Handmade products in the trend: Etsy gets into wholesale

It was likely to have been a bang for internationally active art dealers and customers of individual handicrafts when the world's leading marketplace for handmade products, Etsy launched its wholesale program.

Since August 2014 - when Etsy has expanded its business model with a wholesale option - sellers now have the option of offering and selling their homemade articles worldwide to dealers. These dealers now get the chance to position themselves more strongly as a retailer of handmade handicraft .

In order to attract the attention of small traders as well as large dealers, Etsy Wholesale a member -based approach and is expected to collect a one -time recording fee of $ 100 for admission to the wholesale program.

From this point on, Etsy wants to request a transaction fee of 3.5% for wholesale orders.

Vanesso Bertozzi, the Senior Program Manager at Etsy, is firmly convinced that Etsy already has a determined crowd of sellers and dealers, which makes the introduction of the wholesale option for qualified customers as a logical consequence:

Etsy has a long tradition of having a very close relationship with your seller community. It's very exciting for us to think about thesis Wholesale Buyers - Independent Boutiques, Museum Stores, Specialty Shops, Gift Stores - As a New Type of Member on Etsy. Through Etsy Wholesale, WE Offer a Platform for Buyers and Sellers to Build Relationships While So Providing Tools and Special Opportunities for Them, as well. "

(Vanesso Bertozzi, Source: "Etsy Officialy Launches Wholesale Business" on Forbes.com)

The start of the new function was flanked by massive marketing campaigns. But what exactly is Etsy? Time for a brief insight into the world of the strongly expanding company.

Etsy - the leading marketplace for worldwide handmade products

Etsy specializes in the trade with homemade and hand -made products and connects creative providers with interested customers, dealers and buyers on its platforms. According to its own statements, the start-up currently has more than 30 million registered members and achieved sales of $ 1.35 billion in 2013.

Etsy started in 2005 as a marketplace that has set itself the goal of getting people from all over the world from the start to buy and sell unique and unique products. It has been committed to redesigning the trade for handicrafts and thus creating art and commerce

The online giant in numbers

Website: www.etsy.com/de/

Advantages of the Etsy Wholesale wholesale program

Let us work out briefly what the advantages and opportunities of this new program for small retailers as well as for established wholesalers are.

Advantages for retailers and customers

Etsy introduces a new way for retailers to acquire products that are not available through conventional trade fairs, associations or established channels. While the idea of ​​handmade products or vintage articles is not new, it is Etsy Wholesale's approach.

Dealers can expect to receive uncomplicated access to a reliable platform in order to obtain locations and articles manufactured locally and by hand. At the same time, you buy from an online provider who offers a lot of security when buying and processing.

It is easier and safer to buy via Etsy products than with individual and independent designers. This is due to the fact that all providers on Etsy have already been checked and confirmed by the operator.

Advantages for wholesalers and providers

For wholesalers and providers, the advantages of Etsy Wholesale are in a simple setup, the strong brand appearance and the constant flow of web traffic to promote business growth. It can also be said that independent dealers and providers are efficiently networked and bundled via this marketplace, so that they can position themselves significantly better than small independent companies.

These strategic advantages are particularly important for smaller market participants - especially with regard to increasing international competition.

Source: "Etsy Officialy Launches Wholesale Business" by Nicole Leinbach-Reyhle on Forbes.com

Criticism of the new business orientation comes from the creative

It must have been around autumn 2013 when Etsy fundamentally changed its terms and conditions . At that time, the CEO Chad Dickerson announced that sellers and providers of the marketplace can now use third parties, factories and manufacturers for the implementation of their designs and designs. In other words, this meant that articles that are offered via Etsy no longer have to be homely and handmade .

This is a fundamental paradigm change in the business philosophy of the marketplace provider, which vigorously erodes the previous core of its orientation - namely on independent, small indie designer and their creative works.

From an economic and business policy perspective, this step may have made sense in order to continue to emphasize the expansion course, but this has sustainable effects on the many artists, small providers and indie designers who have so far romped on the marketplace.

At the same time, the quality and consistent orientation was watered down on unique products and works produced with great love. Since this realignment, you have been looking for such products that have just been created in Handmade , it often happens that you only have to struggle with dozens of pages on search results with more interchangeable and carelessly coming "mass goods" before you finally find what you are looking for.

For the creatives, it is now much more difficult to be found in the middle of this abundance of listed articles. If you surf a little through the network, you quickly notice that these changes had dramatic economic consequences for many small indie providers.

After this changeover, many may have felt that they have been surprised by a fraction of their usual sales and have been fighting for economic survival since then. It is an unequal fight against more and more mass production companies from China and Co.

Tips for providers on Etsy

As a provider and designer, you don't want to be so easy to drive yourself out on Etsy and do not accept that the income is only dripped for yourself, then fortunately you are not entirely powerless.

The founder of the US project Factory45 , Shannon Whitehead, leads a number of measures that help generate more visitors and purchases through the marketplace again

• Create a small network of like -minded providers. Etsy offers the so -called “team” feature. However, go further and, for example, look for five other providers with a similar target audience, but not directly competing with you. Work together in the future by advertising each other - e.g. via your social channels or networks outside of Etsy.
• Define your niche even further and indicate very specific keywords/tags . "Printed T-shirts" will not bring it much further. The competition at this level is simply too high. Instead, you prefer to rely on more specific key terms that address your target market even more precisely.
• Write guest posts on Etsy's blog . The content there is geared towards consumers and buyers and written for them. It is therefore a complete platform on which your potential buyers hang around. Get thoughts about a few captivating and current topics with which you can specifically address your potential target group. Then all you have to do is convince the editorial team of Etsy of the quality and relevance of your articles.
• In your marketing efforts, swing away from Etsy and Pinterest, Instagram or a personal blog. The Etsy ads/ads are no longer as effective and targeted as they were once. So it is better to save yourself this money. Better focus on creating convincing and exciting content, which you then spread through your social networks and channels. Organize contests and competitions on Pinterest, distribute small giveaways and incentives on Instagram and give your prospect personal insights behind the scenes of your craft or business via your blog.

Source: "How Etsy Changed the Rules & What It Means for Indie Designer" on Huffingtonpost.com

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www. kunstplaza .de/