Artfire Vs. Etsy

In recent years, there's been an emphasis on supporting crafters who sell handmade items. Two websites, Etsy and Artfire, have offered a cheaper alternative to eBay when selling handmade products. The similarities and purpose of both have caused much discussion about which is the better platform to sell from.

The intent of this article is not to debate which site is superior, but rather to lay out the basic facts of each. Keep in mind that both have the same goal: to promote small businesses and handmade treasures.

Etsy Basics
The original site for handmade items, which some believe has more traffic.

- Costs: 20 cents to list item, plus 3.5% sale price.
- Listings expire in 4 months.
- No live links on profile or listings.
- Automatic submission to Google Base.
- Listing order in categories by default: New items first.
- Accepts PayPal, check/money order.
- Offers promotional tools

Artfire Basics
Has both free and pro options, although free has limitations. For comparison purposes, pro features are shown below.

- Costs: $9.95 per month.
- Listings never expire.
- Live links welcome in profile, but not on listings.
- Automatic submission to Google Base.
- Listing order in categories by default: Random.
- Accepts PayPal, Google Checkout, Amazon Checkout, check/money order.
- Offers promotional tools

Cost Comparison

If you are looking at costs alone, here are some examples based on number of items and length of time an item is listed. For now, we will leave out the additional fees Etsy charges when an item is sold.

Example #1: 50 Items, 1 year, No Sales

Let's say for a minute you plan to add 50 items to your shop to start. You plan to keep this many items in your store for a year, and do not make any sales at all the first year (of course, we hope this wouldn't be the case, but for this example you do not). On Etsy, your listings expire in 4 months. Artfire listings do not expire for Pro accounts. The costs would be as follows:

Etsy - 50 items x $0.20 x 3 times per year = $30
Artfire - $9.95 x 12 months = $119.40

At a glance, it would appear Etsy is best. Do keep in mind you have made no sales, and it would not include relisting fees for items sold.

Example #2: 50 Items, 4 months , 10 sales

For this example, let's assume your items are about $20 each. You'll only be keeping these listings for 4 months, and will not be renewing. The costs would be as follows:

Etsy - 50 items x $0.20 + 3.5% sales fee ($20 x 10 x 0.035) = $17
Artfire - $9.95 x 4 months = $39.80

It still looks like Etsy is the winner for this particular test. But what if your items are higher priced? In this example, you sold $200 worth of goods, but paid $7 in additional fees. If your items averaged $100, your sales would be $1,000 and you would have paid $35 in fees, making Artfire the better deal.

Example #3: 100 items, 4 months, 30 sales

For the next example, let's assume you list 100 items in 4 months, and make 20 sales in this time. Again, the average price per item will be $20, making your gross sales total $600. You would see the following costs:

Etsy - 100 x $0.20 + 3.5% ($20 x 30 x .035) = $41.00
Artfire - $9.95 x 4 months = $39.80

As you can see, Artfire starts to become a slightly better deal when you start to look at a large number of items listed and increase in sales.

Example #4: 100 items, 1 year, 60 sales

For the final example, let's take a look at the costs for more than a year, and an increase in sales. Again, assume the average sale is $20. Also, since you'll be keeping a minimum of 100 items in your store, you'll be relisting at Etsy every 3 months. To make it simple, we'll say you only list every 4 months on Etsy.

Etsy - 100 items listed x $0.20 x 3 times per year + 3.5% sales fee (60 sales x $20 x .035) = $102
Artfire - $9.95 x 12 months = $119.40

Again you'll see that Etsy is the better deal, but that number can change drastically depending on the amount and costs of the items sold. Also, if you decide to list more than 100 items, your cost at Etsy is going to increase, while your Artfire cost will stay the same.

Which is Better?

Don't let the examples fool you - it is VERY easy to get caught up in the Etsy renew game, where you could be spending much more to keep your item at the top of the categories. Also, depending on the items you sell and how many you have, it can be easy to spend a large amount of money on Etsy.

No one can tell you which site is better to sell your handmade items. Using the examples above, figure the costs of your own average sales and how many items you plan to list in a year to determine which is more cost effective for you in the long run.