by Johanna Draper

Created on: February 27, 2009

When first getting started in your business, budgets can be tight! To help you get started, I have compiled a list of inexpensive and some of them even free places to set up shop and sell your crafts online.

Etsy.com

My favorite place to sell is etsy! Although they are not free, they are very affordable. They allow you to open a shop with them for free, and they charge you a low fee of 20 cents for each listing, which lasts 4 months. They also charge you a small percentage of the item price if it sells. There are no monthly fees or hidden charges. They do charge overdue fees, if you don't pay your listing fees on time. Etsy has a great community, including forums, chat rooms, workshops, their own search engine, and much more, so getting exposure won't be too hard.

Artfire.com

Another site that seems to have good potential is Art Fire. You can set up a free account with them, and list up to 10 items for free. If you want to list more than 10 items, you can upgrade your account and pay a low fee of $7 a month. Listing fees are still free. $7 is the only fee you pay. On Artfire you can interact with other users, chat with them, ask them questions, and much more.

Silkfair.com

Silkfair is another site that I think has great potential. It is completely free to set up a shop and list an unlimited amount of products. also if you have been selling on Etsy, Silkfair has a feature that allows you to import your Etsy items to save you the work of having to remake each listing. Silkfair has great features and a good community. I think you will enjoy your time at Silkfair.

1000markets.com

1000markets is a great place to set up a free shop and list your items for free. However, the admins must review your shop before it can be live. Weather or not your shop is accepted depends on how unique and original your products are. If your shop doesn't pass the first time, you can retry as many times as you like, until you find a suitable product that 1000markets will like. If your shop passes, than great! They have a great community and you should do well there.

I am sure there are more places out there to market your products, but these are my favorites. I think all of these markets have great potential, although some of them are somewhat new, such as Silkfair and Artfire. But even so, any of these markets are great choices for setting up shop and selling your handmade products.

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