equally, there are no monthly shop fees, however, there is a “pay at source” commission fee of 25% on all your sales.

 

Behance 

Started in 2005, Behance is a platform which is dedicated to showcasing creative work from designers and artists across the world. Purchased by Adobe in 2012 it has around 10 million members, who use the website on a monthly basis.

You can sign up to Behance for free, by using your Adobe ID to create a profile. There are no restrictions on the number of projects a member can create and there’s also no limit on the number of images/media users can upload. If you already have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, then the software easily syncs with your Behance profile – so you can showcase your work to the world!

 

CafePress

CafePress is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and is an “on demand” retailer for user-generated content. products. CafePress sells T-shirts, bags, mugs, wall art, wall clocks, calendars and various other products. Artists and designers can upload their own graphic design, logo or text – when an item sells CafePress manufacture the product and ship it to the customer.

For all products sold through the CafePress Marketplace, there’s a royalty fee which is 10% of the retail price paid by the buyer. However, there’s a healthy audience to sell your products too, the platform has over 13 million members and over 320 million products are available on the site.

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eBay

As one of the world’s largest marketplaces, eBay is still a great platform for handmade goods. Started in 1995, the eBay UK website has around 200 million monthly visits! You can easily list your items for sale using the “auction” style format, “buy it now” or “make an offer” – with a worldwide audience the potential for selling is high, making it a great choice for many people.

If you decide to list on eBay as a private seller, you’ll be allowed a monthly allocation of 1,000 free listings. You’ll be charged 35p for each new listing you create and you have to pay a final value fee of 10% of the transaction value (including postage) if your item sells.

With a wide range of categories to choose from, eBay can be ideal for independent studios, designers, artists, and craftsmen as well as brands and craft businesses.

 

Depop

Ideal for a wide range of sellers, Depop is a market leader and is home to over 15 million stylists, designers, artists, collectors and vintage sellers. The website is heavily aimed at fashion and accessories, meaning it can be a great platform for independent designers and brands.

If you decide to sell an item on Depop, they will automatically charge a 10% fee on the total transaction amount (including shipping costs). This charge will be taken directly from your PayPal account or the card you are using for payments before the remainder of the money you have made is paid to you. In addition, you should also keep in mind that there’s a PayPal transaction fee of 2.9% + £0.30 for UK sellers.

 

Design By Humans

Design By Humans is an American online marketplace, which allows designers and artists to sell their artwork to customers from all over the world. Design by Humans manufacture, fulfill and ship all of your custom products while you maintain the rights to your work.

You need to apply to be a part of the platform, however once approved they offer a personal storefront to sell your custom t-shirts, hoodies, art prints, mugs and more. For every product you sell, you’ll incur a commission charge (also known as a royalty fee) – for example, if you sell a t-shirt on the website, you’ll be charged $3.00 USD.

 

Design Nation

Design Nation is a UK based portfolio website for designer-markers, who produce craft, create a design and related products. With a national and international profile, you have to apply to join the platform – if accepted, you’ll be among a collection of highly skilled designers and makers in the UK.

This website can be ideal for a wide range of craftsmen and designers including skills related to architectural & 3D products, ceramics, furniture & lighting, glass, jewelry, metal, textiles, and wood to name but a few.

Equally as well as a portfolio based platform, between January 2020 and March 2022 Design Nation will produce “group exhibition showcases” at 10 UK retail shows, 12 UK and international trade shows and 8 major exhibitions, including 2 touring shows per annum. As you can see, for recent graduates or independent designers, the exposure you could receive from Design Nation could be ideal to get your name and work into the spotlight.

 

Not on the High Street

Not on the High Street is the UK’s number one curated online marketplace, where you’ll find a wide range of handmade and unique products that are not available in mainstream stores.

Home sellers, designers, artists and craftspeople love to sell their goods on the platform as the website gets approximately 39 million unique visitors per year – this increased exposure really makes the marketplace stand out from the crowd. In addition, Not on the High Street also spend a lot of money on TV advertising and work closely with national newspapers too. To help sellers on their website, they often feature partners and their products on a regular basis.

To start selling on Not On The High Street you’ll need to sign up. Unlike other marketplaces, not every business that applies to Not On The High Street gets accepted to sell.

They only have a limited number of businesses currently selling through their platform and they tend to “focused” on choosing the best of the best – this means as part of your application you need to show Not on the High Street why your brand/products deserve to be on their website!

If you do get accepted, the first fee you’ll have to pay is the “set up cost” – this is a one-time payment of £199 + VAT that all sellers are charged. There are no listing fees, however, each product you sell does incur a 25% + VAT commission fee.

 

Redbubble

On Redbubble there are over 700,000 artists making shirts, hoodies, wall art, stickers, phone cases and accessories which are sold to a worldwide audience. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia – however, they have printing facilities across the world, so your items are quickly produced and shipped when you make a sale.

As a marketplace for print-on-demand products, which are based on user-submitted artwork, their pricing structure is quite easy to follow. Basically there’s a “base price” which covers Redbubble’s service fee and the cost of manufacturing. Then there’s the Artist Margin (& Markup) which shows how much you make off a sale, the markup is essentially the percentage of the base price and the margin being the actual dollar amount.

