Amazon takes on Etsy, launches craft site Handmade
Originally published October 8, 2015 at 12:01 am Updated
October 8, 2015 at 9:05 am
Valerie Nethery of Seattle makes gold jewelry that she is
selling on Handmade at Amazon as well as Etsy. (Amazon.com)
The marketplace, part of the booming “makers movement,” goes
live Thursday with more than 5,000 sellers and 80,000 products.
Seattle Times technology reporter
Amazon.com is finally launching a long-rumored
marketplace to rival handcrafted e-commerce site Etsy.
Handmade at Amazon
is going live Thursday, already populated with more than 5,000 sellers and more
than 80,000 products, the e-commerce giant said.
The bar for a craftsman to get wares onto Handmade is pretty
high. Sellers have to apply and be vetted to check on the materials they use
and to ensure all products are made by hand.
Judging by an early look at some of the artisans’ goods,
Handmade is full of gold rings, decorative art and thousands of other products
that fit into six categories: jewelry, home, artwork, party supplies, kitchen
and baby.
Handmade is a direct rival to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Etsy, which
has been struggling on
the stock market since its initial public offer in April. Etsy
has faced criticism recently
for launching a new program that connects craftsmen with company-approved
manufacturers in order to keep growing businesses from leaving the site.
Amazon’s entrance into the market could spell further woes for Etsy.
Amazon said it has no plans to allow Handmade sellers to work
with manufacturers. Customers already have enough options on Amazon.com to find
manufactured goods if that’s what they’re after, a spokeswoman said.
Speculation about Handmade at Amazon heated up last spring when
some Etsy sellers reported
receiving notes from Amazon asking them to sign up for the new
service.
Handmade
category leader April Lane said the company reached out mostly at craft fairs
and news spread by word-of-mouth. Amazon has been working on building out
Handmade for about two years, she said.
“What really turned the corner for us is we started to
see thousands of searches each day on Amazon for handmade (items),” Lane said.
The service will bolster the growing “makers movement”
in the country, whichencompasses crafters and hobbyists of pretty much any
type. It has been gaining steam
in Seattle, especially in recent months.
Seattle artisan Valerie Nethery sells gold jewelry on Handmade
at Amazon under the name LilyEmme Jewelry. The pieces range from about $180 for
a three-ring necklace to $1,200 for a diamond engagement ring.
Nethery has been creating the jewelry for seven years, using her
background in environmental science to source metals from two refineries that
specialize in recycled metal.
She also sells her goods on her own website and on Etsy, and
plans to continue on all sites.
“I wanted to be part of the new frontier on Amazon,” she said.
About 600 Handmade products are available for Amazon Prime
shipping, which delivers items to customers in two days with no added cost. If
the seller chooses to go through Amazon’s distribution process, products are
first shipped to an Amazon warehouse, then to the customer.
Rachel Lerman: rlerman@seattletimes.com;
on Twitter @rachelerman.
