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It’s really is hard to say one is better than the other is when it comes to Artfire vs. Etsy.  However, I can tell you the pros and cons I have of each shop.  I like both venues, but I think the direction I will end up going is Artfire as it seems to fit my needs better.  Time will tell.  I will know more once the coming holiday season rounds up at the end of the year.

My Etsy store was first.  When I started selling, online there weren’t as many options as there are now and Etsy was more established than many of the other options; and that is what I needed at that time.  I started with ArtFire just a few months ago, and absolutely love listing there.  While I love both venues, there are pros and cons of each.

Etsy Pros:

• Very user friendly for someone who is just starting out
• Changes happen often to  improve the site
• Listing and sales fees are low
• There are a number of great features that Etsy offers, such as their poster sketch tool, which is normally used for creating treasuries, I use this tool to create my product flyers in publisher.  A couple of print screens and a little cut and paste and I can have a poster in no time.
• Etsy is more established than many of the other selling venues and for some that is important.
• I also like the convo (conversation) feature on Etsy; it tracks the whole conversation in one screen so you can see what’s been said at a glance.
• I like the tagging feature of Etsy, it’s easy to see what you have written

Etsy Cons:

• The changes can also be a drawback, as some of them have been cosmetic…which is difficult for returning customers to deal with as well as sellers trying to maintain shops.
• Etsy has listing fees as well as a fee for each sale you make.  While the fees are not high and there is a monthly bill this can be a deterrent for many want to be sellers.
• To me I feel like Etsy is a bit more specialty art than a venue for selling handmade wares such as mine.  I view it as becoming more of a venue for Artist rather than Artisan, if that make sense.
• When you list an item on Etsy there are 4 different screens you must go through to in order to list an item.
• With Etsy you have to have a users account even to purchase items

ArtFire Pro’s

• Much happier with the easy of listing on this site.  It’s one screen for the entire listing process.  This makes loading items faster and easier for my busy life.
• I have gotten more exposure with Artfire than I have with Etsy.  Artfire just started offering collections, which are similar to Etsy’s Treasuries, and I have been featured in two collections in the last month.  I have only ever been in one Etsy Treasury in 3 years.
• My items get views almost immediately after listing as well with ArtFire.
• I like the my market feature of Artfire really well.  I get and email every time someone adds me to their favorites list or likes a specific item.  The bonus I see with this feature is that you can notify that customer with an email when the items they like go on sale.  How fantastic is that!  It’s all about knowledge for me.
• Artfire also offers a Blog feature, where if you are a pro member you can write a blog just for your shop and link it with handmade market, which equals more exposure for your shop.
• Artfire offers a free membership, which allows you to list 12 items per month for FREE.  A pro member can list unlimited items for $15.95 per month with no additional fees for listing or sales.
• Artfire is also more buyer friendly.  Artfire you can make purchases without an account, making it easier for potential customers to commit to a purchase
• ArtFire is still a fairly new site, get in on the ground level and be established as this site continues to grow and build.

ArtFire Cons:

• Artfire’s convos are a bit more like an email set up
• This is also a con for some sellers – Artfire offers a free membership, which allows you to list 12 items per month for FREE.  A pro member can list unlimited items for $15.95 per month with no additional fees for listing or sales.
• Artfire is new, meaning they are still building their seller/buyer base.