Nowadays there is a lot of talk about digital products and printables. From templates to wall art, it has become a popular way to make money online in a passive way. They are relatively easy to provide to customers and they are convenient for customers to utilize. While Etsy is one of the go-to marketplaces, you may be wondering whether there are alternatives to Etsy.

Now that the holidays are approaching, printable decorations will be a big seller on websites like Etsy. But what if you want to sell art that is not digital? What if you have a physical product like handmade soap, jewelry, or paintings that you want to sell? Etsy is always an option, but aren’t there other ways to sell physical art? Of course! Here is a list of alternatives to Etsy.

What Websites Can I Use as an Alternatives to Etsy?

If you are an artist and you run an online business from home you probably want to know all of your options in terms of where you can sell your beautiful works of art. We all know about art galleries and many artists sell on their own websites, but how can you sell art where you won’t have to worry about shipping and its associated costs and logistical issues? What other options are out there? 

Below is a list of 20 places where you can sell your physical art.

1.Amazon Handmade

(https://sell.amazon.com/programs/handmade.html)

Is Amazon Handmade One of the Better Alternatives to Etsy?

What is it? Amazon is one of, if not the largest online retailer out there, and one of the strong alternatives to Etsy. You can sell and buy just about anything on Amazon. 

Amazon Handmade is for artists like yourself but before you can sell there you have to apply and be accepted.

Handmade is open to Artisans who make Accessories, Artwork, Baby, Beauty & Personal Care, Clothing, Shoes & Handbags, Home, Outdoor & Home Care, Jewelry & Watches, Kitchen & Dining, Pet Supplies, Sporting Goods, Stationery & Party Supplies, and Toys & Games.

If you don’t see your category listed, this means they do not allow the sale of those items in the Handmade store. Popular categories not currently available include Digital or Downloadable Products, Food & Grocery items, and Electronics.

Are there fees? Yes. Joining Handmade, creating your shop, and listing products is free. When you make a sale, Handmade will deduct a 15% referral fee.

During registration, you will register with a Professional selling plan that provides you with Handmade-specific tools and support to grow your business. While the Professional selling plan costs $39.99 per month for an Amazon Seller, this monthly fee is waived for Handmade artisans.

2.Fine Art America

(www.fineartamerica.com)

Fine Art America, one of the great alternatives to Etsy, touts itself as the largest print-on-demand fulfillment network in the world with 14 fulfillment centers in 5 countries. Fine Art America is the premier online marketplace for buying and selling original art, prints, home decor, apparel, and more. 

With just a few clicks, you can open an account, upload your images, select the products that you want to sell, set your prices, and begin selling your art to millions of buyers all over the world. Sell canvas prints, framed prints, home decor, phone cases, t-shirts, and more.

Upload your images and offer them for sale as canvas prints, framed prints, metal prints, acrylic prints, wood prints, art prints, posters, and more.

Set your own prices for each of our available print sizes, and when a buyer places an order, they take care of everything for you, including: printing, framing, matting, stretching, packaging, shipping, insuring, processing credit cards, dealing with your customers, and sending you your profits each month! The ease of selling on this site makes it one of the best alternatives to Etsy.

You can determine your level of participation by seller plan subscriptions.

3.Saatchi Art

(www.saatchiart.com)

Saatchi Art provides a platform for artists to sell works in a variety of mediums, including painting, collage, photography, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, mixed media, limited edition prints, installation, and open edition prints.

Once you sell a piece of art, you will receive an email informing you of the sale. You will need to schedule a date and time for one of their couriers to pick up your sold artwork. They also supply you with any shipping documents and labels you may need. 

Don’t worry about covering the shipping costs, as the collector is responsible for the cost of shipping. You are only responsible for the cost of packaging your artwork. If this appeals to you, this may be one of the Etsy alternatives that meet your needs.

Choose how and when you get paid. Saatchi offers secure payments by check, wire transfer, or PayPal. Their support specialists ensure their artists and collectors are financially protected on every sale.

4.UGallery

(www.ugallery.com)

UGallery exhibits original art in every genre, style, size, and media with the exception of video art. All work is vetted by their curators before going on display. Their stated goal is to offer clients a diverse selection of two- and three-dimensional media. They don’t show reproductions of original pieces, such as giclées.

UGallery splits the sale of artwork 50/50 and they will cover all of the costs of packaging and shipping the work. Unlike Etsy, not everyone can sell on UGallery as you have to apply to become a seller. 

The application is a simple, four-step process that takes about 10-15 minutes. In the application, they will ask for your contact information, artistic background, and 10 digital images of your artwork. There is also a non-refundable $5 application fee paid through PayPal.

5.Ecomm stores: Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace; Print on Demand Alternatives to Etsy

If you would rather set up your own store and handle all aspects of the business you can create a website using Shopify, WooCommerce, SquareSpace, or Wix. Running your own shop where you call all the shots is definitely one of the best alternatives to Etsy.

Each company charges a different fee for the monthly hosting service. Your fees would be based on the base price of each item you plan to sell and whatever fees are deducted from your merchant accounts once a customer’s credit card is charged. 

For example, if you sell hats, you would have to pay for the hats and for whatever fees you are charged by credit card companies of a company like Paypal to accept the payments. You would handle the shipping and fulfillment.

You could also connect your store to a print-on-demand company to handle the fulfillment and shipping of your hats for you. Spreadshirt, Redbubble, and Teepublic are examples of companies that could do this for you. These print on demand options are excellent alternatives to Etsy.

