Where to sell handmade online: a guide for makers anywhere in the world

You make things by hand: pottery, jewellery, knitwear, woodwork, leather, candles, art. You want to sell them online, to buyers in your own country and maybe further away. Here is what to check before you choose a marketplace, wherever in the world you are, and how selling on Velor Handmade works.

1. Can you get paid where you live?

This is the first question, and it rules out more marketplaces than anything else. A marketplace is only useful if it can send your earnings to a bank or wallet in your country.

Before you sign up anywhere, check:

• Which payout services it uses, and whether they cover your country.
• Which currency you will be paid in, and who pays any conversion charge.
• When you are paid: straight after a sale, after delivery, or on a fixed schedule.

On Velor, makers are paid through Stripe or Wise, which between them reach 75 countries. If you live somewhere neither reaches yet, you can still apply and list your work; your earnings are held safely until a payout method is available for your country. Payment for each order is held until delivery is confirmed, then released to you after a short protection period set out in the Seller Agreement.

2. What does it cost?

Look for three kinds of cost: fees to list, a monthly subscription, and fees taken when you sell. Read the seller agreement itself rather than an article about it, because fees change.

Velor is free to list, with no monthly fee and no subscription. Fees apply only when you make a sale, and they are set out in full in the Seller Agreement you read and accept before you start.

3. Can you choose where you deliver?

Posting abroad can be expensive, and some parcels are charged import tax on arrival. A good marketplace lets you decide where you sell.

On Velor you choose the countries you deliver to. Buyers in other countries do not see your listings, so you are never asked to post somewhere you cannot reach. You can set your own postage price for each country, offer free delivery, or connect your own courier account so buyers see live prices. Every order needs a tracking number, which protects you as well as your buyer.

4. Is it really for handmade work?

If a marketplace lets factory-made and resold goods sit next to genuine handmade work, your pieces are competing with cheap copies.

Velor is handmade only, and always will be. Every new listing must confirm that the item is handmade and that the photos are real photos of that item: no AI-made images, mock-ups or stock photos. Dropshipped, resold, factory-made and print-on-demand goods are not allowed, and anyone can report a listing that breaks the rules. You can read the full rules in the Seller Rules.

5. Can buyers understand your listings?

If you write in your own language, buyers elsewhere need to be able to read your work. Velor can be browsed in 19 languages, listing titles are shown in the buyer's language, and buyers can search in their own language too. Prices are shown in the buyer's currency.

6. How easy is it to start?

Look at how long it takes to apply and how quickly you hear back.

To sell on Velor:

1. Apply at velorhandmade.com/apply. It takes about five minutes, in three short steps, and you can write in your own language. Most applications get a decision within 2 hours.
2. Add your ship-from address and your listings. Clear photos of the real piece, your materials, your sizes and the packed weight.
3. Choose your delivery countries and set up payouts.
4. Open your shop when you are ready, and buyers can find you.

A quick checklist

Before you choose any marketplace, ask:

1. Can it pay me in my country?
2. Have I read its seller agreement, including every fee?
3. Can I choose where I deliver?
4. Does it keep out factory-made and resold goods?
5. Can buyers in other countries read my listings?

Make things by hand? Apply to sell on Velor at velorhandmade.com/sell. It's free to list, there is no monthly fee, and the fees, set out in the Seller Agreement, apply only when you sell.