Images courtesy of Michaels Stores, Inc.
Michaels is launching a handmade marketplace that will compete with Etsy. The craft store chain, which has 1,165 stores in the US, has been working to strengthen its ecommerce offerings since private equity firm, Apollo Global Management, acquired it in a deal valued at $5 billion in 2021 taking the company private.
Senior Vice President for Digital and Omnichannel, Kerry McGuire, said in an interview on Wednesday that the new handmade marketplace, to be called Michaels MakerPlace, is the third leg of a three-part ecommerce expansion strategy. The first was an upgrade to the Michaels ecommerce platform that occurred last year. Then, in March, the company added a third-party marketplace for craft supply sellers, more than quadrupling its product assortment from 250,000 to more than 1 million SKUs.
The third leg, which is slated to launch later this year, is the new MakerPlace marketplace where crafters will be able to sell handmade goods, DIY tutorials, and live online classes. “The market right now is fragmented,” McGuire said. “We want to bring it all together, from concept to classes.” Interested sellers can now join a waitlist and are being invited to set up their shops on MakerPlace in waves, including many who were accepted this week.
The similarity in names between Michaels Marketplace and Michaels MakerPlace has caused confusion among potential sellers, leading some to assume that they are one and the same. McGuire said the fact that the names are so close in sound won’t matter in the long run because consumers will not be aware of Michaels Marketplace since its third-party products are blended into Michaels’ overall ecommerce assortment. Marketplace doesn’t have its own branding, whereas MakerPlace will be a consumer-facing brand. Still, from the seller perspective, with rollouts only months apart, there has been confusion between the two.
Sellers will be able to earn commissions on shoppable supply lists. Overall marketplace fees will be 1.5% lower than Etsy fees in the US.
The details
Michaels MakerPlace is advertising itself as a low-fee marketplace. McGuire said that in focus groups conducted last year, crafters said that low transaction fees were a compelling factor when it came to considering signing up for a new marketplace.
MakerPlace is also just for handmade goods. The terms and conditions agreement sellers sign when agreeing to set up a shop state: “You will provide documentation of your handmade process, and all parties involved in making your handmade Products, promptly upon our request.” McGuire said there will be a trust and safety team in place to monitor for intellectual property violations, reselling, and other violations. Despite rumors that were circulating online this week claiming otherwise, the terms also clearly state that sellers retain full rights to their intellectual property. “You retain sole ownership rights to everything you post on the MakerPlace Site,” the terms read.
The fees for Michaels MakerPlace add up to 7.5% of gross sales + .20. In comparison, Etsy fees in the US add up to 9% + .45, so sellers can save 1.5% + .25 per transaction if they choose MakerPlace. The payment terms, however, are less favorable than Etsy. Michaels will pay sellers “no later than nine days following the close of each fourteen-day period,” so if you make a sale on the first of the month, you’ll get paid on the 23rd, whereas on Etsy you can schedule payments for the next day if you’d like.
Like Etsy and other marketplaces, sellers can include links in their shops to their social media accounts but are prohibited from marketing to their MakerPlace customers via email.
Commissions
Why is a craft supplies chain store launching a marketplace for handmade goods?
One possible goal of Michaels MakerPlace could be to recruit and retain makers who will work on behalf of Michaels to market and sell Michaels products online. MakerPlace sellers will be able to sell how-to instructions with shoppable supply lists, as well as tickets for live Zoom classes. Sellers will receive a 3% commission for any products customers purchase from the shoppable lists. It’s important to note that commissions are paid 69 days after the sale goes through. Interestingly, if sellers were to instead join the Michaels Affiliate program, they could earn 10% on each sale they refer plus a $100 signing bonus which certainly seems like a better deal.
Sellers on MakerPlace have the option to pay for a “professional” membership for an additional $110/year in order to reduce their transaction fees to 5.5%, increase their commissions on product sales to 6%, and list more than two classes per month. The payment schedule, though, stays the same.
