The crafting movement is more than just a hobby for many: it also offers one-of-a-kind quality items in a world of mass production.
There’s a growing desire for that authenticity and connection: a 2026 arts and crafts industry report by ACT Insurance found that 70.8% of consumers were willing to pay more for high-quality, unique handmade products, a varied, niche market that’s expected to reach $1.34 trillion in 2026.
Discover where to sell handmade products and how to get the most out of each channel.
Where to sell handmade crafts
You can sell handmade products on several platforms. Some, like in-person fairs and online marketplaces, offer ease of use and built-in customer bases; others, like your own website, offer more control.
You can also embrace a multichannel strategy. Reaching your customers where they are means establishing a presence in the places they spend their time, both physically and digitally. That might mean booking in-person events while maintaining your online sales and running social commerce. Use Shopify to manage all of your sales channels within your store admin.
Here’s what to know about each approach:
Online marketplaces
Marketplace sites like Etsy and Amazon Handmade allow sellers to list items alongside thousands of other makers. There are other options, too. For example, Artisans Cooperative pitches itself as a more curated and community-driven option for sellers and buyers alike.
There are pros and cons to online marketplaces: you’ll need to factor in listing and transaction fees, but they also let you experiment with your offerings and take advantage of a large, built-in audience browsing for a specific reason.
“My first business was a jewelry supply store on Etsy,” Lone Fox founder Drew Scott says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. The key to Drew’s success was cross-channel marketing and dedicated social listening: by investing in a robust YouTube strategy early on (and tracking trends across the comments), he was able to build a loyal fanbase.
“The store idea just made sense as a supplement to the content,” he says. “I knew a lot of people who watched my videos didn’t actually want to do the DIY themselves. I wanted the people who watched the videos and wanted that finished item to be able to purchase it.”
Online store
Once you’ve been successfully selling on a marketplace, opening a branded storefront can help you expand your profitable craft business. Owning and operating your own site means you won’t have access to an existing audience as you would with a marketplace, but you’ll have greater brand control over your store design, pricing, customer data, and marketing.
“I can’t rely on other people’s marketing completely,” says Bookishly founder Louise Verity on Shopify Masters. Establishing her own online store meant Louise benefited more from product virality, too. After she moved her store from Etsy to Shopify, one of her designs went viral following a Marks & Spencer copycat design scandal. News sites covering the story drove online traffic directly to her store—where she earned 100% of the revenue from sales—instead of to the marketplace, which would have taken a cut of each sale.
To set up your online store, use an ecommerce platform like Shopify and take advantage of the Shop app for built-in marketplace exposure. And you don’t have to start from scratch: Shopify’s Store Migration app allows you to migrate all of your existing store content and listings data from an online marketplace like Etsy to your website—and even keep the two operating in sync through one admin portal.
Social commerce
Social commerce—buying and selling on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook Marketplace—is a popular way for crafters and independent creators to engage followers as customers. Between 2023 and 2025, social shoppers grew from roughly 96 million to around 104 million, a figure that’s only predicted to grow.
Brands with business accounts on social platforms can curate virtual storefronts. This allows people to buy the products featured in the brands’ content without leaving the platform, making for a frictionless customer experience.
Wholesale
You can list your products on a wholesale platform like Faire, making them available to independent boutiques, gift shops, and retailers looking to discover and merchandise products. This grants you built-in marketing and exposure to broader audiences and markets. Selling on Faire requires filling out an application to ensure your brand is a good fit for the businesses they serve. Like other online marketplaces, there are also commission fees (15% on orders through Faire’s marketplace, plus a $10 new customer fee) and a payment processing fee (varies based on your payment terms).
In-person
For products where the tangible details—how a small-batch candle smells, or how a fabric feels on the skin—are crucial to a purchasing decision, in-person events like local markets or craft fairs still make up a majority of sales for many handmade businesses.
For skin care brand Three Ships, engaging with potential customers face-to-face at farmers markets and craft shows was a way to test their products in real time, watch how people applied samples, and understand which scents were most divisive.
“That was the main source of acquisition in those early, early days for us. We’d pay a hundred bucks for the full day and do $1,500 to $2,000 in eight hours,” founder Laura Thompson says on Shopify Masters. “We started to build up more of a local following, and it allowed us to learn so much about our customers and how they consume skin care. Seeing people’s reactions in person allowed us to be really nimble around how we could improve our product and our packaging.”
P.F. Candle Co. founder Kristen Pumphrey’s time in craft fairs laid the groundwork for a breakout purchase order from West Elm, but she also cautions makers to manage their expectations, since it can often feel hit or miss in the beginning. “The amazing thing about craft fairs is that you’re put in front of thousands of people who are your audience. When do you ever get that chance? You just have to be particular about the costs and make sure they get covered,” Kristen says on Shopify Masters.
Most markets and craft fairs have an application process for rented space. Be proactive about checking these events’ schedules, application requirements, and wait lists. To make the most of your booth, consider using point-of-sale hardware to make credit card and mobile transactions as seamless as possible.
Where to sell handmade crafts FAQ
What homemade craft sells the most?
Home décor and original art prints are consistently reported as being among the most popular handmade items, but different formats have moments of extreme popularity. What sells the most will depend on what’s popular within your particular niche (e.g., clean beauty and natural ingredients) and what your target audience wants.
Where are people going instead of Etsy?
If you’re selling crafts online, you can look at Etsy alternatives such as Artisans Cooperative, Amazon Handmade, and wholesale-focused Faire. Monthly fees, listing fees, and shipping costs for sellers vary between platforms.
Do I need a license to sell homemade crafts?
Yes, selling handmade items, even on a small scale, requires a seller’s permit and a business license so you can collect sales tax on transactions. If you’re planning on selling in person at a fair or market, you may also be required to have event liability insurance. Specific requirements (and temporary, short-term licenses) vary by city and state; check with your local business bureau to see what’s required.
