With the way Ebay has changed their business model to slowly phase out the smaller seller, many people have been looking for a good alternative. Most sell thru Craigslist but when you don't live near a major metro area, that doesnt work.

Have been to check out several sites that are NOT geared to "Handmade" (like Etsy and Artfire) which is what am more interested in finding.  Most forums say that people that have left Ebay immediately turn to Craigslist while they wait to see who will gain the most small sellers/buyers out there. 

However, since there are Hundreds of new auction sites begun over the last 3 yrs, no one has gotten the majority of the buyers. 

Wondering if any of you out there have tried other sites and if so what was your experience?

 

 

Have you considered selling from your own website directly?  I would highly recommend that as an option. You can generate organic and pay per click traffic.  Check out my site where I have a one hour guide to creating your own website.  Using internet marketing and social media is a great way to generate traffic (Squidoo, Twitter, Facebook, ect).  That's my 2 cents!

              I recommend making your own site. If you don't know how... I highly recommend Etsy. Good photography is a must. I'm not the best but have seen an improvement in all aspects of my work, photography and business as time goes on. If you descide to get a website... do not use a free one. It really limits how you can make your site and there are ad banners all over.

 

Matt Nix

 Check out Artistry Arts!

You can open your own store and list your items for FREE!

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2)Paypal checkout

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ARTISTRY ARTS

 

YOu can post at http://www.google.com/products, or at www.google.com/base

 I agree with Kameron Kay. I would suggest creating your own website and blog to sell directly. But first you got to know some knowledge about website building and seo. Actually a lot of jewelry shop outside sell this way and gain a lot of orders. Anyway, it need more patience and it is time-consuming too.

Hello I've been looking for an Ebay alternative ever since I started selling on Ebay So far I haven't found too many that I would be interested in trying. Today I was searching Google and I came across a site that seems promising but there aren't too many items listed http://www.findsit.com I've been searching for an Ebay alternative for quite some time now but haven't been able to find a site that meets my needs, so far this is the only site that I've found to feature a built in shopping cart, shipping calculator and a look that would fit in with my niche. Once this site begins picking up, I may just give it a try. I've contacted the owners of the site asking them why they have such a small amount of listing, they replied stating that they just released the site in beta on May 25 2009. I'll give it a bit more time but I feel it may be worth my time

A few options are out there  if you don't want to create your own website (though I highly suggest doing so as it is more beneficial to you in the long run) 

 http://www.shophandmade.com 

A site that allows for completely free listings, they do this by using sponsorship to pay for your listings.  You can opt to pay a 25c listing fee and not have sponsor ads in your listings.  You also get to choose the amount of commission they receive if your items sell (you can choose 0%)

 http://www.etsy.com

A community based handcrafted selling site, pay a 20c per item listing fee and 3.5% flat fee on items that sell.

http://www.artfire.com

They have 2 options a free account with no costs at all but a limit of 12 active items at a time, and a monthly fee based account for $12 flat rate per month (no limit of your items)  The paid version does come with considerably more features than the free version.

 There are a number of other venues out there as well, but  getting online with your own site isn't terribly expensive and honestly doesn't cost more on a yearly basis than an account with artfire.com would.  

I would suggest considering the # of items you have available to sell and compare them against the fees from different locations.  

Don't write off craigslist as a viable place to advertise your website, or other site from which you sell.  Many good leads can be generated from there.

April

 

 

If you want to create your own site, or build your shop or just post products, there is another option:

    http://jewelrywonder.com

or go directly to:
 
    http://jewelrywonder.com/startSell.do

Their site design is very professional and upscale.

1) They are Completely Free - total cost is 0. No listing fee, no monthly fee, no transaction fee, no setup fee.
2) Setup is easy - can be done in a few minuets
3) Credit Card and PayPal payment
4) inventory Management
5) Order Management
6) Shipping Rate
7) SEO & Traffic Boosting
8) Google Product Base Feed, RSS Feed

....

I have to agree with most. I would suggest you start your own website so that you will have complete control over your business. It does require alot of work, but it will be worth it.

There is  http://www.rubylane.com/ - they have been around for years.

 

I've never used them so I can't say of they are good or not

 I also agree to consider your own stand alone site..

 In the past I have tried many community selling venues. Told myself I would probably not do them again, but .... I am experimenting with Etsy.. 

I would highly recommend them if your not able to set up your own site and enjoy the community selling venues..