So for example, if you decide to have a 20% markup for a t-shirt which sells for £12.00, the base prices mean you get an artist margin of £2.40 (20% of the total cost).

 

Folksy

For many in the UK, Folksy is regarded as the “home of British craft” – the platform was started in 2008 and continues to enjoy a great reputation with buyers and sellers alike.

On the website, you’ll find thousands of high-quality pieces created by designers, artists and makers from a wide range of disciplines. This includes craftspeople who are skilled in knitting, printing, carving, crocheting, painting and much more! The platform is ideal for business owners in studios or even for “individuals” who create their products on the kitchen table!

It doesn’t matter if you want to sell handmade jewelry, pottery, gloves, hand-printed clothing or even products for your home, such as cushions, ceramics, blankets, decor and textiles – Folksy could be the ideal platform for you.

As of 2020, Folksy has two plans for sellers, you can subscribe to the “Basic Plan” which gives you 3 free listings per month, but every additional listing is £0.15 + VAT. Folksy also charge a 6% plus VAT commission on every sale you make.

Alternatively, you could look at the “Folksy Plus” plan which costs £5.00 per month (including VAT), and you’re allowed unlimited listings within this subscription plan without any extra charge. However, the 6% plus VAT commission rate still applies on every product you sell.

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Etsy

Etsy was launched in June 2005 and has grown to become a popular platform dedicated to handmade goods, craft supplies and vintage items. There’s a huge range of categories on the website including jewelry, clothing, home décor, bags, accessories, furniture, art, tools and much more.

All sellers have a “storefront” where their goods are located. Each item you list on the website costs $0.20 USD (around £0.15) and has a listing duration of 4 months. You should also keep in mind, there’s a processing fee of 4% plus £0.20 per order – the 4% processing fee is calculated on the “total sale price” including postage and tax.

However, as a market-leading website, Etsy is the number one choice for many, as it has over 60 million items in its marketplace with approximately 2 million sellers and over 39 million buyers.

 

Shpock

Shpock is a popular smartphone app which was launched in 2014, since then it has grown in popularity. The app has been designed in a similar way to a craft fair or car boot sale, it allows users to buy, sell or give away items in their local area.

Great for small artists and independent designers, the platform is free to use and Shpock don’t take a cut of any sales, they only charge if you decide for additional promotion of your listed items on the app for greater viability.

 

Spreadshirt

Based in Leipzig, Germany, Spreadshirt is a popular e-commerce website that operates in Europe and North America. Designers and artists can create products from their own designs and sell them on the marketplace. It’s also possible for sellers to create their own shops on the website for additional selling opportunities.

There are lots of different products in which your designs can be printed onto, this includes t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, tank tops, jackets, vests, polo shirts, underwear and a huge range of accessories too.

You set a “design price” for each design you upload to the platform. The design price is a range from £0 to £10 and is part of the final price a customer pays when buying a product with your design on it. For example, this means if you set your design price at £2.00 on a product which costs the buyer £15.00, you’ll receive £2.00 and nothing more if your design sells.

 

TeePublic

TeePublic is the world’s largest marketplace for independent creators to sell their work on the highest-quality merchandise. Headquartered in New York, the company has on-demand printing facilities across the world, meaning it could be an ideal choice for UK designers and artists.

For every design you submit, TeePublic will pay you a “set fee” which can vary depending on the piece of merchandise that sells. For example, if you sell a t-shirt with your design on, you’ll receive $5 for each item sold, equally if you sell a lightweight hoodie you’ll receive $8 and so on. There are over 100 different product types, so you’ll easily find the perfect medium for your design.

In addition, if you want your designs to be eco-friendly – The printing methods use by TeePublic are sustainable, non-hazardous, and toxin-free. You’ll also be happy to know they use direct-to-garment inks that are 100% biodegradable, water-based, contain no animal by-products, and are vegan-friendly.

 

Your Own Website

If you have the skills or money to invest in your own website, then this can still be a great idea. There are many website builders and e-commerce platforms you can use to maximize sales – for example, you can start a WordPress website and use the free WooCommerce plugin to sell to customers across the world.

There are also other more sophisticated platforms such as OpenCart, Magento and PrestaShop, which are all free to use as well. You’ll basically need a website domain (such as a .com or .co.uk) and a web hosting plan to get started.

Having a personal site can give your brand a more professional image and you can easily direct social media followers, clients and customers to purchase from you direct. Apart from the general costs of hosting your website and any payment processing fees, you’re essentially “cutting out” the middle man (such as a marketplace) by selling your products direct to your audience.

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Conclusion

There’s obviously pros and cons to every platform and website listed in this guide, some people may like the stability of using a trusted marketplace such as Amazon Handmade, Etsy and so on – while others may like the idea of setting up their own website for a more professional solution.

The choice of course is up to you, as every designer, artist, craftsman and brand has different requirements, only you will know what best suits your needs. However, there’s no denying that this fantastic Best Place to Sell Handmade Items UK guide has certainly shown there’s a huge range of platforms for you to choose from.

Author avatar
Rick Thompson