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Originally published on February 10, 2022, updated July 27, 2023
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There’s nothing quite like items made by hand. They’re special. Customers can feel the work, affection, and creativity that goes into creating them. That’s why artisan marketplaces like Etsy are so popular. People like supporting independent creators and appreciate being able to add the unique items they create to their homes.
For creators that enjoy making handcrafted goods, getting those items into the hands of customers willing to pay for them can be challenging. Doing it on your own requires building a website, investing in eCommerce software, and figuring out how to market your website from scratch. That’s a lot of work that requires a distinct set of skills.
Artisans looking for a customer base can skip the work of building an online business from scratch by listing their items on Amazon Handmade. Keep reading to learn how to get started selling on Amazon Handmade to turn your creations into cash.
Amazon Handmade is Amazon’s artisan marketplace. Artists and crafters can list their handcrafted items on the Amazon platform. By doing so, their products will show up in Amazon’s search and can be purchased with the level of convenience Amazon customers expect. That makes them more accessible to a huge audience of regular Amazon customers.
Amazon Handmade isn’t for just any Amazon seller. It’s specifically for artisans. The items sold through Amazon Handmade must be unique, handmade products. To ensure products meet these standards, Amazon doesn’t make the marketplace available to everyone. An Amazon Handmade seller has to go through a specific application and approval process to properly convince Amazon that their products actually do qualify as handmade.
When you're selling on Amazon Handmade, you pay a set fee of 15% to Amazon per order. That’s 15% of the entire selling price, including shipping charges. Notably, Amazon doesn’t charge a subscription fee for participation on the platform. You only pay when you make a sale. So if you're interested in selling non-handmade items as well, you'll need to create a separate Individual or Professional selling account.
If you have a hobby or passion that produces items customers want, joining Amazon Handmade offers some clear benefits.
1) Amazon’s fees are straightforward.
Amazon will take a cut of each sale, but the fees involved are straightforward enough that you won’t be stuck doing complicated math. Plus, the cut Amazon takes is modest enough that you should still be able to make a profit.
2) Amazon’s customer base is massive.
The size of Amazon’s user base is a benefit no other marketplace comes close on. The website receives more than 200 million unique visitors a month. Joining Amazon Handmade makes your products more discoverable to the millions of Amazon customers that turn to the platform regularly for their shopping needs.
As of March 30, 2022, Amazon Handmade will work in conjunction with the Build International Listings tool to automate much of the manual work of global selling with the program.
3) You can set your own prices.
You get to decide what your work is worth. Handmade creations are different from mass-produced ones. You probably feel more of a personal connection to the things you’ve made than other sellers do to the products they’ve chosen to sell. You can make sure the price matches the value.
4) It’s easier than creating your own eCommerce website.
While Amazon Handmade can be a smart way for artisans that already have a business to expand their customer base, it can also be a useful option for anyone who wants to monetize their handmade products without having to build a whole business around them. You can get a sense of how much of a market exists for your products in a way that’s low cost and low commitment.
5) Amazon offers convenience and security.
As the biggest eCommerce brand in the world, Amazon knows how to provide its customers with both top-level security and extreme convenience. You can trust Amazon to take care of making sure payment processing is safe while providing customers a level of convenience few other eCommerce sites pull off.
Before you sign up, you’ll want to know some basics about how Amazon Handmade works.
1) Approval takes time.
You can’t sign up and start listing your products right away. Amazon wants to make sure that Amazon Handmade exclusively lists products that are handmade by artisans. To ensure all the sellers on the platform match that qualification, they take time to review applicants before accepting them. You can only join if you make all the products yourself or work with a small group of people (twenty or fewer) to create them.
2) Your products must fit into the Amazon Handmade categories.
Amazon Handmade only allows artisans to list products that fit within a few main categories. These include:
If the products you create don’t fit into any of these categories, then you won’t be able to sell them on Amazon Handmade.
3) Offering Prime shipping is an option.
The option for fast, free shipping can make a big difference when customers are choosing which product to buy. With Amazon Handmade, you can choose to take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), where you ship your products to Amazon and let them fulfill orders. You will pay more in fees for this option, but FBA orders are Prime-eligible. That means your customers can get your products faster and with free shipping, which usually leads to more sales.
4) Seller ratings matter.
Amazon customers have high expectations for any orders they make on the platform, and they’ll bring those expectations to Amazon Handmade orders as well. As a seller, you need to provide the kind of customer experience Amazon users expect. That means getting orders out fast, paying attention to customer feedback, and replying to any customer messages as soon as possible.
If you don’t pull all that off, your seller rating could take a hit. And a low seller rating will hurt your chances to be seen on the platform and eventually get you booted off of Amazon Handmade entirely. You should only apply for Amazon Handmade if you’re confident you can meet Amazon’s expectations.
If this program sounds right for you, here’s how to sell on Amazon Handmade:
That’s it!
Becoming an Amazon Handmade seller is one of the easiest ways to get your handcrafted products in front of interested customers. If you’re ready to start making money off the items you create, get started today.
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