Etsy or Ebay?

[pyro]

I plan to try and sell my artwork on eBay but I am thinking also about etsy if I can build up enough stock. Obviously some people are doing etsy on this site which is great I love etsy but what do you think is a better Market Etsy or eBay?

Just for your common artistic knowledge if you're reading this site generally how the art World works is people by a name not artwork there are some people on the beginning who will buy your artwork but basically people orientate toward buying a name. I've done several markets with several different things and it's always the same issue they buy the name. I consider it almost mandatory to have at least five pieces up at the same time so you saturate the market with your artwork and people get to "know" you. That's my personal experience with the art world what's yours?

[Bob K.]

I sell all my work on Etsy. Over the years I've built quite a good name/following for myself there with lots of repeat business. People have come to know me and my work. I've been pretty successful overall. I tried selling some of my work on Ebay once and never got a single bite. That said, I know several people that have built fine reputations on Ebay and are very successful there. I think no matter where you go it will be slow at first. You just need to be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[Claude]

I moved this to the Carving Business Side forum as a more appropriate place to discuss selling carvings.

I agree with Bob. My experience with eBay has been the same as at craft fairs: people are looking for a bargain. I sell all my carvings through ETSY. The price ETSY charges the seller is extremely low, compared to most other venues. I have had repeat customers send me drawings or photos and ask me to carve it for them.

If you do decide to go with ETSY, remember: you get out of it what you put into it. If you put some carvings in a shop and then sit back and wait for the world to call, most likely the world will ignore you. You have to promote (advertise!) your shop, yourself, and your items. Notice that Bob K and I both list our ETSY pages, our FaceBook page, our Pinterest page in our signature. We post all our new carvings to these sites to promote them. I also use Twitter, and we belong to several teams on ETSY that help the members promote each other. It takes a bit of work at promoting to be successful, and it can be fun also.

As an aside, because I sell my carvings, I no longer have shelves full of carvings all over the house. I do have some...but most of those are instructor-assisted and I can't ethically sell them, so I keep them, or give them to relatives. If your spouse complains about all those carvings, solution is simple: sell them!

Claude

[Spiritwolfe]

Totally agree with Bob and Claude.

Ebay is like having a garage sale. People are looking for a deal and you are competing hugely with China who can out cheap anyone.

As a handmade crafter or artist you are better off using etsy.

Why?

- it's an avenue made for artists or crafters to sell their products but also caters to craft supplies for the artists and crafters
- it's only .20 to list an item for 4 months
- it's 3.5% of any items sold
- it' is super user friendly ( while I haven't been very active with the store due to caring for my elderly parents , I can run the entire store via my iPhone. )
- can add 5 pictures per listing
- the support that's offered is endless
- you can be as busy or as slack as you want to be
- it's the most well known outlet for people who make handmade items
- you can sell your items for a fair price
- never had a problem with etsy in over 2 years and have sold over 300 items
- it's actually fun to have an etsy store


-eBay is great for getting supplies to make your items

- can get great deals on supplies with the "buy now" option
- can get free shipping

- bidding is another story
- it can get complicated where import fees aren't disclosed or it's free shipping but only within the United States
- their customer service is usually good for simple mistakes and info but if anything needs to go into claims they will screw you over big time . Whoever makes the most $ for eBay will win every time guaranteed. It's a dog eat dog business


- I'm guilty of not doing much to promote the etsy business but I like to stay low key as a sales person. I like being a crafter /hate being a salesperson BUT they do go hand in hand. Like Claude says you get out of it what you put in so if you aren't working on your store it will definitely suffer.
Ideally working on your store should never end

[pyro]

Excellent info thank you.

[Tom Ellis]

Pyro, For me, I think eBay has been the better choice. I mainly like the auction format, as some of your items may get multiple bidders. On etsy, you set your price, and it is a buy it now. I don,t like to spend a lot of time promoting my stuff, cuz I,d rather be working on the next item.

Tom

[pyro]

Hi Tom that's how I'm going to start. On e-bay. There are a couple people who seem to do ok. That is They consistently sell stuff. Its a tough road to hoe, especially when you list it twice and no one buys. That's why you have to have 5+ items up, so you can try to shift the market paradigm (IMO ) = )

[Steve Reed]

Pyro, my experience has been different from those above. I was a member of etsy for nearly 10 years. Frankly, I made as many, if not more sales on fb as I did etsy. Now, etsy requires you to use etsy pay or whatever it's called. I have always used paypal with great results. Due to this change, and higher fees, I've closed my etsy shop. I'll continue to post on fb and accept paypal. Like Bob, I have a number of repeat customers/collectors. Etsy was no longer worth the trouble for me.
My opinion only, others may differ.
Steve

[dogcatcher]

A lot of game callmakers have went to Facebook, but some also still maintain a small website. Once they have a little name recognition, a prospective customer can Google search the name and it gets their Facebook "business" account. The ones with no website sell directly off of their Facebook account, the ones with a website sell both ways, their website and through their Facebook account. Myself, I closed both the website and Facebook when I became disabled. Even with them both closed, I still get people that call me wanting something. If I can help them I have a happy customer, if I can't I refer them to others that I know that can help them.

[stixman]

I sell on Etsy and I also have my own website https://kentuckywalkingstick.com/ I figure I double my chances of a sale that way. Right now Etsy and my website are about 50/50 in sales.

[DrMcLeanAnn]

Ebay for sure eBay. I bought a lot of things from this online marketplace and I can tell you that the service quality is on top.

[Arasoar]

Ebay is the best online marketplace I recently bought some phone cases for my mum and the guy that sold me those was fantastic and polite, and they came superfast by the way. But if you want to take the full advantage from eBay just use discount coupons and DontPayFull for a certain product. Hope you will find my message useful my friend and remember that you choose from where to buy.

[Claude]

... Now, etsy requires you to use etsy pay or whatever it's called. I have always used paypal with great results.
...
Steve

Not true, Steve - ETSY will accept regular credit cards from buyers, as well as paypal and others:

• Credit cards
• Debit/bank cards
• Etsy Gift Cards and Etsy Credits
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• PayPal
• Klarna installment payments (United States)
• Klarna Invoice payments (Germany)
• iDEAL (the Netherlands)
• Sofort (Austria and Germany)

full details here: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/artic...gment=shopping. All of these are transparent to the sellers - buyers use the method they want, and once per week, ETSY deposits money in my checking account - I don't have to mess with any paperwork, credit checks, etc. They keep about 8.5% of the selling price to pay for their costs, credit card charges, etc., which I consider a fair price. ETSY also has negotiated a discount from the post office for shipping. I sent one today that was 29% cheaper than over-the-counter at the post office.

Claude