6.Turning Art

(www.turningart.com)

TurningArt brings artwork from today’s most talented artists like you into businesses and real estate nationwide, making this one of the very unique alternatives to Etsy. They collaborate with painters, photographers, illustrators, and sculptors to provide their clients with collections of artwork that are engaging and personal. You do have to apply to sell on this platform.

With TurningArt’s service options, you can earn revenue up to 3 different ways: You can earn a percentage of the artwork’s retail price for every month a piece is leased. You can also earn a commission by selling your work and earn revenue on site-specific and commissioned client projects. 

There is also the option of taking advantage of one, two, or all three. How you make your work available to show is up to you.

Using the inventory information you’ve provided through your Artist Dashboard, their team finds the right spaces for your work. They take care of all of the details in marketing, sales, and logistics to free up your time to focus in the studio.

7.Society6

(http://www.society6.com/)

Society6 is an open community, where anyone can sign up to be an artist. They make selling your art easy. All you have to do is create an account, upload your work and make your designs available for sale on their range of products. 

When you sell a product, Society6 produces it, packages it, and ships it for you, so that you can focus on making more art. If you are interested in a print on demand service this may be one of the great Etsy alternatives for you.

Whether you are a photographer, fine artist, graphic designer, typographer or you’re just getting started on finding your style, Society6 may have a solution for you.

You have to be able to upload your designs so they can be enabled on a wide variety of product categories from wall art, home decor, and furniture to tech accessories, apparel, and more. Society6 artists earn 10% of every sale, plus there are a few other ways to add to your earnings.

For art prints, framed prints, and canvas prints; artists have control over their markup and can set their own prices above the standard 10%.

Additionally, artists have the opportunity to join their affiliate program to earn an additional 10% on sales that they refer. One of the more unique alternatives to Etsy.

Artist earnings are paid via PayPal (on the first business day of each month) and credited 30 days after the shipment of each order.

8.Artplode

(http://www.artplode.com/)

Artplode welcomes listings of artwork for sale by artists selling their own work, dealers, and galleries selling works by a number of different artists and private sellers selling works they own. They accept listings from sellers in most countries worldwide.

Artplode charges a low flat fee to list an artwork for sale until it sells on Artplode. This fee is charged in your own local currency if you live in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, or New Zealand. Artplode listing fees for sellers from all other countries are charged in the default currency of US$.

The cost of selling artwork on Artplode is exactly the same whether you are a private seller, an artist, a dealer, or a gallery. It is up to you to decide whether you will absorb the cost of shipping the artwork to the buyer or whether the buyer should pay for packing and shipping apart from the price paid for the artwork.

It assists buyers if sellers can quickly obtain a quote for packaging and shipping an artwork at least to locations within their own country at the time they list the artwork for sale on Artplode. 

Quotes for local and international packing and shipping can be obtained from your local area all in one shipping company e.g. UPS Store (US), Mailboxes (UK), or Pack and Send (Australia and New Zealand) Quotes for shipping only (no packing) can be calculated on the UPS, FedEx and DHL websites.

9.Artfinder

(www.artfinder.com)

You will have to apply to Artfinder to sell on this platform. Once on the site, you will notice that in order to apply, you must have 4-6 examples of your work, for review and ideally links to other media pages,

Consider the following if you wish to improve your chances of being accepted:

Tell your story and why you wish to be accepted on Artfinder. Be as imaginative and detailed as you can.

Submit high-quality images, be as specific as you can while completing the details of your artworks, show your best work, have some type of online presence.

Artfinder recommends having some evidence of an online presence in your application, with ideally a personal website representing your work and the ability to purchase and contact you or at least one social media link.

According to www.artfinder.com, they receive a very high volume of applications and it may take up to 6 weeks for you to receive a response unless you opt-in to Fast Track (your application will be reviewed within their 2 business day window Mon-Fri).

Artfinder deducts a 33% or 40% commission on each piece of artwork purchased through the site. 

The commission is only charged on the retail value of the artwork sold––that is the total retail value of the item as set by the seller. They do not charge a commission on shipping.

You are not required to choose a Seller Plan or pay anything until you are approved and make your profile public.

Artfinder does not provide shipping labels at the moment, so it’s up to you as the seller to pack, label, and ship your sold artwork in a safe and timely manner.

10.Artquid

(www.artquid.com)

Sell up to 10 works at no charge with Artquid. Sell an unlimited gallery with a premium plan for $29.95 per month. When you sign up under either plan you can create a customized 3D gallery.

The good news is you keep 90% on your original artwork sales. You can customize your gallery with Artquid’s user-friendly tools and manage the exhibition, promotion, and sale of your artworks, and choose your markup on your fine art prints sales. As an added bonus you can receive votes and critiques from other artists and art enthusiasts from around the world. This alternative to Etsy connects you with other artists like yourself. A great networking opportunity.

All of these companies are great options and alternatives to Etsy for artists, but I am partial to the companies that assist with shipping. If you sell large pieces of art the thought of having to ship it may be a little daunting.

Luckily, some of the companies mentioned above can help you with that. Take photos of your best work and take your time completing an application where required. You can do this!

If you decide you want to sell your artwork without having to worry about shipping and fulfillment, a print on demand company like Fine Art America or Society6 may be one of the best alternatives to Etsy. Just don’t let the logistics of selling stop you from offering your beautiful works of art to the world!

Comment below and share whether you have ever considered selling your art on a platform other than Etsy, and if so, which one.

Good luck!