Which UK craft site is best?

[Magpiepocket]

Please answer which uk craft site you think is best/which you use. I know etsy is the biggest but i want a uk based site listed in ££ so as not to put off uk customers.


Please add any comments of why you think this or any alternate sites.

thanks this will be really helpful for me :)



PLEASE VOTE :first:

[tipsylipsy]

I love Misi, the people there are really friendly and helpful and it does semm to be growing

[Magpiepocket]

so Misi has 5 votes and the others dont have any yet. Anyone else got any views?

[your theme]

As a buyer I prefer Misi. Theres not as much on there as Folksy but if you cant find what you want you can custom request on the forum and theres always a good response. I havent found a section like this on the folksy forum.
Does it exist? :confused:

[Katianne]

I've had 2 sales on Folksy and 1 on MISI. I find MISI much more user friendly, as both a buyer and a seller. Plus I get a lot more interest in terms of people adding my items to their favourites on MISI. It would be really good to get a few more sales but hopefully some of my watchers will take the plunge soon.

Good luck with it!

[Fluffy Squirrel]

I have only ever tried Ebay and Misi.

Ebay's fees got ridiculous so I dont' list our cards and candles on there anymore though leading up to Christmas last year we did quite well on there.

Misi is easy to use, the admins are all very helpful and friendly and from what I have seen the forum is great too. The listing fees are really reasonable too. And to top it off, I've had quite a few sales on there :D

[ladyluckjewellery]

I have shops on MISI and Folksy, I find Misi admin to be much more 'on the ball' with answering queries etc, although the forums over there are a lot quieter than Folksy, but there have been a lot of complaints lately about Folksy admin, or the seeming lack of, as they don't often seem to respond to forum enquiries.

for the price it costs to list (20p or so per item), I think it's worth having a few items on each - you've got more chance of reaching a wider audience then.

How's that for sitting well and truely on the fence;)

Claire

[C Hupfield Ceramics]

Wel I've given Folksy its one and only vote, but thats only because its the only online shop I use for buying and selling at the moment, and thats only because I didn't want to become too overloaded with stuff to keep up to date and to keep up with! Reading your reviews on Misi has made me want to join now, so I'm going to have a look!.......

[CeeGee]

I love Coriandr, although as the newest site it doesn't have as much traffic as the others - yet! It has a great clean, fresh, uncluttered look to it and Mat (admin) is outstanding at responding to issues and has set up a proper system for requesting and voting on site development.

Emma (admin) on MISI is very good too but I use it for destash items only as I'm not too keen on the look of it. Folksy has a lot of problems (check the forums there to see what I'm talking about) and I would love to close my shop there but feel kind of stuck with it until Coriandr becomes more established.

[Magpiepocket]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Very informative, so Misi seems to be the winner at the moment but i agree coriandr has a nice look to it.

Think i am going to set up a Misi account for now and see how i get on. I am moving house in a few days though so i probably wont properly establish a misi shop for a couple of weeks.

Thanks again for all the replies so far :D

[MiaBelleJewellery]

Not wanting to rain on any sites parade but I wonder how many of those who voted for Misi have stores on the other sites. IMO this poll possible only rates the % of people on a given site rather than rate which is better based on users actual comparitive experience.

I've used all 3 + Etsy so I know my vote is the latter.

Thanks
Belinda

[Magpiepocket]

which did you vote for then Mia?, i would love to know which you like best and why since you have tried them all.

i think folksy would have had more votes as it is busier but its recent problems have angered sellers (admin not replying to queries/problems etc.)

I will probably have a go with them all in the end but its good to see a general feeling of popularity.

[spagbog]

if you are in scotland use the shop scotland site, free lisitngs. Dont sell your stuff but just direct people towards your website. Pretty good so far.

[MiaBelleJewellery]

Magpiepocket I voted Coriandr. I was on Folksy and whilst it does have the most visitors it has it's issues. I like the feel of Coriandr, it feels closest to Etsy and that is where I started and where I do best.

I'd love to support all 3 UK sites but I've decided I'm going to stick with Etsy & Coriandr for now. Once I have them sorted I may revive Misi as that's my next favourite but it takes time to manage so many shops. Misi & Coriandr are the best for admin support and feedback and I think that will probably win more sellers and in turn buyers in the longrun.