Makers interested in selling classes are expected to host the classes on their own Zoom accounts. A free Zoom account is time-limited to 40 minutes, though, and the cheapest paid plan is $149/year, an additional cost for sellers to take on. (For each class sale, Michaels will take 20% and the seller will get 80%.) It would seem, also, that Michaels is assuming some risk regarding exactly what will go on during the live classes, especially since the company isn’t hosting the classes themselves and there will be no representative from the company on the Zoom sessions. The possibility for shenanigans is reminiscent of the short-lived Michaels website chat platform back in September 2020 that quickly spiraled into hilarious chaos.
A second potential goal for the launch of a handmade marketplace is to encourage sellers to buy more supplies from Michaels themselves. As soon as you sign up for a MakerPlace shop, Michaels asks you to join its Rewards program to earn points and save on future purchases.
Many craft business owners felt let down by Michaels for shutting down a major source of wholesale craft supplies they relied on. In 2016, Michaels bought Darice, a 60-year-old family-owned business. In June 2020, Michaels shut Darice down. To replace it, Michaels launched its own bulk shopping site, Michaels Pro, although the pricing and product selection is not at all on par with Darice’s offerings (and the site doesn’t seem to have been updated since 2021).
Possible challenges
If the path of Michaels Marketplace, which has been live now for several months, is any indication, sellers may have mixed results with the tech side of the new MakerPlace. One supplies seller we spoke to said that despite promising a free, seamless integration with Shopify, Michels is now charging an integration fee. Marketplace sellers also report that sales have been slow given the size and scope of the Michaels audience. “It seems like marketplace listings get lost in all of the other Michaels listings on their website,” said one. “I’ve had 228 orders so far,” said another, noting that this is less than the number of sales she’s had in the same time period on Etsy.
While Michaels is known as a place to purchase craft supplies, it is not known as a place to purchase handmade goods. Explaining the new handmade MakerPlace to its customers will be a challenge, although this isn’t the first time a large craft chain has attempted to launch a handmade marketplace. Craft chain AC Moore launched the AC Moore Marketplace for handmade goods in June 2019, only to go out of business entirely in November of that year.
Introducing handmade goods into the mix also has the potential to cause other problems. McGuire says the company is aware that some customers will attempt to return handmade items they purchase on Michaels MakerPlace to Michaels stores. When this happens, store associates will be instructed to help customers generate a return label for the buyer, with the shipping cost being charged to the seller. On the Michaels employees subreddit several employees expressed already being overtaxed and not having the bandwidth to deal with this added task. “We can’t even process an online order return/refund correctly because the system is not up to date or up to speed let alone this! No way! I am not interested! Sounds like a big ol’ mess of a headache,” said one.
Future potential
Some current Etsy sellers we spoke with were excited by the idea of a new marketplace for handmade. “I was looking at how bad my sales have dropped this year on Etsy and I believe a lot of it is because the marketplace is so flooded. With Michaels being a national chain, I’m hoping that maybe my products will get out there more and the marketplace isn’t quite as crowded,” said one.
Others are more wary. “I’ve been selling on Etsy for 16 years and on Amazon Handmade successfully. Over the years I’ve wasted quite a bit of time on new start-ups without getting sales,” said another. “I am only considering it because it is Michaels with a built-in following but not sure whether I’ll just wait and see if it takes off. So much work involved.”
Update, June 17, 2023: Michaels public relations would like to clarify that the marketplace is currently in beta and is officially called “MakerPlace by Michaels.”
Abby Glassenberg
Co-founder
Abby co-founded Craft Industry Alliance and now serves as its president. She’s a sewing pattern designer, teacher, and journalist. She’s dedicated to creating an outstanding trade association for the crafts industry. Abby lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
I was really interested until I read that they are going to process return labels for the buyers and charge the sellers for the shipping. If I ever have something that a buyer says is defective I will gladly pay shipping. But I’m not a bit interested in someone else deciding that I should pay shipping for buyers who want to return something just because they changed their minds. That is something that should be handled between seller and buyer.
