Where to sell handmade jewelry

There are more places to sell than it first seems. Each one suits a different kind of week.

• Online marketplaces, like Etsy, Amazon Handmade and eBay, where buyers search.
• Your own website, for people who already know you.
• Instagram and other social media, where you post and take orders yourself.
• Craft fairs, holiday markets and farmers markets, where people buy in person.
• Local shops, which buy at wholesale or sell for you on consignment.
• Pop-ups and home parties, including permanent jewelry events.

Some makers use two or three of these at once. Each one takes a different share.

Fees are easier to compare side by side. Here is what each place takes, on the day we checked.

Amazon's and eBay's fees are from their own pages: Amazon Handmade and eBay selling fees. eBay's rate depends on the category.

Selling in person can be the most fun, and the most worrying. A booth fee is paid before you sell anything.

Here is one example day: a holiday craft fair with a $150.00 booth, pieces at $28.00 on average. You need to sell 10 pieces to cover the day's costs. Selling 20 leaves $222.44 for 8 hours, or $27.81 an hour.

Other ways to sell locally:

• Farmers markets, where the same customers can come back each week.
• Gift shops and boutiques, at wholesale or on consignment.
• Pop-ups in salons, cafes and shops, and parties in people's homes.

The craft fair profit calculator works out any day with your own booth fee and prices.

Free to start is not the same as free to sell. Every place below costs nothing a month, and takes something from each sale.

• Amazon Handmade waives its monthly selling fee for approved makers, saving $480 a year. It takes 15% or 30¢, whichever is more on each item.
• eBay gives you up to 250 listings a month with no listing fee. It takes a final value fee when an item sells.
• Square Online has a free plan. It takes 3.3% + 30¢ from each card payment.
• Posting on Instagram is free. You arrange payment and shipping yourself.

Etsy is not free to start: each listing costs $0.20, whether or not it sells.

There's no single right place. These match a place to how you work, and you can change later.

• Making a few pieces a month: markets near you, and Instagram.
• Wanting buyers who are searching: a marketplace like Etsy or Amazon Handmade.
• Selling to people who already know you: your own website.
• Making in batches: a local shop at wholesale, if the price still pays you.

Whatever you choose, price for the place. A price that works at a market can lose money once online fees are taken.

These are easy to make when you're keen to start. Each one is quick to fix.

• Using the same price everywhere, without counting each place's fees.
• Booking a market without working out how many pieces cover the booth fee.
• Agreeing to wholesale before checking that half your price still pays you.
• Spreading across many places at once, with too little time for any of them.