Another On-Line Jewelry Selling Outlet
Monday March 10, 2008
In my web wanderings, I happened upon a relatively new site that looks like it is in many ways similar to Etsy.com. It's called ICraft.ca, and it is yet another outlet that those who sell their hand-crafted jewelry may want to check into. The site is designed to allow crafters to sell their work as well as provide a way for those who appreciate hand-crafted items to purchase a variety of products. There are also a message board, an events calendar, and a number of content-related articles.
Membership right now is free, and members, who are referred to as "creators," each have their own exhibit page where they can sell their work. Buyers can browse through products by categories: artwork, jewelry, clothings, crafts, accessories, and furniture, and each of these is further divided into subcategories.
Though this seems like a relatively new site, from what I can see there are a lot of folks over there already (at least sellers).
Comments
I checked this site out and it looks really interesting. Wondering if anyone else has heard anything about this site. They are *new* as Tammy indicated and have not done their official “launch” yet according to some comments from creators I have read. They are offering a deal for creators – if you submit at least one item by March 31 you get a years worth of free listing services (no annual fee and no service charges for listing over 5 items). What does anyone else think about this? Tammy, have you been able to find out anything more about this site since your initial article?
Hi Gale!
My name is Marina, and I’m actually an iCraft.ca staffer
Thanks for your interest in the site. You are indeed correct – we have not officially launched yet, as we are waiting to introduce our Shopping Bag feature first. It should be ready in the coming days. And yes, Creators who submit at least one item to their “store” (or as we say, Creator Exhibit) by March 31 get one year of unlimited product listings and we’ll waive any registration / subscription fees.
Here are some more facts about iCraft.ca that you might find interesting:
- Since our “soft launch” in late November 2007, we have over 260 Creators registered (including people from Australia, the United States, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Thailand, Venezuela, the UK and many more), and over 1000 products listed.
- Creators who make sales on iCraft.ca keep all their profits. Unlike most other arts & crafts ecommerce sites, iCraft.ca does not charge any commission on sales. Creators also have the option of accepting requests for custom orders or commissioned work.
- iCraft.ca does not charge creators per quantity of a listing. For example, if a Creator has a product page showcasing a knitted scarf, and he/she has 3 of them available for sale, we will not charge the Creator any additional fees for having more than one available.
- Everyone has an equal opportunity to present their work in a great detail by uploading up to 6 large images at no extra cost.
- And best of all, Creators will have the opportunity to always post 5 items free on their Creator Exhibit page. This is not a limited time offer – it’s a permanent perk. Also, the 5 items are completely interchangeable. It’s a great opportunity for those who first start up in the arts & crafts business to establish a web presence in minutes and at no cost.
Thanks, and feel free to write us at Feedback@iCraft.ca if you have any other questions. And a BIG THANKS to you Tammy for discovering us!!
Marina – iCraft.ca Admin
Hi Marina – Thanks for posting, I hope my readers read the comments here so they can get more info.
Hi Gale – Other than what I’ve read here via comments and on their site, that’s all I know. Hopefully, we’ll get some users who can relate some actual experience, but obviously, this is a pretty new venture still.
Hi Tammy,
From what I see, this site has the same artists that are on etsy. I prefer etsy for now, because it lets me window shop for hours on end without getting tired. I never knew there were so many jewlery craftsmen, and so many styles to choose from. I hope this new site has as much success in the future.
Tammy, I was watching Marthas’ Show Thursday, and she had a craftswomen on that referred to “etsy”, and Martha was telling about the site and how things work. So, when I opened your e-mail and read about iCraft.ca and the cross reference to “etsy”…I knew it was a sign! (LOL) I have been looking for a market to sell my designs, and I believe I have found it! I read the requirements for the site and it sounds straight forward. I like the fact that your fully in charge of your own site and that your not under any pressure from the site to sell(Just as Marina wrote). So I’m going to take a big step out into the virtual world and get my info. together and posted. I will let you know when I launch my Creator Exhibit Page!
Wow, Pamela, that is sort of freaky…in a good way. Let us know how it goes.
I have a shop on icraft and wanted to let you know that they have now launched. In order to get the year free you need to sign up by the 31st of March. The administrators of this site are great and very easy to work with, very willing to listen to our ideas etc. If you are considering and online store or looking to expand your horizons this is a good place to get in on the ground floor so to speak.
Thanks for the reminder, Sonja. The end of March is only a little over a week away.
A new online marketplace Silkfair ( http://www.silkfair.com ) has just recently launched as well. Silkfair has the following features:
– Free store, free listing, final sales fee of just 3%.
– Each store has it’s own blog, forum, social bookmarking and RSS capability for customer communication.
– Each store has it’s own URL for seller online store.
– Custom domain name is supported through SilkFair; sellers can forward their own custom domain name to SilkFair, set the domain name inside their SilkFair store profile, and SilkFair will display the store.
– Up to four different images for each item, and up to two videos, allowing sellers to demonstrate and explain items and show them in a number of views and settings that maintain the original quality submitted to SilkFair.
– Managing and maintaining listings is easy – changes can be made with just one click.
– Managing and sorting images is as simple as drag-and-drop.
– Products can be tagged by both buyer and seller.
– Integration with PayPal, GoogleCheckout and Authorize.net payment system; import/export listings capability.
– Managing pricing profiles, taxes, and shipping charges is also one-click easy.
– Full functionality for order management, inventory management and payment processing, all within the SilkFair System.
– Feedback system is double-blind with a 14 day grace period. Both buyer and seller can give detailed information on their experience.
- Unique mapping of feedbacks
– Existing eBay rating can be linked in.
When you register on icraft.ca enter my Referral Key: 0ce586cda7 on the registration page to receive 6-months of free unlimited product postings. See how it works here http://www.icraft.ca/pr08-07-28.php