You may have heard of Artfire before...and if you haven't, I may have to rescue you from underneath that rock. Or maybe you had it in mind to check it out, but you got busy making delicious pies out of sherbert, shaped like sliced watermelon. Or maybe you forgot because you were preoccupied, trying to cajole your husband into keeping his dentist appointment? It's okay, I forgive you.
Today I am going to share a few of the reasons I am more than satisfied as a handmade seller on Artfire.com. It is a wonderful venue for people who want to sell their creations, art, extra supplies, and vintage goods on the internet. I have been a member for just over a year now, and feel a great sense of kinship with the staff and selling community.
Number One: It's a class! A class full of helpful teachers and alumni! Advice, tips, tricks, are readily available from folks who know. The site administrators are quick to answer any questions, and so is the community. Artfire has a strong and well-deserved reputation for listening to their customers (the sellers), including our ideas and input in their brainstorms, and making us feel valued and respected.
There are help guides on every aspect of online selling, and they do all they can to teach sellers the ropes, making it easier for artisans to spend more time creating. I have yet to find customer service like this elsewhere.
Number Two: Tools, glorious tools. I can create coupons, globally edit my listings, customize my own shop (including my studio categories), export and print sales data/invoices, and choose from a number of different payment processors, just to name a few. One of the funnest perks is curating my own "Collections." These may be featured on the sites front page, or even pasted on a website or blog with the widget codes provided.
Number Three: Shopping on Artfire is fun and easy. I do a lot of shopping online, but when I'm looking for unique gifts or particular supplies, this is where it's at. I did my Christmas shopping for on Artfire, and found really special things for my family, things that are 100 times better quality than anything from a department store. I also find it really convenient when I need particular supplies for my jewelry making.
Number Four: I live in a small town and often find it difficult to sell at many shows, particularly at ones that are cost effective. With Artfire, I can share my work with the whole world for a very low monthly rate. Our items are fed to several search engines, and this relieves me of the technical aspects and headache of trying to run my own site. For those who do already run their own sites, the more the merrier. Artfire can help!
Number Five: It's quite personal. When people come to my studio through search engines (which is the majority) or from a direct URL, they think they are visiting my website, not Artfire. I can customize everything, including my banner, layout, colors, featured items...I even pasted a widget code for a chat box so that visitors can speak with me live.
So that's my testimony, straight from the heart ♥.
If you are considering opening a shop on Artfire, you can come test the waters with us. There's no risk of sharks! You can start with a Basic (no fee) studio and get things listed and settled in. I have a special referral code that let's you have your third month of Pro free.
Happy crafting!