It will be. This would just be if the buyer tried to return the item to a Michaels store.
I was momentarily excited about the prospect of an alternative to Etsy, but MakerPlace looks like it’ll be US-only. (Disappointing, but not surprising…)
Yes, it’s only for US sellers even though Michaels has over 100 stores and online shopping in Canada.
Michaels is already anticipating that this could be a regular occurrence. I’m not sure I want the extra expense involved with how you plan to deal with this issue. How long do you think it will take customers to figure out that they can disregard our return policies and have Michaels do it for them…at our expense?
That is a great question! I would like to know this as well.. we need to have something in place, where if the customer does try to return the item, how will the store associates know what the return policy is for each vendor? Our items are mostly customized and we do not offer return policy. These are mostly made to order
I didn’t know that it was open yet, everything I’ve seen just says opening soon?
You can get on the waitlist now and they are letting sellers in to begin setting up their shops.
Did you ask them about their contract circulating online in which sellers sign over irrevocable rights to their logo and products to Michaels?
We linked to the full contract here in the article. You retain your rights. I wonder if that was an earlier version?
I am very curious where that contract came from. If it was an old version, it would be important to know if they pivoted, or if the language circulating is fake.
I agree. Let’s see if we can figure that out! Does anyone who got the old contract have information to share?
Hi there, my name is Erin and I work at Michaels.
After seeing the confusion over some of the wording in the MakerPlace by Michaels Seller Agreement, we updated the language to be very clear that Sellers retain sole ownership of all their IP.
Sellers are agreeing to allow Michaels to promote their store name, listings, and photography in advertising to our customers. Our intended use of Sellers’ materials did not change, but in response to feedback, we made some minor changes to the license language to make it easier to understand this section of the agreement.
You can learn more and register for the waitlist at http://www.michaels.com/beta-makerplace. We’ll continue listening and learning from feedback like this now while we are in beta and beyond, so thanks for checking it out!
Do you know if the will have printables or pdf downloads?
Yes, someone I interviewed for the story said he has been able to upload a PDF to sell.
Dear Abby,
I have been selling online since 2010, I am very interested and hopeful that MarketPlace might work for me. I make everything by hand myself and am tired of competing with resellers on sites that are supposed to be handmade.
Question 1; Do you offer shipping labels?
2: If not how do you know when it’s been shipped.
3: and what if the buyer states they never received item.
These are all real concerns as a seller.
4: if the item has tracking and shows it was delivered would Mp give them a refund anyhow?…in what instances would MP give a refund without my consent?
Please contact Michaels Marketplace for these specifics so you get accurate answers to your questions.
Is there a list of the types of hand crafted items that are allowed? Would the hand crafted item need to have a component sold at Michaels?
There is not a list of handcrafted items that would be allowed. The terms just state that you would need to be able to provide proof that it is handcrafted if requested. You don’t have to include a shoppable supply list for handcrafted items. If you sell DIY tutorials (or patterns) and want to include a shoppable Michaels supply list, you have that option and can get a small affiliate payment if someone makes a purchase.
Great question – following…
Hi
I am trying to join a waitlist, link is not working. It comes to a blank page.
It looks like there’s a new landing page. I’ve updated the link. Thank you for letting me know.
Hey the link is launching but when join waitlist is clicked again the link is broken and nothing is displayed.
Thank you for this very informative article. I skimmed through their contract agreement, and didn’t see anything about being able to print a mailing label from their system. Do you know if this is in the works, or will we have to figure this out ourselves? Not sure how postage charges will be integrated into a customer’s order. Tried to sign up for wait list, but page seems to be under construction right now.
I’ve updated the waitlist link if you want to try again. I didn’t see anything about postage either.
If you’re asking about shipping labels then being able to print shipping labels at a discount price is in the paid membership features. If you’re using the free/basic plan for your shop then shipping labels are something we have to go to courier services ourselves and figure out. This is at least just my understanding of things, I could be incorrect.
