Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on | 1 Comments
Etsy changed it's policies recently (October, 2013), to allow sellers to use manufacturers and still sell in a place that continues to dub itself "the handmade and vintage marketplace". As expected, there has been some backlash (this article is a really good feature of the CEO Chad Dickerson, so read it, then scroll to bottom for comments) .
The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC had an open call-in session on his radio show to ask callers, both buyers and sellers of items sold through Etsy, what they thought of the change. Callers brought some very interesting points and perspectives.
Being that Etsy is a marketplace that can help sellers and small business owners reach a greater audience, as well as grow their own community of fellow designers and business owners, we at Tin Shingle keep an eye on it to see if it's an online destination that is worth the time for a shop owner to develop. And not only time, but brain space to think about how to brand a product there and what is sold, versus the seller's own website.
Here's the clip from the Brian Lehrer Show. What do you think?
Comments
Ok, I wrote this article and
Ok, I wrote this article and posed the question, and here's my answer:
As a one-time seller on Etsy years ago, I wasn't sure if it was kosher for me to sell my stuff there. I make my prototypes, but used to use a shop in NYC make them, and then I moved production to Alabama where one woman would make my things. She's better at it than me, and faster! But it's her craft. And my craft was designing and pulling together fabrics, and trying to build a business around it.
So...while not handmade by me, it was handmade by somebody awesome because I couldn't make it myself. I get why there would be backlash. But the unskilled stitcher in me, who wants to keep my small, small production in the states and with people I know, kind of welcomes it. My stuff is at katie-james.com