1000 Markets vs. Artfire

I hope that my last post didn't come off as bitter. I really do love Etsy but I'm not what they call a cheerleader any more. I have what I think are legitimate concerns and I just wanted to get them off my chest. So, I've been investigating the different venues for selling on-line since November when I blogged about all the other sites here. At that time I was leaning towards starting another shop on Dewanda, which is an international site out of Germany. I did some shopping and made a purchase from a seller there. I found the whole check out process very cumbersome and having to convert everything in my mind from Euros was also very distracting. I know you can't judge a site by one transaction but I found the whole process annoying and so I've decided it's just not for me.

So that lead me to the other two venues that I was attracted to, 1000 Markets & the new comer of the bunch Artfire. There is so much buzz right now about Artfire and their incentive to sign up is intriguing. For the first 5,000 sellers that sign up they are offering a $7 a month package for life. No listing or processing fees, just $7 a month as long as you stay active. After doing some shopping and buying some supplies I realized I might as well be on Etsy. The experience was really exactly the same for me. It is a very similar set-up and you can tell that the creators were very much inspired by Etsy and were in many ways just trying to be an option for those who are wanting to get away from etsy for one reason or another. I just don't see how putting the time and money into Artfire really makes sense right now for me. There are about 6 months out of the year where I get very few sales and continuing to pay the $7 a month would be a pain for me just to get exposure to much the same audience I'm already reaching at my etsy shop. I can see how it is appealing to so many others but I am speaking just for myself here.

I have to say that I really like the look of 1000 Markets. It has a very upscale boutique feel to it. I also like the fact that they are juried which keeps the resellers out. They also only sell handmade items, not supplies or vintage. I like that Etsy includes these sellers but I kind of like the exclusivity of 1000 Markets. It's like walking into a funky gift show in Clayton, and the prices are reflective of this. They do tend to have higher price lines which would allow me to get some of my more expensive pieces a real show place. I also like that it is free to set up shop here, they charge 5.5% plus a .50 fee when an item sells. Another reason to stick to more expensive items. I really think that 1000 markets has the potential to open me up to a different market so to speak. I went ahead and "opened shop". It is remarkably easy to set up listings compared to Etsy. The entire process is all on one page and is very smooth. I will put up a link once I have it all figured out. As I said it is juried, so I will then have to go through the process of getting accepted. I will use the best of last weeks pictures and see how it goes.

If I don't get in then I will give Artfire another go but as of right now I'm hopeful that 1000 Markets will be the next phase of Lenox Knits for the new year.