Thanks
Belinda

[genesis]

I've not tried any of these and was wondering which to try. The consensus suggests Misi, so I'll give it a go soon.

I wondered whether anyone has tried bt tradespace, and if so how have they got on?

Thanks

[craftybeader]

I have just joined misi but not really started my shop on there fully.I have had one sale off my own website, quite a few visitors but no sales........So I thought MISI may work....fingers crossed!

[NoisetteHandmade]

I use big cartel. You can choose your currency and set it up like your own website. Its not suitable for people who don't have the time to promote though as you have to advertise your url as you would with your own website. I love it though and its perfect for me. You can start with a free shop with no listing fees or monthly fees but if you want to post more items you can upgrade. I am able to use my own website address too.

I have tried etsy and folksy in the past. I love etsy, look and feel. community etc but being in dollars it put off a lot of my buyer even though I tried to counteract this by putting a rough estimate in pounds on each listing. I also think etsy has too much stuff and you can get lost there especially if you are a UK seller.

One tip to etsy users when you tag your items put UK. I always shop on etsy by searching for UK sellers.

[swirlyarts]

I must admit that I only have a Folksy shop out of the ones listed here but I do have an Etsy and Dawanda shop. I really can't open another shop at the moment but I'm thinking of closing my Dawanda shop after Christmas (going to hedge my bets there for a bit longer!) and Misi looks like a good site to be involved in.

[BlueShedCrafts]

I have a MISI shop which I love and use and a shop on Folsky with no stock in it. Folksy is clunky to use and the traffic seems fairly non exisitant.
I tried PinkDoodle too...lousy in my opinion.

MISI seems to be picking up speed reasonably quickly. Emma, who owns and operates the site is extremely hardworking and efficient. The fees are lower than Coriandr and Folksy (and etsy for that matter).

The only negatives I have about MISI is it really bugs me to be named as a 'USER' onsite. I don't like the look of the opening pages either. They look shabby.

http://RosyTint.misi.co.uk
http://blueshedcrafts.etsy.com
http://jinglebells.etsy.com

BLOG http://knittingsnippets.blogspot.com

[Minky Magic]

Hi there
Has anyone heard of or uses http://www.myehive.com craft site?? Just curious as i've just come across it??

Mz

[Magpiepocket]

wow lots of views for my thread :)

i have been using etsy so far but i've been away so haven't put much effort in, planning to list some stuff on misi in the next few days to see how it goes.

[Glitter Fairy]

Hi all

well i signed up to etsy after ebay fees got ridiculous but found it quite fustrating converting everything to dollars. In research i have come across misi 2day and have joined. I looked at the others but Misi seemed to be the better one for me.

So we will see how it goes.

[JABBY]

I have also just joined MISI, and place my first few items. Been a member for a whole 18 hours now, and still not sold anything. aah well, back to the wine bottle.

To be sensible though, the site looks good. I am still playing with my photos to get them to the right size, as a few of my photos have been cropped to much on the thumbnail, but it's a minor problem.

Lots of good stuff on the site already, there are some talented people about.

regards
John
www.jbwoodcraft.co.uk

[BobBeacham]

I don't have any of these - although I am going to be testing them. My comment is really related to the general use of these shops.

For example, I don't really understand people feeling they must use a shop that sold in £s. If that shop services the UK market better, that's fine, but is the currency issue that important?

What about all those US customers - the world's biggest market. I buy from all over the world and I sell all over the world. I've got used to virtually everything being in dollars - it's become the de facto currency of the internet, much as English is the language.

Another point. Why, as several have mentioned, sell at just one store? Even if money is tight, Artfire (probably 2nd biggest in the US) will list 12 items for nothing. Even if you sell well at one particular shop, why only stick with them? Reinvest some of your profit in testing another. If it doesn't work, try another. As long as the first one is generating profit you can afford to spread your net.

Other people's opinions can be helpful but their experience may not apply to your craft - your work is unique, after all. I'm not suggesting you ignore what's been said, just that getting a negative comment shouldn't necessarily mean you don't run your own test.

Just my tuppence worth!