I am now selling some of my artwork on Amazon!
I got into the Amazon Handmade program in late 2021. Unfortunately with work and other commitments, I didn’t have time to list any of my items there.
Listing on Amazon has a slight learning curve to it. I watched the Seller Academy videos for a while before I attempted to list anything. They were helpful and easy to follow.
I wanted to write this post to promote my new Amazon listings, and so I can check back in and see if I’ve had any success in the upcoming months. Having an art business can sometimes be tricky. It’s always good to experiment with selling your art on different platforms. So here we are!
Today I’m going to cover a bit of my experience with the Amazon Handmade platform so far, how it compares to Etsy, and if I think it’s worth it. Read to the end to see if I made any sales within my first week on Amazon as well!
Related:
Selling Art On Amazon 6 Month Update!
Amazon Handmade vs. Etsy
The BIGGEST pro of Amazon Handmade vs. Etsy is Amazon doesn’t charge you to list your items! This is huge to me as Etsy charges you to list AND charges additional fees on top of that when you sell the item. Amazon handmade is just an easy percentage of the sale.
Right now I sell my artwork on my website, Etsy, Amazon, and Poshmark. I am not at the point in my business where I can pick and choose where I want to sell because I count on all the sales from each platform right now.
Amazon Handmade Fees
Amazon sellers have to pay $39.99 a month + selling fees. The good news is when you get approved for Amazon Handmade, they waive the monthly fee!
Of course, Amazon is still going to take a cut, so they deduct a 15% fee when you sell an item. Honestly, I think this is fair, as there is no cost to list your item. There are so many pros and cons to selling on different platforms. With how many people are shopping on Amazon per month, I’m fine with the fee because of how much exposure my listings are getting.
See My Amazon Handmade Listings Here!
Selling On Amazon Handmade As An Artist
The process for Amazon Handmade wasn’t horrible, and they have to verify your business and verify your items are handmade. They will also verify your identity over a video call.
The whole process took about a week or so. They don’t just accept any random person off the internet for the program. You have to be real and prove you make the items you sell. I was impressed by this.
Etsy has tons of monthly users per month but Amazon has 100000x more. I don’t know the exact percentages and math isn’t my strong suit, but we all know how popular Amazon is. People are going to the site and they are shopping on it, for everything!
Amazon also has much stricter rules for listing photos, which I don’t really mind as they filter out the junk. The main image has to be the product on a plain white background, and they list a set of guidelines for the other photos as well. Once you’re in the Amazon Handmade program, you get access to their seller academy which is very helpful!
Apply here to sell on Amazon as an Artist: Amazon Handmade Application
So Is Selling On Amazon Handmade Worth It?
We’ll see, but guess what? Within my first week on Amazon, I made two sales! (I may have jumped for joy)!
If you have questions for me now, just post them below and I’ll answer. I don’t see the harm in trying out Amazon Handmade, as the listings don’t expire and you aren’t paying a monthly or listing fee. The exposure is amazing, I 100% think every artist should try it out.
Shoppers trust Amazon and I think having your work there looks great for your art business. There are so many small businesses on Amazon that many don’t realize. Always support small businesses and don’t forget to support other artists!
This post was all about Amazon Handmade and the pros and cons of selling there.
Thanks for reading!
-Amanda
Wow! Thank you Amanda!! You have compiled a great collection of information! Thank you so much!
Annie
Thank you Amanda for this information I have been having such a hars time I became discouraged I have a website but sales are low and im looking for new platforms to sell…
I totally understand how you feel. My motto is always to have your eggs in many baskets. I sell on my own website, Etsy, Amazon, and a few other platforms. I can’t really afford to be picky and just stick with one. I get all different types of customers on all these different platforms.
It definitely helps to sell on several different platforms because if one is slow, you may be having better luck with another site.
Every week is different for me. Some weeks I get lots of sales from Etsy while Amazon is a little quiet, and other weeks Amazon is popping and Etsy is quiet, and some weeks my website is doing great. It’s so random but it makes me thankful to have all these different platforms so I’m not relying on just one.
Best of luck!
-Amanda
Thanks for this review of Amazon Handmade from an artist’s perspective. Are you still having good luck with it? Do they have any sort of print on demand option, or does the artist handle shipping of all sales, including prints? Thanks again!
Hi – thanks for commenting. 🙂 Yes, I’m still having great luck with selling on Amazon Handmade! I’m not sure about a print on demand option – I don’t think that’s an option for selling on Handmade but I may be wrong. I handle all the shipping of sales and printing for myself, but they do have an option where you can send inventory to Amazon and they handle the shipping for you, but there’s a fee for that. Best of luck 🙂
Hello!
Great information from an artist perspective and experience! I have a customer account (had a big hassle with it and had to sign up for a new account due to some kind of glitch on their site ) but their information and sign up for sellers is not real clear especially since numerous posts are online by people who have signed up for INDIVIDUAL seller accounts they said, but still got charged $39.99 for a professional account and seems they all have a problem getting that refunded. Not crazy about giving my bank account info to anyone to just dip into if and when they feel like it! I had to really dig to find the Individual seller sign up link..the Professional one was obvious and easily found. I do not want to be charged that fee until I am ready to upgrade to a pro account once I see how the individual account does for me. I am an artist as well, but saw also, to apply for Handmade you have to have a professional account first!? Then IF they approve you for Handmade, they waive that fee but apparently, not before they charge it to you the first month. Is this accurate? Or did you just go ahead and pay for the professional account first? If so, then you probably would not know. I appreciate any response and information on this.
Thank you!
Hey! Thanks for commenting. I’m trying to remember exactly since this was a few years ago but I signed up for the “Professional selling account” and I was never charged the $39.99 because I got approved I think within that same day. It was a relatively quick and easy process which I don’t remember having any trouble with. I believe I submitted the application and like 30 minutes later I got an email saying my Handmade application was approved. They definitely didn’t charge for the first month. I’ve never paid a monthly selling fee for Amazon, just a small fee for each sale I get. I hope this helps!!
Hi Amanda!
I just created my seller account and looked into setting up a store. I see the one you have looks a little different than others. And the link under your item’s title goes to a generic search page. Seems Amazon doesn’t have things quite right. Or that they are planning on everyone registering their brand.
It looks like I can only create a store îf I register a brand. Did you do that? Do you have a trademark?
Thanks!
Hi there – thanks for commenting. Are you going to sell on the Handmade platform? I don’t have a trademark, and up until recently I was able to list my brand name under my items. One day it randomly said I couldn’t anymore when I was trying to list a new item. It wanted me to apply again as a brand but then wanted things that aren’t relevant to my business and items (such as branded packaging, UPC codes, etc, and I print my items to order and am a small business so not relevant!) So any new items I list are now under generic, purely because I don’t have time to figure it out and honestly support has not helped at all with it. But it doesn’t matter though because I’m still selling and it still shows my brand name on the listing page further down.
I only have knowledge of the handmade platform but you may need to register a brand if you are selling on the regular Amazon platform.
Good luck!