I’m seeing that they are pre-calculating the shipping fees when you purchase. Are they including this amount in the payment to sellers? And, do we have control over the amount collected?
Is this going to be restricted to people in the USA?
Yes, it’s for US sellers only.
Hi there, my name is Erin and I work at Michaels.
After seeing the confusion over some of the wording in the MakerPlace by Michaels Seller Agreement, we updated the language to be very clear that Sellers retain sole ownership of all their IP.
Sellers are agreeing to allow Michaels to promote their store name, listings, and photography in advertising to our customers. Our intended use of Sellers’ materials did not change, but in response to feedback, we made some minor changes to the license language to make it easier to understand this section of the agreement.
You can learn more and register for the waitlist at http://www.michaels.com/beta-makerplace. We’ll continue listening and learning from feedback like this now while we are in beta and beyond, so thanks for checking it out!
Hi Erin, Thank you for your guidance. Would you perhaps speak to the higher ups about the payment/billing option? I would be more comfortable attaching a Paypal account rather than a direct bank account. I’d really like to see that added as an option. I did not read anything about how secure our personal banking info would be, so any extra layers of protection would be appreciated. Thanks, Jenn
Is there any information on the remittance of sales tax? While fees on Etsy can be high, especially for a starting business- it is helpful that they take care of the sales taxes.
Great question. I don’t know the answer to this. If anyone has found out, please share!
On page 6 of the Terms & Agreement, item (e), it says Michaels will collect taxes.
Thank you. You’re correct: “MiK or its affiliates will collect tax for all sales transacted on the MakerPlace Site. MakerPlace Seller is the vendor/seller/retailer of record All references to “tax” or “taxes” in this Agreement shall mean all applicable sales taxes and fees, including without limitation, sales, use and surcharge taxes and all related ancillary taxes and fees.”
They will collect and remit sales tax. Details are buried in the terms and conditions.
The link is going to an Access Denied page.
Do you want to check again? I think it should be working now.
I’d really like to see what this thing is going to look like and how customers are going to find it. Will the MakerPlace site be a stand-alone destination or will it be integrated with Michaels regular web site?
Also, will the MakerPlace be part of the Michaels app? It would be really great if they provided several sample “stores” to give us some idea of what the customers interface will look like. It’s pretty hard to get excited about something that has no shape or form.
Also, I’m a watercolor artist. I sell a lot of prints and greeting cards that I have printed locally. Will my work even qualify as hand made or am I just waiting a lot of time trying to figure this thing out.
Great questions!
I have a question! Is maker place going to be advertised elsewhere other than Michael’s?
I’m a crafter and CRAFTERS shop at Michael’s to create not to buy already handmade items.
Just curious as I’m interested but see it not going anywhere if it’s only marketed through Michael’s and not everywhere for customers other than crafters buying supplies.
Where else would it be marketed? Are you thinking advertising on platforms like Facebook and Instagram?
Yes, social media is a start, but I would hope they will be running campaigns on radio and television just as Etsy does. I can’t seem to find any info on their marketing strategy, do you have any resources on this topic, Abby?
This is something I’m not sure about, but I have seen many Facebook ad campaigns promoting the site to sellers.
Hi can our photos from our etsy shop be linked to michaels makers shop? Or will we need to take new photos & upload? I work from A tablet. Thank you
Chriskatz201@gmail.com
Please contact Michaels directly.
Honestly, it looks exactly like Etsy so far (I’m in and set up my shop, partially). How it integrates with Michaels web site and the app is the question, I guess. But I think the user experience will be very Etsy-like, based on what it looks like so far.
About your prints and cards — one of the options they allow is work that you have designed but someone else produced (as Etsy does). They do NOT allow reselling, even of vintage items or supplies. So your prints should be OK as long as they are your art.
I don’t work for Michaels or anything, just noticed this stuff while setting my shop up.
