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The prevalence of drop shipping is what killed Etsy for me as a buyer. I guess I was too trusting originally, but I was very disappointed when I found out that

The prevalence of drop shipping is what killed Etsy for me as a buyer. I guess I was too trusting originally, but I was very disappointed when I found out that several items I had bought from them, all marketed as handmade, were just cheaply made pieces of garbage from places like Ali Express, then marked up 10x.

acheron 2y ago
Where do people actually handmaking stuff sell now?
- haunter 2y ago
  OnlyFans
  - pylua 2y ago
    Do people on only fans ship handmade contents to subscribers ? I thought it was a subscription website, but they may have more streams.
    - hprotagonist 2y ago
      you can absolutely purchase physical goods on onlyfans. it often comes in a ziplock bag!
- noodlesUK 2y ago
  The real answer is where they always have: local markets and craft fairs. Most towns and cities have some kind of periodic craft market, which is often related to a farmers and/or food market. They usually have some kind of weird schedule like first Sunday of every month or similar. You can also see if your local arts centre/university/whatever has some kind of market. There's also usually different kinds of conventions for specific industries where people will set up booths.
  - hprotagonist 2y ago
    and online: niche, reputation-based forums probably still running phpbb that have been online since the 90s and have aging users with post counts in the 6 figures.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    As augmented by their own websites I assume. You lose the mass discoverability but you at least reduce the direct competition with volume, largely mass-manufactured goods. Maybe it wasn’t obvious at the time but it certainly became so that your low-volume artisanal craft couldn’t sell alongside manufactured Chinese goods going for 10% the price.
  - grubbs 2y ago
    If you enjoy beer basically any brewery is having some sort of makers market / flea market / local artist event on the weekends.
  - derefr 2y ago
    Why are you so sure that an item being sold at a local craft-market gives you any guarantee of its local origin? The "hobbyist jeweler" standing at the twee little booth in the community center on a Saturday afternoon, could just as well have 1000pc boxes of identical "artisanal" rings and pendants from Alibaba sitting under the table, ready to replenish your purchase. Mind you, you can at least be sure that food items sold by such vendors are domestic (if not local per se), because of import restrictions.
    - Khartoum 2y ago
      The sellers at craft fairs I trust most and purchase from most often are those who are sitting there making things. It's easier to match the quality of things there making against those they're selling. It's pretty much the only way I can be assured they're not (exclusively) selling dropshipped items.
      - derefr 2y ago
        Only really works for some types of goods, though. Someone selling e.g. end-grain wooden cutting boards would require a very spacious booth to demonstrate their particular skill. Someone selling stained-glass pieces would require a fume hood to make any permanent progress! Someone making scented soaps? Legally, you need PPE to be within 50ft of the process!
- RheingoldRiver 2y ago
  A lot of people sell through instagram and facebook groups. I've bought a bunch of art (blown glass, embroidery mostly) through IG
- threecheese 2y ago
  Shopify has implemented much of Etsys value as a selling platform, though it doesn’t serve as a marketplace for discovery. Social media (TikTok and Insta) can easily offboard to a website shop, and lots of product creators sell there (and some use TikTok’s Shop, which admittedly is competing more with Etsys garbage dropshipping than anything else). Clearly there are gaps here, as not everyone can create a Shopify site, and social media isn’t exactly an e-commerce marketplace.
  - reducesuffering 2y ago
    > though it doesn’t serve as a marketplace for discovery. Their popular Shop app does. It's search through Shopify stores
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > Where do people actually handmaking stuff sell now? In my experience, on commission. Hire a carpenter or artist to make what you want and pay them for their materials up front and time on delivery.
- walterbell 2y ago
  Can they market or pre-sell handmade goods via a Youtube channel showing their craft?
- gnicholas 2y ago
  I still buy handmade stuff on Etsy. We've gotten coasters with our family name etched in them, vases made-to-order, and other handmade or customized items on Etsy in recent years.

acheron 2y ago

Where do people actually handmaking stuff sell now?

haunter 2y ago
OnlyFans
- pylua 2y ago
  Do people on only fans ship handmade contents to subscribers ? I thought it was a subscription website, but they may have more streams.
  - hprotagonist 2y ago
    you can absolutely purchase physical goods on onlyfans. it often comes in a ziplock bag!
noodlesUK 2y ago
The real answer is where they always have: local markets and craft fairs. Most towns and cities have some kind of periodic craft market, which is often related to a farmers and/or food market. They usually have some kind of weird schedule like first Sunday of every month or similar. You can also see if your local arts centre/university/whatever has some kind of market. There's also usually different kinds of conventions for specific industries where people will set up booths.
- hprotagonist 2y ago
  and online: niche, reputation-based forums probably still running phpbb that have been online since the 90s and have aging users with post counts in the 6 figures.
- ghaff 2y ago
  As augmented by their own websites I assume. You lose the mass discoverability but you at least reduce the direct competition with volume, largely mass-manufactured goods. Maybe it wasn’t obvious at the time but it certainly became so that your low-volume artisanal craft couldn’t sell alongside manufactured Chinese goods going for 10% the price.
- grubbs 2y ago
  If you enjoy beer basically any brewery is having some sort of makers market / flea market / local artist event on the weekends.
- derefr 2y ago
  Why are you so sure that an item being sold at a local craft-market gives you any guarantee of its local origin? The "hobbyist jeweler" standing at the twee little booth in the community center on a Saturday afternoon, could just as well have 1000pc boxes of identical "artisanal" rings and pendants from Alibaba sitting under the table, ready to replenish your purchase. Mind you, you can at least be sure that food items sold by such vendors are domestic (if not local per se), because of import restrictions.
  - Khartoum 2y ago
    The sellers at craft fairs I trust most and purchase from most often are those who are sitting there making things. It's easier to match the quality of things there making against those they're selling. It's pretty much the only way I can be assured they're not (exclusively) selling dropshipped items.
    - derefr 2y ago
      Only really works for some types of goods, though. Someone selling e.g. end-grain wooden cutting boards would require a very spacious booth to demonstrate their particular skill. Someone selling stained-glass pieces would require a fume hood to make any permanent progress! Someone making scented soaps? Legally, you need PPE to be within 50ft of the process!
RheingoldRiver 2y ago
A lot of people sell through instagram and facebook groups. I've bought a bunch of art (blown glass, embroidery mostly) through IG
threecheese 2y ago
Shopify has implemented much of Etsys value as a selling platform, though it doesn’t serve as a marketplace for discovery. Social media (TikTok and Insta) can easily offboard to a website shop, and lots of product creators sell there (and some use TikTok’s Shop, which admittedly is competing more with Etsys garbage dropshipping than anything else). Clearly there are gaps here, as not everyone can create a Shopify site, and social media isn’t exactly an e-commerce marketplace.
- reducesuffering 2y ago
  > though it doesn’t serve as a marketplace for discovery. Their popular Shop app does. It's search through Shopify stores
JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> Where do people actually handmaking stuff sell now? In my experience, on commission. Hire a carpenter or artist to make what you want and pay them for their materials up front and time on delivery.
walterbell 2y ago
Can they market or pre-sell handmade goods via a Youtube channel showing their craft?
gnicholas 2y ago
I still buy handmade stuff on Etsy. We've gotten coasters with our family name etched in them, vases made-to-order, and other handmade or customized items on Etsy in recent years.