Etsy

[qwallis]

Etsy.com is, for me, like a cross between a light blub and a black hole.

Light bulb: because people behave like moths faced with a dark room and a single electric bulb.
Black hole: because once it's gravitational pull is felt it is already too late.

[christinebossler]

This may be true, but its still a great way to handle payments if you don't have a phisical store front.

[qwallis]

I don't think it's so much payment processing; there are many many of ways of processing payments on-line.
I think it's more their success as a brand. They have a very strong brand association: they stand for "handmade".

The post wasn't really meant to be as much of a grip as it sounded.
There are undoubtedly a great many interesting people making very nice stuff who sell through Etsy: but for me the way that all roads lead to Etsy makes it less attractive than if they offered much better web site integration for example.

[christinebossler]

Oh I definitely agree with you on that point. It definitely isn't perfect. For me it offered a no brain necessary way to offer my work for sale to a wider audience than the local galleries, which I like to do as well. It also allowed me to create a way to separate what I consider my exhibition work from my production work even though I haven't completely finished this step.

I used to have another system in place but I was constantly worried that it wasn't working where I feel that etsy is established enough that I don’t have to consider that any more. I also think that consumers are more trusting of something like etsy or your page than an individual artists sight.

Etsy is not perfect, but for me it will do for now.