Favourite Alternative Sites Similar To Etsy UK
The United Kingdom Alternative Sites to UK Etsy
If you desire to start offering handmade and personalised products online, the first place you’ll probably check out is Etsy UK. Alternatively, several marketplaces that really worth looking into have also been popping up online. Most online merchants choose to have their items listed in multiple stores so you might want to consider different possibilities. In order to help you get started, a list of 10 Uk Etsy substitutes in the UK has been created.
• The Button Owl
• Amazon Handmade
• Friday-Ad
• Not on The High Street
• Depop
• Folksy
• Storenvy
• Uncommon Goods
• Coriandr
• Cargoh
• Dawanda
• Numonday
• Crafter’s Market UK
The Button Owl is a new uk marketplace for personalised and handmade products in the United Kingdom with No Commission or listing free and a very low monthly fee of only £1.99 per month the only other fee is done through the card transaction company Stripe with an unlimited product listing for sellers that live within the United Kingdom. Once A Seller Joins The Button Owl at the £1.99 per month it is locked at this price for that seller as long as they keep their account active. (So Doesn’t Go Up Over Time for That Seller Unlike Other Marketplaces)
When you buy from someone on this platform the seller gets 100% of their sales and you are helping a small UK creative business succeed. The marketplace is all setup so the seller can add their products and the buyer can put in all the customisation on the product page before it added to cart and at checkout, the buyers can check the information they add correctly.
All the sellers on the marketplace get their own profile page and shop section which is ideal for sellers to link to their business Facebook account, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter etc.
As well as all the product they list been included in the main marketplace.
They have a large range of products and gifts that perfect gift idea to inspire you.
The the platform uses https on all pages and has a secure checkout and use stripe payment to accept payments safely.
The Button Owl Is Based in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
This mighty internet platform also embraces the world of handmade products.
Amazon, the largest online marketplace in the world also introduced its own handmade collection in 2015 and has since been directly competing with Etsy. There were fears when it was first launched if it will result in the end of Etsy and similar sites as it has been referred to as “Etsy-destroyer”. This, however, has not turned out to be the situation as most online buyers and sellers still prefer the Etsy-feel due to personal experience even with the huge traffic generated from Amazon.
Before your product can be listed under Amazon Handmade collection, it will first undergo a rigorous review. Your product, however, will get exposure to the massive audience from Amazon if you are able to cut through this process. Although Amazon Handmade collection has not been able to crash sites like Etsy, they still provide a great shopping experience from being well known and trusted and have made many sellers successful from their collection of quality products.
• Your products will get more exposure to the massive audience from Amazon.
• You will be provided with a comprehensive report on your product performance.
• Your product may get qualified for Amazon Prime.
Minimum cost, user-friendly substitute for Etsy.
The Friday Ad was UK’s foremost classified paper at no cost and has been around since 1975. It’s been over 20 years now since its launch and Friday ad has attracted over 2.3 million users annually. Friday ad was established on the concept of recycling and upcycling and has proven to be a wonderful marketplace for sellers to showcase their handmade items and even create a store.
Your handmade products can be listed at no cost and depending on your preferences, a custom business profile that matches your online storefront can also be created. it provides more flexibility during product uploads when compared to alternatives like Cargoh or Folksy. The site processes every payment after each product sales and security measures are in place to counter any form of scam.
• Products are listed at zero cost.
• Optimized for mobile devices.
• A customizable online marketplace.
Premium quality and exceptional handmade collection.
This is a well-known handmade marketplace that has been around for more than 10 years now and a store for about 5000 small and innovative businesses who have been selling their products through the site. There is an extreme requirement for your product on this site before they can be sold.
It is a paid membership site with quite a high commission. Sellers on this platform benefit from a high marketing standard. This makes most sellers feel that the extra cost and the high level of standard placed on the site are worth the price.
Included in the marketing campaigns are radio, TV ads, billboards, magazine promotions, and gift guides. It features a very high standard for buyers and sellers alike and even sellers sometimes qualify for a personal account manager.
• Wonderful opportunities through marketing
• Appealing product listing page
• Easy usage content management system
This mixture of Instagram and eBay is standing out in the millennial world.
Depop is usually being denoted to be the most preferred among the available modern stores due to its Instagram-looking social feature. It’s an app where sellers get bids from buyers about their uploaded products which makes it similar to eBay. Depop is being utilized by a specific online store usually filled with teenagers and young adults in their twenties searching for designer clothing to sell. It is usually being referred to as having both features from Instagram and eBay.
A unique feature about Depop is its easy navigation especially with the modern features of likes, swipes and messaging. Sellers and their products can be followed, drop comments and likes and perform similar functions done on Instagram. It is quite an extremely different characteristic from the conventional buying and selling routines found on Etsy and similar sites. However, you can give it a try if your target audience is more of young adults and teenagers.
• Simple and on the go navigation. Designed and optimized for mobile.
• Good community and social circle.
• Enables building a follower thread.
UK’s handmade products
Folksy is sometimes referred to as Etsy’s UK identical in the UK. It was launched in 2008, smaller and not as old when compared with Etsy. Its mode of operation is very similar to that of UK Etsy such that payment must first be made before your product gets listed and they get a share on every product sold. They, however, have a monthly or annual payment plan suited for those with several products who prefer unlimited listing. Folksy however still only allow sellers from the UK on their platform.
