After reading many good things about ArtFire, a new community for selling handmade items, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a shop there. (You can visit it by clicking here.) For a limited time and number of shops, the monthly fee is only 7 bucks! And, there's no listing fees or commission rates to deal with either. It is just a flat fee for as many items as you want to list. There's also a great free option which limits the number of items listed though.I've been on ArtFire for less than a week now, but so far, I really like the site. First of all, as I mentioned above, it is a low start up cost. Also, I'm impressed with the fact that they are doing online and print advertising. I recently saw an ad for ArtFire on the back cover of CRAFT Magazine, and I've read that ArtFire has purchased several more back cover ads on CRAFT.
Here are some other things that I like about ArtFire so far.......
- Item listing is only a one page process! It is also well formatted and easy to use.
- The staff there has been quick to address bugs and new upgrades that are in the works.
- I can't stress this enough so I'll say it again - only $7/month! No other fees!
- Your new item automatically shows on the front page when it is listed! New items rotate on to the front page as they are listed.
- The community is growing quickly considering the site is very, very new. It is nice to get in on the ground floor.
- Even though it has some glitches to work out, the site design is lovely and very easy to navigate and set up shop.
- There are multiple payment options including PayPal, GoogleCheckout, and RME.
I've sold on a lot of sites over the last couple of years with my only really good success being my Etsy shop. I have a very good feeling about my ArtFire shop though. As it grows, I think that ArtFire will become very popular. It has some similar online selling features as Etsy, but it is certainly no copycat, and I like that too. ArtFire is uniquely its own!
If you have an ArtFire shop, I'd love, love, love to know your shop address and what you think about the site so far so PLEASE leave a comment. Also, if you don't have a shop yet, but are thinking about signing up, I recommend that you take the plunge for just 7 bucks a month. And, I would appreciate it, if you would use the link below to register so that I can be your referral. Just click on the link below to check out the site further and see about registering to sell.
Register on ArtFire.com
