Crafting a Business with Handmade Products on Amazon

More and more people are turning their hobbies and art into businesses every day. I see it all day long on social media and the many online marketplaces.

Whether it’s woodworking, paintings, or custom clothing, people are realizing they can make real money and reach an insane amount of people with their crafts. 

In 2021, there were approximately 96.3 million active buyers who purchased goods through the Etsy ecosystem. This figure represents an increase of almost 18 percent from the 81.9 million buyers in the previous year.

Etsy generated revenues worth 2.3 billion U.S. dollars from craft and vintage items, up by roughly 35 percent from the previous year. Independent sellers are the top sellers on Etsy.

It’s clear… hand-crafted products are here to stay. What starts for many artists as merely a quirky hobby, now has the potential to become a viable business with a large and hungry audience.

The current state of the “quarantine life” has further fueled desires for many people to look for a “side hustle”. Being stuck inside your home gives you a lot of time to think. Also, with so many industries being inadvertently upended due to the pandemic, more and more people are thinking about extra ways to earn income.

Whatever the reason, there has been an explosion of people turning their crafts into real income.

With the rampant growth of e-commerce in the past several months, Amazon Handmade is the perfect place to showcase your handmade products. 

Amazon Handmade Benefits

Amazon Handmade is a special part of Amazon reserved for artists and makers. It caters specifically to that audience in a few ways.

1. You have a “makers profile” with a custom URL (similar to a traditional brand storefront on Amazon) Check out BenShot USA, a long-time seller on Amazon Handmade.

2. Amazon waives the $39.99 monthly fee that is associated with a professional selling account.

3. There is a just flat 15% referral fee for each sale. No transaction or processing fees.

4. You can send your products using Amazon FBA.

5. You can take advantage of Amazon’s PPC platform and other promotional tools like running special coupons.

6. You can also gain access to Amazon’s Brand Registry once you have a trademark.

7. Lastly, Amazon Handmade has its own dedicated support for most issues.

Amazon Handmade Disadvantages

While Amazon Handmade is a great place to showcase your crafts, there are a few downsides when comparing a “handmade” listing to a “traditional” Amazon listing.

1. A handmade listing only indexes off the title and backend terms (yes, you can index for other terms later through PPC).

2. Technically, there are no bullet points (the description is in place of where bullet points typically go). You can use some simple HTML to have your description look like bullet points but don’t go crazy with the HTML. Keep it simple.

3. The backend is very different. It allows for sellers to showcase the customization options of your listing but variations aren’t part of it. If you have three different styles of a bracelet, for example, they have to be three different listings.

To most sellers in Handmade, these differences are irrelevant. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Now, a couple of questions I get asked all the time about selling handmade are always about reviews and rankings.

1. Can you rank a handmade product for a keyword onto page one of the main category? (ex. Beauty & Personal Care)

Absolutely. Amazon does not suppress your listing simply because it’s in the handmade category. You can get your product onto page one with your major keywords.

2. Can you ask people to leave a review for handmade products?

Yes! You can ask Amazon buyers to leave a product review in the same compliant manner that Amazon allows you to do so. Using Helium 10’s Follow-Up or our Seller Assistant chrome extension helps semi-automate this process for you.

3. Does Helium 10 work with the handmade category?

Yep! All of our tools are compatible with the market and handmade listings.

3. Can you really make income in Amazon handmade?

Of course! I could talk about it all day but let me show you. Below is a screenshot of Helium 10’s X-Ray running on the Best Seller page for Amazon Handmade.

Many listings generate 5 figures monthly and multiple brands with several successful listings. The data proves real money is to be made here.

Amazon Handmade Application

The Amazon Maker Application specifies three different types of “makers.” Which one are you?

1. “Maker working alone” – Crafting is your solo project. You design and create your own products.
2. “Maker with less than 20 employees” – Pretty self-explanatory. You craft your products with a small group or with your family members.
3. “Collaborative group of makers” – This includes nonprofits and charity organizations.

You will also need to choose a classification that best describes your product. The three most common are:

1. Made completely by hand
2. Existing products altered into a new design
3. Handmade product customized for each customer

Other application requirements:

• Name and email address
• The (approximate) percentage of the production process that you do yourself
• A brief, step-by-step description of your production process (pictured below)
• High-quality images of your product (ready to sell)
• Your product category (if you make more than one type of product, you can still sell them after you are initially approved)

As you can see, Amazon makes it very enticing for “makers” to get started on Amazon. Their goal is to make it easy for creatives to sign up and start selling quickly. In about 24-48 hours, you should have your account approved. 

Once your Maker Application is approved, you will only need to provide a few more pieces of information to complete the registration process and take your product live.

You will be asked to enroll in a professional selling plan (if you don’t already have one). You must also set up your shop location and business name. Lastly, you will be prompted to select a payment method and input a credit card number (for identity verification).

Once these things are completed, you will unlock the tools necessary to set up your first product listing, create your artisan profile, and finally start monetizing your creations!

If you have a crafty side, enjoy making things, and have traditionally sold them in your regional area, Amazon Handmade is something to definitely look into.