Wendi, Thank you for sharing and congrats on getting set up. Would you please share any info on how shipping labels are being handled? I’m hoping Michaels will offer the same options as Etsy. This is a big benefit of their site.
Carolyn, I can’t really say too much about it. Right now the only option I see for my (paid, but free trial) account is UPS. This is for the calculated shipping through Michael’s. But other than that I don’t really know how it will work. I would rather use USPS for my small items but at the moment it’s not clear to me how to set it up. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done 🙂
When will the site actually launch for those of us who have set up our pages?
We have set up our site here with Michaels. There is a great deal of confusion. One, will there be a buyer seller messenger feature? For custom items this is gonna be a must. Also I don’t know who needs to read this, but if Michaels corporate is listening. If you want to crush Etsy, Amazon Handmade, allow listings to be made custom where for example a photo needs to be uploaded at time of purchase. This would be a game changer. Amazon custom can do it, but its wonky at best.
I wanted to add that we just found out that it isn’t possible to have both a Marketplace and a Makerplace shop, in case anyone was interested in both.
Got an email last night announcing the beta opening, so applied to open a shop this morning, 30 mins later got a followup saying, “We regret to inform you that after a thorough review, your application was not approved.” No explanation as to why. I’ve been selling handmade fleece hats and art/prints on etsy since 2008 and on amazon handmade since that started. I thought my application looked good, all it is is basic setup for bio and store info and profile pics, billing info. So I don’t know, the lower fees would have been nice.
Hi Josh, That’s interesting. I wonder what the criteria are, besides handmade? What would have caused a rejection? Anyone else been rejected?
I was also rejected about an hour after applying. I make candles and resin art. There was no explanation for the rejection. I did email the customer support email provided in the rejection letter but have not received a response yet.
Wow, this is interesting. What is tripping these rejections?
Hi,
I was immediately rejected as well, so I emailed and asked for a reason. After a few days, they responded that after a manual review of my application, I was approved. They also commented that they are using an automated system for review. While in Beta phase, this system is constantly being improved, and the purpose was to keep the bad actors (their words) out and protect legitimate sellers. After reading all the comments and information, I still have not decided if I am going to use the platform.
I have set up my shop, but I’m not able to create any listings because the button to create a listing is grayed out. I’ve contacted support twice with screenshots, but it’s not resolved.
Have you received any feedback regarding their reason for rejecting you yet? Just curious. One of my questions is what their plan for seller support is and how easy or difficult it will be to communicate with them.
It weird, I just remembered that last year I had to renew my tax exempt status at michaels and I was rejected for that as well. I had done the same thing I did the first time so I have no idea why that happened. All you have to do is send in your state permit number and describe what you sell. I never followed up because I rarely shopped at michaels, maybe once every few month, as I do most of my supply shopping at Joanns. (fabric which they don’t sell at michaels in store).
Do you have your EIN letter from the IRS? That was required. Maybe that’s the issue?
They are not allowing sellers who do not have an ein if you name yourself a business. We gave them our ein and they are asking for the irs document which we havent had in 10 years. You can request one from the irs it takes around 3 months. So far Michaels who listing etc and how the site looks is dreadful. Gonna stick to etsy and amazon
Huh, as far as I remember when applying you could put in EIN or SSN. It would have been nice for them to let us know an EIN was required if you were Doing Business As even though sole proprietors don’t actually need one.
I’ve considered getting an EIN, even bookmarked the page like 10 years ago, but have never bothered.
Whelp, just got an email saying,
After conducting further manual review of your account, we are pleased to share that we are able to approve you to sell on MakerPlace! You should now be able to log into your account and begin selling. We look forward to seeing the products, classes, and how-to’s you will share with Michaels customers.
We would like to thank you for your patience and apologize for any inconvenience. MakerPlace conducts automated reviews of every seller who joins the platform in order to protect our customers and our sellers. Our goal is to create a safe, trustworthy environment. Since MakerPlace is still in a beta phase, our automated review system is being improved to keep out bad actors without blocking legitimate sellers.
so, yay?
