Etsycom
If you are looking to buy or sell unique, handcrafted items or supplies, Etsy.com is the best place to go. Etsy is an online auction site where people sell their handmade wares and/or supplies to make arts and crafts. You may be thinking, "Ew, handmade arts and crafts. How good could they be?" Fear not! These sellers make and sell some of the very best items out there. These sellers are very talented and their prices are very reasonable.
Typically when you enter and auction site, you're there to either buy or sell. First I'll talk about the selling aspect of Etsy. Etsy, like so many other online auction sites, does charge per listing. However, they charge very minimally for the time your auction runs. Etsy is not set up as a single-auction site. You're automatically given your own store, with your own store name that lets your friends and customers find you quickly. You set a price for each of your listings and people can buy it outright. You don't have to wait for bidders to bid for a certain number of days like some other sites. Etsy also allows you to "feature" your listings and even reserve spots in their Showcase. If you reserve a Showcase spot for a small fee, when a potential buyer pulls up the Etsy site, they will immediately see your top item on the Home Page. I've tried this as a seller and was absolutely amazed at the amount of traffic through my Etsy store!
For buyers, Etsy has the best pictures of items for sale on the web. The sellers can add multiple pictures and they all come up large and clear on searches. Etsy also features various ways for a buyer to search for a store or a particular item right from the home page. If a buyer likes a particular store or a particular item, they can add it to their "Favorites". They can also purchase items immediately and not have to wait for days and try to outbid other buyers, sometimes in the middle of the night. A lot of times, in this format, buyers spend more than they normally would on a particular item. On Etsy, sellers seem to set very reasonable prices. A buyer can rest assured knowing that they got a great item for a good price.
Etsy.com is a top-notch online auction site. There is generally no haggle, no hassle. The buyers and sellers that use it are cream of the crop. If you're looking for excellent handmade arts and crafts or supplies in a kind, user-friendly website, Etsy is THE place to go.
