Selling Handmade Jewelry Online: 15 Platforms Compared

I Started Selling Jewelry in My Kitchen Three Years Ago

My first sale happened on a Tuesday afternoon in 2023. Someone in Portland bought a pair of wire-wrapped earrings I'd listed on Etsy for $24. I remember refreshing the page about thirty times before the order actually showed up, half-convinced it was a glitch. It wasn't. Over the next three years, I tried nearly every platform that would let me list handmade jewelry, and I learned that where you sell matters just as much as what you sell.

This article is the breakdown I wish I'd had back then. I've sold on all 15 of these platforms — some for months, some for years. I'm not affiliated with any of them. These are my actual experiences, with real numbers where I can share them and honest assessments where I can't. If you're trying to figure out where to list your handmade jewelry, this should save you a lot of trial and error.

Etsy: The Giant Everyone Starts With

Etsy is where most makers begin, and for good reason. It has the largest built-in audience of any handmade marketplace — roughly 90 million active buyers. I listed my first 20 pieces there, and three of them sold within the first week without any promotion on my part.

The fee structure is straightforward but adds up fast. Listing fees are $0.20 per item, good for four months. Transaction fees take 6.5% of the sale price. Then there's a payment processing fee of about 3% plus $0.25. If you're selling a $40 necklace, you're paying roughly $4.20 in fees — about 10.5% of the total. That's manageable for most price points.

Where Etsy gets frustrating is visibility. The site has over seven million active sellers, and the search algorithm heavily favors shops with strong sales history and lots of listings. As a new seller, you'll be competing against established shops that have been building SEO for years. I spent my first six months on Etsy barely breaking even because my items simply weren't showing up in search results.

That said, once you figure out the keyword game and build up some reviews, the organic traffic is real. Etsy is still my highest-volume platform. I sell 60 to 70% of my total units there, even though my profit margins are thinner than on other platforms.

Shopify: When You Want Complete Control

After about eight months on Etsy, I set up a Shopify store. The basic plan runs $39 per month, and you'll want to budget for a payment gateway (Shopify Payments is free to set up, taking about 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction) and possibly a theme if you don't want the free ones.

The major difference is that nobody is going to find you. On Etsy, you get organic traffic from people searching for jewelry. On Shopify, you're entirely responsible for bringing in your own customers. That means social media marketing, email lists, or running ads — all of which cost money and time.

But the tradeoff is worth it for some makers. You control the branding, the customer experience, the checkout flow, everything. You can build an email list (which is enormous for repeat business), you can run your own sales and promotions, and you're not competing against other sellers on the same page. I've found that customers who buy from my Shopify store come back at about three times the rate of Etsy customers, because they remember my brand rather than just the platform.

My advice: don't start with Shopify unless you already have a social media following or marketing plan. It's a great second or third step, but a tough first one.

Amazon Handmade: Big Audience, Strict Rules

Amazon Handmade requires an application process where they review your work and process — it took me two weeks to get approved. The referral fee is 15% (versus Etsy's 6.5%), plus payment processing. Total fees land around 18 to 20% per sale.

In exchange, you get Amazon's massive audience and Prime shipping. I listed 30 items and saw 5 to 8 modest but consistent sales per month. Customers ordered higher-priced items, which partially offset the steeper fees. The catch: Amazon periodically requests photos of your workspace and process. If you use third-party components, this can get uncomfortable.

Big Cartel: Simple and Affordable

Big Cartel offers a free plan for up to 5 products, with paid plans starting at $11 per month. It's the most budget-friendly standalone store option I've used. The interface is clean but minimal — you don't get many built-in marketing tools or analytics. Transaction fees are just what your payment processor charges; Big Cartel doesn't take a cut.

I used it for about four months as a secondary shop and made 8 sales total, all from Instagram referrals. No organic traffic to speak of, but the overhead was nearly zero. Good as a first standalone shop if you can't justify Shopify's $39/month yet.