Has anyone else found the “My How-to Listings” option to be disappointing? They advertised it as a way for creators to make money, however, it turns you can’t actually sell or put a price on your how-to’s when creating the listing. I’ve found this to be a bit deceptive on Michael’s part for using vague language when telling the public how this will be a money making option creators will have. Yes they tell you about the affiliate income, but, they don’t truthfully say its an “affiliate program” until you start the process of becoming a seller. Currently the website advertises: “Share how-to’s with commission-earning supply lists.” They get you all excited about getting post your how-to’s on your store as if it’s another type of handmade product itself and make “commissions” (a very attractive word for any artist to read).
I personally have created one How-to listing and it is for a crochet pattern. As an experienced crocheter this is a pattern I have written myself and is not your typical free online pattern. It puts me in a place where I’ve put a lot of work into creating an actual product and now it’s available for free to anyone. And I could sell it somewhere else like Etsy. So I’m putting in a lot of work only to find out I’m actually selling my soul in hopes of making some measly little mount of affiliate income.
I’m still deciding on if I want to take down the listing. On the flip side, I could start copy-pasting every free crochet pattern on the entire internet hoping someone will discover it in the *myriads* of basic crafting patterns that will surely begin to flood this new marketplace once people realize they can get on this newest “easy internet money bandwagon.” And again, all in the hopes that someone will click buy on an item in my materials list and trust that I have actually used it and trust the product. If you look up crochet this morning and click the how to’s you’ll see my one listing and 5 other listings from another seller. Only two days ago that particular seller had one how-to available. All for standard types of patterns that are free on the internet. Thus the who can copy-paste with the best and most attractive listing war begins. And no small business/individual artist is going to “make commissions” in that raging colosseum.
Seems Michael’s is being deceptive and is planning to line their pockets at the expense of all the actual artists on this site with this “awesome moneymaking option.” Any rando on the internet who’s never made a piece of art in their life can copy-paste a free crochet pattern! This is not truly a website for only creators yet. Will they really be able to confirm that every how-to listed is published by an artist without putting industry standard affiliate regulations in place? I am an actual artist myself but trust me, they never asked me any questions that would actually confirm this. Never. And I’m officially a MakerPlace seller with a store now.
I emailed customer service three days ago asking if we will actually be able to sell our how-to’s in the future. No reply yet.
P.S. not trying to bash the other crochet artist I mentioned. You can tell she is a very lovely and legitimate artist making quality pieces for others to learn from. I wish her all the best. It’s the people trolling the internet for easy money making schemes that will become the problem.
Interesting. Is there a way to report intellectual property theft? I have dozens of free sewing patterns on my blog. If someone were to copy one and upload it to MakerPlace, attaching a supply list for random stuff (maybe the highest priced items at Michaels?) in order to hope to make an affiliate commission, would I have any recourse?
I’m honestly worried about the Zoom classes as well. There is no control there at all by Michaels from what I can tell, besides agreeing to the seller terms of service.
I agree the current setup for classes do pose concern. I hope they’ve got plans in place to introduce more standards and guidelines for both the classes and how-tos. This platform has a lot of potential for some really exciting activity but we just have to hope that this big corporation doesn’t drop the ball. I think they may have jumped into this without putting in the work necessary especially if they’re proposing a September launch. If a company like Apple had started this you know they’d have all their ducks in a row before promising anyone anything.
Do you have the original source where McGuire was discussing how this is part of a 3 pronged effort to further the company? I’d be curious to see it.
She told me that in an interview on Zoom that we did.
Victoria, are you saying that the only income we can receive from sharing our “how-to’s” is if someone buys something from the supplies list? This is an awful policy…I’m with you, why would one publicly post their intellectual property just so Michaels can profit from it? Thanks for sharing this tidbit…it’s kind of a sleazy thing for Michaels to do. Hmmm, disappointing.
