How to sell handmade products online: Etsy, your own store and beyond
Selling handmade work online comes down to four choices: where to sell, how to price, how to show and ship your pieces, and how to bring buyers back. Many makers start on Etsy, then add a store of their own. Here is how the two compare and how to get each part right.
Etsy or your own store?
Etsy is a marketplace, so shoppers are already there looking for handmade goods. That is its real strength, and a store of your own does not provide it. In return, Etsy takes fees. In the US, those are $0.20 per listing (renewed every 4 months), a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus shipping you charge, and 3% + $0.25 payment processing. Etsy's Offsite Ads charge 15% of an order that comes from an ad click (you can opt out under $10,000 a year in sales; at $10,000 or more, 12% is required), capped at $100 an order.
Here is a $50 sale with free shipping included in the price, no ads:
| Where you sell | Fees on $50 | Share of the sale |
|---|---|---|
| Etsy | $3.25 transaction + $1.75 processing + $0.20 listing = $5.20 | 10.4% |
| Your own store with PayPal Checkout (3.49% + $0.49) | $2.24 | 4.5% |
| Your own store with Stripe (2.9% + $0.30) | $1.75 | 3.5% |
The own-store figures assume a platform with no fee of its own. On Payly, that is the case: no monthly fee, no transaction fee and no commission. But no platform sends you shoppers by itself. Your own store means you bring the visitors, through search, social media, email and local markets. The sensible plan for many makers is both: Etsy for discovery, your own store for repeat buyers and orders you want to keep the full margin on.
Price handmade work to cover your time
The most common mistake is pricing materials and forgetting yourself. Build a price from the bottom:
- Materials for one piece, including the offcuts and mistakes.
- Your time, at an hourly rate you would accept from an employer.
- Packaging and shipping supplies.
- The payment fee, taken from the table above.
- A profit margin on top, so the business can grow.
If the total looks too high next to similar pieces, make the piece faster or sell something with a better margin. Do not quietly drop your hourly rate to zero.
Photograph for the buyer who cannot touch it
Handmade buyers decide on photos. Use daylight, a plain background and one clear front view. Add a detail shot of the texture or stitching, a photo with a hand or a common object for scale, and one showing the piece in use. Keep the style the same across the store so it looks like one maker's work. On Payly, you can add several photos to each product, and the first one is the main image. See Add images and use the media library.
Sell one-offs and made-to-order pieces
Handmade stock is limited. On Payly, stock tracking is set per product, so you can count a batch of 12 mugs and let it stop selling at zero, while a made-to-order item stays untracked and keeps selling. A low stock alert tells you when to make more. If a design comes in colors or sizes, set them up as options that each have their own stock. See Track and manage stock.
Ship fragile work safely
Pack as if the parcel will be dropped. Wrap each piece, use a box with room for padding on every side, and weigh the packed box before you set a shipping rate. Payly offers flat rate, free shipping and local pickup, so a small maker can charge a flat rate per order or offer pickup at a market. Buy labels from your carrier, or connect your own ShipStation account to compare carrier rates and buy labels there. When you add the carrier and tracking number to the order, the customer is emailed that it is on its way.
Order sample packaging and test-ship one piece to yourself before you sell. Few lessons are cheaper than a broken test mug.
Turn first buyers into repeat buyers
- Include a note. A short handwritten card with your store address costs almost nothing.
- Use discount codes. A code for a second order, with a minimum spend, rewards loyalty without discounting everything. See Create discount codes.
- Collect reviews. Signed-in customers can review products on your store.
- Offer a recurring product. A monthly box or a yearly pass can be sold as a subscription, with PayPal or Stripe collecting each payment.
If your listings are on Etsy already, you do not have to retype them. Download your listings as a file and import them into Payly. See Move from Etsy.
Questions
Should I leave Etsy?
Not necessarily. Etsy brings shoppers; your own store keeps more of each sale and gives you your own customer list. Many sellers use both.
Do I need a business name?
Rules vary by location. Check with your local authorities or an accountant. Choose a name that fits your work either way.
What does it cost to start my own store?
On Payly, there is no monthly fee or commission, so you pay PayPal's or Stripe's processing fee on each sale and a registrar if you want your own domain. Create a free account to begin.
Prices as published by each company for the US in October 2026. Prices can change; check each company's own pricing page.