Faire: The Wholesale Route

Faire is a wholesale marketplace — you sell to boutiques and retailers, not individual consumers. Minimum orders are typically 6 to 12 units per style at 50% of retail price. They claim over 700,000 registered retailers.

I landed three wholesale accounts in my first year, but margins are thin at half-price. Cash flow is the bigger problem: Faire offers net-60 payment terms, so you might wait two months to get paid. Early payment is available for a 1.5% fee. Best for makers who can produce in volume. Not ideal for one-of-a-kind pieces.

Instagram Shopping: Social Meets Sales

Instagram Shopping requires a business account and connected product catalog. You tag products in posts and stories, and customers browse without leaving the app. Instagram doesn't take a percentage — you just pay your payment processor.

Results depend entirely on your following. With 5,000 engaged followers, it can drive real sales. With 500, don't expect much. I've found Instagram most valuable as a discovery tool — people find my work through reels, then buy on Shopify. The time investment is the real cost: several hours per week of content creation and engagement.

Wix: The Design-Friendly Store Builder

Wix's e-commerce plans start at $27 per month. The drag-and-drop builder is intuitive, and the templates look polished without any coding. Like Shopify, there's no built-in marketplace traffic — you drive your own customers. The SEO tools and built-in email marketing are decent.

I used Wix for three months. The store looked great, but the checkout customization and app ecosystem fall short of Shopify. If design aesthetics matter most and your operation is simple, Wix works. For advanced inventory management or third-party integrations, Shopify wins.

Square Online: Best for In-Person Sellers Going Digital

If you already use Square at craft shows, Square Online is the natural extension. The free plan has no monthly fee (just standard 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fees). Inventory syncs automatically between in-person and online sales — sell a necklace at a Saturday market and it's marked sold online too.

Templates are basic compared to Shopify or Wix. But for craft market sellers whose customers buy based on personal connection rather than website polish, that's perfectly fine.

Zibbet: The Multi-Channel Importer

Zibbet lets you import and manage listings from other platforms like Etsy automatically. Their own marketplace charges zero listing fees and a flat 5% commission — lower than Etsy's total fees. But the traffic is minimal. In six months, I made exactly two sales, both from people I sent there directly. Works better as a catalog management tool than a standalone sales channel.

eBay: The Wildcard Option

eBay isn't designed for handmade goods, but there's a thriving handmade jewelry category there. Listing fees vary depending on how many free listings your account tier gives you (typically 250 per month for casual sellers), and final value fees are around 13% for most categories including jewelry.

The 13% fee is steep, and the audience isn't specifically looking for handmade items. But eBay's search traffic is enormous, and handmade jewelry listings do show up in relevant searches. I've had some surprise sales on eBay — people searching for "sterling silver necklace" who ended up buying my handmade piece over a mass-produced one.

The listing format matters a lot. Fixed-price listings (Buy It Now) tend to work better for handmade jewelry than auctions, because you want to maintain consistent pricing. Auctions can create urgency but also encourage lowball bids. I use eBay as a secondary platform, listing excess inventory or items that haven't sold on Etsy within a few months.

Facebook Marketplace: Local and Low-Friction

Facebook Marketplace is free to list on, and there are no platform fees if you arrange payment directly with the buyer (cash, Venmo, etc.). If you use Facebook's built-in payments, they charge a small processing fee.

The audience is primarily local, which works well if you're in an area with good foot traffic or if you can combine Marketplace listings with local pickup and delivery. I've sold several pieces this way — usually to people within 20 miles who found my listing while browsing.

The challenge is scaling. Facebook Marketplace isn't designed for building a brand or reaching customers outside your area. It's more like a digital garage sale than a proper storefront. For casual sales and clearing inventory, it's fine. For building a sustainable business, it's a supplementary tool at best.

TikTok Shop: The New Frontier

TikTok Shop launched in the US in late 2023, and it's been growing fast. The commission structure varies by product category, but jewelry typically falls in the 5 to 8% range. You can sell directly through shoppable videos, live streams, and a product showcase tab on your profile.

