Make money using your creative talents

Serena Cowdy's got a new creative hobby. Here's how she plans to make money out of it.

I've recently been working on a personal craft project. My handmade venture is still in its (very) early stages, but through it I've discovered a crafty world I never knew existed.

All over the UK, home-based crafters are busy wielding knitting needles, whipping up pieces of jewellery, drawing fantastic pictures, fashioning beautiful ceramic objects and making all sorts of exciting things with felt.

I know this because I've been investigating the various different online marketplaces now dedicated to helping you sell your handmade goods.

I'm going to look at Etsy - the biggest player in the market. And I'm also going to focus on Folksy - a growing handmade marketplace based right here in the UK.

The big player - Etsy

What's it all about? Based in the US, Etsy has become a huge creative marketplace with international appeal.

As well as handmade goods, Etsy allows you to sell commercial and handmade crafting supplies (like material and buttons). You can also sell vintage items (which need to be more than 20 years old, and have 'vintage appeal').

Setting up shop: When you register as an Etsy seller, you'll be given your own tiny section of the site as your personal shop.

You can add your own banner, write a seller profile for yourself, outline your shop's policies and start listing the items you want to sell.

Your little shop will also get its own web address, so you can give people a direct link to you sales page. Here's an example of an Etsy shop which sells hand-knitted goods.

Costs as a seller: Whichever site you choose, you're inevitably going to incur certain costs: You'll have to pay for materials, postage and packaging - and factor in the cost of your time.

On top of all these costs, each handmade marketplace charges certain listing and/or selling fees (it's free to register as an Etsy seller). It costs 20 cents to list an item for four months. After this period it is de-listed, and you have to pay to list it again. If and when your item sells, you'll also pay a 3.5% transaction fee.

Etsy uses PayPal to deal with payments, and so you also need to factor in the PayPal seller fees you'll incur. If you receive less than £1,500 in payments every month (and I'm guessing that will apply to most of us!) the fee per transaction is 3.4%, + a flat 20p.

The pros: Etsy is probably the biggest and most well-known handmade marketplace around. It has a successful and established marketing team, an extremely helpful blog and a very active online community where you can ask for help and advice from other sellers.

The cons: Etsy's fame and size could also work against you. The seller competition is intense (thousands of other sellers could already be targeting your market) and the sheer numbers involved may mean your goods gets totally lost in the mix if you don't work independently to promote them.

You also need to be aware that the majority of Etsy buyers are still US-based; how many would be willing to pay the extra postage costs involved in shipping you item from the UK? And of course, the whole site operates in US dollars, which can be slightly confusing.

To find out more, have a look at the Etsy selling FAQ page.

The young pretender - Folksy

What's it all about? Etsy's closest UK equivalent is Folksy, a online marketplace which encourages you to buy and sell handmade goods and craft supplies.

Folksy is much younger and smaller than Etsy, and is still in its Beta testing phase (during which users provide feedback, and any site malfunctions are ironed out). Having said that, many shops are already up, running and selling on the site.

Setting up shop: The process is very similar to that on Etsy - you register, get your own personal web address, build your profile, customise your 'shop window' and start listing your items. Here's an example of a Folksy shop that sells knitted meercats!

Costs as a seller: As with Etsy, it's free to register as a seller. You'll then pay 20p to list an item for six months (after which time it is de-listed). If and when you make a sale, you'll pay Folksy 5% in commission.

Folksy also uses PayPal to deal with transactions, so you'll need to factor in the PayPal seller charges detailed above.

The pros: Folksy's small size and evolving nature could work to your advantage. At the moment, your feedback as a seller can still make a difference. And because Folksy is so much smaller than Etsy, you'll almost certainly face less competition in your chosen field.

The cons: The Folksy promotional machine is either really tiny, or not working properly yet. If you want buyers to find out about your goods, you'll have to market yourself like you mean it and continuously self-promote.

To find out more, have a look at the Folksy FAQ page.

The other contenders

Unfortunately, I haven't got enough space to investigate all the online marketplaces that allow you sell handmade goods.

However, there are plenty out there. If you want to find out more, I recommend you check out the following sites:

• Coriandr - based in the UK, allows you to sell anything creative and handmade.

• DaWanda - based in Germany, this is another (European) equivalent to Etsy and Folksy.

• Misi - based in the UK, a marketplace and community designed to showcase creative talent.

• Not On The High Street - based in the UK, this site is designed to promote high-quality, original products and personal service.

• All Things Original - stocks a range of creative gifts from independent British designers.

• Not Mass Produced - based in the UK and designed to promote the work of eco-friendly British and European artisans.

The verdict

When my little handmade range is ready to sell, I'm going to try using Folksy. I hope getting in at a fairly early stage will work to my advantage, and I like the idea of supporting a UK-based venture. I'll let you know how I get on!

I don't think many of us are going to get rich selling our handmade goods online. In fact, very few of us will be able to give up the day job, and at the moment (with consumer spending flat-lining) I certainly wouldn't advise making a big initial outlay.

However, I think handmade marketplaces play a useful role in filling the gap between craft fairs and full-scale small business ventures.

And if you're lucky, your little corner of web may allow you to fund your crafty hobby and make a bit on the side from the comfort of your own home.

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