It also offers zero cost when getting started like other sites and also features a customizable online store. They mainly target handcrafted supplies and products as vintage items are not allowed except they have been correctly renovated or modified. They have a blog on their site and provide to over 50,000 buyers gift guides on a weekly basis which will give any seller on their platform a wonderful advantage.
• Only available to sellers in the UK
• Offers monthly/annual payment plan for endless listing.
• Customizable online shopfront.
An online storefront with a massive community
The unique feature about storenvy is that it does not have any listing charges. They offer a personalized online storefront where you can list as many as 500 products for free. They, however, charge higher than Etsy on commissions from each sale but the benefit is you won’t be getting charged for listing a product if it does not sell.
They also provide two different options to sellers who can either create a personalized storefront or list product on their marketplace. Creating a personalized storefront on their platform is quite beneficial as you can develop a storefront that looks professional and can also get a low priced custom domain name.
Storenvy also features a very effective search engine where buyers can search item according to their brand which can help sellers build a customer base. The site also provides a massive community for buyers and sellers where products are actively being recommended.
• Zero listing fee
• Easy user interface and customizable online storefront
• Low priced custom domain.
A high-quality platform for high-quality handmade products
Uncommon goods have been existing for a while longer than Etsy but recently extended to the UK. They really don’t give away much information on the procedure for product sale on their website. They, however, have a group of customers who research on the required products to be sold on their platform and you might also, submit your product for review.
The website is designed mainly for buyers and does not possess the seller’s community experience that can be found on Etsy and similar sites. Although, they offer amazing user experience and only offer high-quality products. This could, however, be a very profitable platform to get listed on if your product passes their review process.
Uncommon goods offer user-friendly navigation better than most similar sites available. As they frequently include their product on their gift guides. Their platform will provide a wonderful opportunity to UK sellers who offer high-quality products.
• An easy to use interface for buyers
• Ships internationally
• High-quality products.
A low fee user-friendly platform
This website is listed as one of the top selling sites available although it may not have that appealing look when compared with its rivals like Etsy. This is edged on its simple easy to use navigation that allows easy search for products and quick uploads for sellers on the platform.
Creating a storefront is usually free but costs 20p to get a product listed in their marketplace. The listed product doesn’t get expired if not purchased with a certain period as opposed to Etsy. It also offers a comparatively lower commission on sales when compared to other competitors which are just 2.5% per sale. The instructions for selling products on their site is not as strict as other similar platforms like uncommon goods or not on the high street. Sellers have indicated the site has very good customer support which makes it a perfect choice if you need a less-fuss platform.
• Low commission and fee
• User-friendly interface
• Free personalized online storefront.
A high standard social marketplace
Cargoh creates a statement as a standard online store for self-sustained creatives and showcases more of exceptional handcrafted products. They are very picky about the products that are allowed on their platform so there is a need to first check out their instructions before applying. A very high image resolution is also required for approval. Many sellers have informed several rejections of their products due to duplicate an already existing entry on their platform which raises the need for a totally unique product.
Cargoh has a very loyal customer base and audience and they focus more on making their platform suitable for buyers and sellers alike. They offer a 10% commission on every product sale but don’t charge any fee before listing a product on their platform. Cargoh is still a new site and can be monitored for a while if your application is not approved.
• Zero listing fee
• Devoted customer base
• Stable community
At nuMonday they have a large number of British makers selling on their platform directly to the customer so you can find some unique gifts for your friends and loved ones.
On their affordable platform the creatives seller in the UK gets 100% of their sales with 0% commission fee no listing fee but with a small card transaction fee and a monthly fee.
So when you buy a product from this platform your supporting creative seller in the United Kingdom.
nuMonday are based in Glasgow in the United Kingdom and founded in December 2016.
Crafter’s Market UK is a brand new UK marketplace for anything handmade. Start listing your items with absolute zero upfront cost and only pay a commission fee of 5% when you make a sale. Alternatively for £5.00 a month you can lower the commission fee to 2.5% and with it unlock a host of additional features (SMS Notifications, Analytics, Customer Coupons and more). The only additional fee is from the chosen payment gateway, Stripe Connect (1.4%+20p), to safely and automatically transfer your funds from your sales.
This platform is actually made by crafters, for crafters, so with it comes a great sense of community and attention to detail. There’s an active Facebook group for vendors to discuss ideas and share tips as well as ongoing improvements suggested by the community. Already the website has seen various improvements since its launch at the start of March 2021 with a fantastic mobile design and powerful search functionality.
Each vendor has their own shop front to advertise their products and their shop is shown on all their product pages and listings. Crafter’s Market UK also actively promotes all vendors across Facebook and Instagram using its own account and its sister marketplace, UK Crafter’s Marketplace with over 10k followers.
This particular marketplace has the unique advantage where the goal isn’t just to be another marketplace (let’s face it, there’s plenty), but somewhere to support some truly fantastic crafters and to join a like-minded community.
Plans are already in motion to develop mobile apps for both buyers and sellers and to develop the platform further to introduce new and exciting features.
Key features:
• Commission Fee 2.50% or 5%
• Zero Listing Fees
• No set up fees
• Instagram shopping tags
• Product reviews
• Your own shop URL
• Optimised for search engines
• Weight-based and standard shipping options
• SMS Order Alerts
• Customer Coupons
• Product Addons
• Shop Analytics
• Messaging
• Vacation Mode
Further reading: Crafter’s Market UK Register Page