KYTX CBS 19 Tyler Longview News Weather SportsEtsy gives home crafters a place to sell their items

By Elaine Zimmermann

Lindsey: I make lovely homemade knitted items for adults and children. I tried selling them on eBay without much success. It there any place on line where I can sell my items?

Elaine: Yes, Etsy.com is one of the world's largest online marketplaces for handmade goods. With more than 400,000 sellers and in excess of $300 million in sales in 2010, this five-year old site has rocketed to success by filling a niche connecting consumers with independent creators and designers. Etsy's reasonable listing rates ($.20 per listing and a 3.5% of sales commission) and substantial consumer traffic (in excess of 900 million page views per month) are an attractive combination to cottage industry craftsman who feel overcharged and isolated by other online selling sites.

According to the company, "Etsy is a community that actively supports one another in the shared goal of offering alternatives to mass-produced objects. We work to highlight the true value of handmade goods and their creators and encourage awareness of the social and environmental implications of production and consumption. We created Etsy to reconnect producer and consumer, and swing the pendulum back to a time when we bought our bread from the baker, food from the farmer, and shoes from the cobbler."

There are many success stories of entrepreneurs who have listed their handmade items on Etsy and were later contacted by major retailers to have the items featured in their "brick and mortar" stores. These large product orders may pose a problem for small artisans who most keep their goods "handmade" to remain on the Etsy site, a standard the site strictly enforces.

With the exception of "vintage" and "supply" categories on Etsy, all offerings are for handmade items. Handmade items must be "created by the seller (or a member of the collective)".

According to Etsy, the term "handmade" can additionally be interpreted as "hand-assembled" or "hand-altered." Simply tailoring, restoring or repairing an item is not considered handmade. To be considered handmade, the seller must substantially alter the design of an item produced from a "ready to assemble" kit. Upcycled, reconstructed or significantly altered vintage items are considered handmade. Selling commercial or mass-produced items in Etsy's handmade categories is not permitted. You may not list handmade items that you (or a member of your collective) did not create. This is considered reselling and is not permitted.

Custom orders or customizable items may be listed on Etsy in the handmade categories if they adhere to the following policies for listing: "Custom order" listings must be listed for purchase with a set price. The final custom item must comply with all of Etsy's policies for handmade items.

Creatively re-packaging commercial items does not qualify them to be sold as handmade. A gift basket consisting of non-handmade items would not constitute a custom order or handmade item and would not be permitted.

The two exceptions to the "handmade" requirement are crafting supplies and vintage items. Both have strict requirements for inclusion in the site.

Elaine Zimmermann is a personal finance expert who was written about everyday ways to save money on cars, homes, vacations and more. For information on investing in foreclosed real estate you can visit her website at www.AskElaineZ.com.