Etsy

Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade items, vintage goods, craft supplies and digital downloads. You open a shop on Etsy, list products, and buyers find them through Etsy search and ads. Etsy handles the checkout and payments, and you handle making, packing and shipping.

For a first-time seller, Etsy offers buyers who are already looking for the kind of thing you make, which a brand-new website does not have. Many makers start on Etsy to test which products sell, then add their own store later and keep both running.

Read the fee structure, which combines listing, transaction and payment processing fees, and the rules on what counts as handmade or vintage. Etsy controls the shop page design and the search ranking, so plan for the fact that the customer relationship lives partly on the marketplace.