The potential for viral exposure is real. I've seen jewelry makers blow up overnight from a single well-timed video. But the platform favors fast-paced, visually compelling content, and building that kind of presence takes either natural talent or serious time investment. Live selling — where you demonstrate products on camera and viewers buy in real-time — is particularly popular for jewelry.

I've been experimenting with TikTok Shop for about four months. Sales are inconsistent — I might go three weeks with nothing and then sell 15 pieces in two days after a video gains traction. The commission is reasonable, and the platform's algorithm does surface products to relevant audiences. But it's not the stable, predictable income that Etsy provides.

Depop: For the Younger Crowd

Depop skews younger — the average user is under 26 — and has a strong emphasis on unique, vintage, and handmade fashion items. The selling fee is a flat 10% on each sale, plus payment processing. There's no listing fee.

The vibe is casual and community-driven. Buyers expect to interact with sellers, ask questions, and sometimes negotiate. This can be time-consuming, but it also builds loyalty. I've found that Depop customers are willing to pay slightly more for items they feel a personal connection to.

My sales on Depop have been modest but steady — maybe 8 to 12 pieces per month. The platform works best for trend-driven, casual jewelry at lower price points. If your aesthetic is bohemian, minimalist, or streetwear-adjacent, Depop's audience will probably appreciate it. If you make fine jewelry with precious stones, you're probably on the wrong platform.

Bonanza: The Quiet Alternative

Bonanza is a smaller, quieter eBay alternative focused on unique items. No listing fees, and final value fees range from 3.5% to 9% depending on advertising opt-in. Traffic is low — I average 2 to 3 sales per month after over a year. Easy import from Etsy and Amazon makes setup painless. I keep it active because fees are low and maintenance is near zero, but it's not a primary revenue driver.

Ruby Lane: For Higher-End Pieces

Ruby Lane caters to vintage and artisan goods at higher price points. The monthly shop fee is around $25 to $30 depending on the plan, and there's a per-item maintenance fee (roughly $0.10 to $0.30 per item per month). They also charge a 6.7% transaction fee on completed sales.

The audience on Ruby Lane is older and more affluent than most other platforms. They're shopping for quality pieces and are willing to pay for it. I listed my higher-end work there — necklaces in the $100 to $200 range — and saw better conversion rates than on Etsy, even with less traffic. The buyers knew what they wanted and made decisions quickly.

If your jewelry is in the fine or semi-fine category — sterling silver with genuine gemstones, gold-fill pieces, or anything over $75 — Ruby Lane is worth considering. If you're selling $15 beaded bracelets, the monthly fees will eat you alive.

So Which Platform Should You Actually Use?

After three years and 15 platforms, here's what I'd tell someone starting out today:

Start with Etsy. The organic traffic and low barrier to entry make it the safest first move. Expect your first few months to be slow while you learn SEO and build reviews. Budget for at least six months before judging whether it's working.

Once you're generating consistent sales on Etsy — say, 15 to 20 per month — add a standalone store on Shopify or Wix. Use your Etsy customers to build an email list and drive repeat business to your own site where the margins are better.

Add social selling (Instagram and TikTok) as your content creation capacity allows. These aren't quick wins — they require months of consistent posting before they start generating sales — but the long-term brand value is hard to beat.

For wholesale, try Faire once you've proven your product sells at retail and you can handle larger order volumes. The thin margins aren't worth it until you've established demand.

Everything else — Big Cartel, Zibbet, Bonanza, Depop, Facebook Marketplace — is supplementary. List on them if the maintenance cost is near zero and you have time. Don't expect them to be significant revenue drivers, but don't ignore free or nearly-free exposure either.

The Honest Summary

There's no single best platform for selling handmade jewelry. There's only the best platform for where you are right now. Start simple, learn the ropes, and expand gradually. The makers who try to launch on five platforms simultaneously usually burn out fast. Pick one, master it, then layer on the next. Your future self will thank you for the patience.