Yes, this is correct. You post the “how-to” (aka pattern or tutorial) for free and list supplies from Michaels.com for customers to purchase in order to make it. Your cut of those supplies sales is the only money you make.
I was wondering if there will be a way to sell PDF patterns…
I’ve set up my shop because I was curious about this question. The short answer is no. The PDF patterns, or “how-tos,” are listed for free. You create supplies lists using Michaels online products and, when those sell, you get 3%.
Now that the site is up where is it being advertised? Also, I can not get in on my Opera browser I have to use my Firefox browser. Will this be a problem for customers finding the site?
Hi! In one of my etsy shops where I sell only handmade items I specialize in selling natural organic leaves and such that are hand pressed by me. I sell a great majority of them to set designers, tv shows, green men woking in the motion picture industry, marketing agencies by the dozens that do ads for everything from cosmetics to coffee. will Michaels allow my leaves and seed pods, acorns and such as a handmade product? While I love etsy recently I have had nothing but problems with their not honoring that my shop name is my brand. Another story for another day..or maybe never if Michales will allow me to sell on their site…
According to the contract, you cannot sell:
-Illegal plants, plant products, or seeds
-Plants, plant products, or seeds subject to federal, state, or local government quarantine or other restriction
-Plants, plant products, or seeds that are considered to be a controlled substance
Sounds to me like you’d be allowed!
Good luck!
Thought I would try and get signed up, although I still have concerns about shipping. However, while slowing plowing through their massive Agreement, I noticed that Michaels will HOLD buyers’ payments for 60 days BEFORE releasing these funds to us, the sellers. As Etsy members know, they do not do this. In addition to all my other concerns, this was a deal breaker for me. Does anyone else have similar concerns?
Thank you, Carolyn. I tried to describe the payment holds in the article as well.
I am also wondering if there is a dedicated, separate from the regular michaels.com website and if the latter, will our products will be listed amongst Michaels products. As a potential seller I would not want to be integrated. As a consumer this integration is a pain to navigate. For example; walmart.com is no longer selling only Walmart products as they are now a dropshipping platform and it makes shopping online both in lieu of and in advance of going into a store quite difficult. There are multiple listings for the same items with varying prices set by each seller, much like amazon.com. It works for Amazon and Etsy because they do not have physical stores, but Michaels does and I’m not sure how signing up will benefit the handmade seller.
And, as a handmade seller, it is often difficult to compete with store-made prices. For example, one of the items I make are signs, something one can buy already made in any craft supply store. As Makers/Artists/Crafters, we all know we have to rely on the buyer understanding what goes into a handmade item and them finding validity in such pricing differences, but if my handmade item is listed next to a Michaels-made item, how do I make my item stand out? What controls will I have when it comes to getting my items put in view of the buyers?
I cannot find any specifics regarding these concerns, Abby, did you come across anything addressing these topics?
While I don’t know for certain, I believe that Makerplace is a separate website, unlike Marketplace, and the listings will not be mixed in with Michaels ecommerce listings as they are with Marketplace.
Oops, I meant to also thank you, Abby, for this article. It was helpful and informative as well as many of the comments given by other readers. So, THANK YOU for doing the research and for sharing your findings!
It appears the site is still in Beta and has some issues concerning variations that prevent buyers from properly purchasing. Almost all my items have two variations, both variations are for color choices on different parts of the item. Right now the same color is populating for both variations, even when a different color is chosen for each.
I was contacted about a month ago by Michael’s stating they’re aware of the issue and are working on it. Regardless, there’s no sense in continuing to add items to my shop as buyers can’t purchase correctly. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.
Do you know if Marketplace will ever have an option for digital items like Etsy does? Thanks!
They do have one, but you have to give them away for free.
Do you have to pay for ads to get your products noticed and show up on a search? Does it matter if it is the free or pro version? Thanks
I have the free version on MakerPlace. Right now my listings are showing up in Google search for my popular search term. Maybe Michael’s will change this going forward and make sellers pay for off-site ads, but for now they are doing the advertising for us, without charging any fees.