Art and craft supply retailer, Michaels, has announced on its website that it will be launching a marketplace for third-party craft supply sellers. The site will be called the Michaels Marketplace. The launch date has not yet been made public.
CEO Ashley Buchanan told the Wall Street Journal in February that a marketplace was in the works. “There’s an opportunity to bring a platform of people together that have similar interests and then also monetize that interest on top of it, but be this creative inspiration outlet and hub that connects all of it between community classes and content and basic componentry to make it,” he said. “That’s kind of the platform we’re creating that we’ll probably roll out the back half of this year.” Michaels did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
It’s possible that the new marketplace is being built with the technology stack created by Zibbet. Back in 2017, Zibbet was acquired by A.C. Moore, a Michaels competitor. The company used Zibbet’s technology to build the short-lived A.C. Moore Marketplace where makers of handmade goods could list their items for sale without incurring any fees. Just a few months after the marketplace launched, however, A.C. Moore exited the craft retail market, closing its 135 locations as well as its online presence. Michaels took over leases for approximately 40 store locations, the lease on an East Coast distribution facility, and purchased some of A.C. Moore’s intellectual property.
Three months ago Zibbet founder, Jonathan Peacock, stated on LinkedIn that Zibbet had been acquired by “one of the largest companies in our industry.” The Zibbet website announcement about the acquisition states, “The future of Zibbet is VERY bright, and we’re confident it is being left in great hands that can take it as far as we dreamed it could go.” Peacock declined our request for comment.
Michaels has struggled to build a robust ecommerce presence, although it saw an increase in online sales during the pandemic when ecommerce as a whole surged. In the third quarter of 2020, ecommerce revenue accounted for about 10% of all of the company’s sales, up from the same quarter in 2019, but it’s facing stiff competition with ecommerce giants Amazon and Wal-Mart, as well as with Etsy where craft supplies were the third-largest category of products for sale last year and generated $1.4 billion in Gross Merchandise Sales, up 102% from the prior year. Michaels seems to be looking to benefit more from this velocity.
After shutting down the wholesale craft supply division, Darice, in June of 2020, the company launched Michaels Pro in the third quarter of 2020 to appeal to the professional crafter by offering bulk discounts. In an earnings report, Buchanan shared that average basket sales for Pro customers were twice that of the average customer, a promising sign that working with craft businesses could increase top-line revenue. A third-party marketplace for craft supply sellers could position the company’s ecommerce site as a destination for a wider assortment of supplies than is available in stores.
Michaels might have good timing with this announcement. Etsy’s recent rollout of the Star Seller program, which awards a special badge to sellers with 95% five-star reviews, 24-hour response times, and on-time shipping, has evoked anxiety from many sellers who feel micromanaged and held to an impossible standard. The fees on Etsy can add up, too. Etsy charges a .20 listing fee, 5% transaction fee and 5% fee on shipping charges. According to the Michaels site, the Michaels Marketplace will be free for sellers to use. (Oddly, in the application to sign up for more information, many other marketplaces where sellers might have a presence are listed including eBay and Amazon, but not Etsy.)
The Michaels Marketplace landing page specifies that the site will be for high-volume sellers of components, tools, and craft materials. How “high volume” is being defined has not yet been spelled out. The Marketplace is also looking to work with third-party solution providers including payment processors, order management, pricing, shipping and fulfillment, item setup, and more. It’s possible that the company is still building out these systems, and is seeking vendor proposals.
As of now, there’s no launch date for the Michaels Marketplace, but those interested in learning more can sign up for email notifications.
Editor’s Note: The Etsy sales data in this article has been updated.
I am interested in selling on Michael’s Marketplace.
I am interested in selling.
Hi, I am interested in selling on Michael’s Marketplace. I am a screen printer looking to sell custom printed apparel
I am interested in selling on Micharls Marketplace
You’ll need to sign up with them to set up your shop.
I’m interested in selling, I sell fibers and yarns to the knitters and spinners for supplies.
I am interested. I sell quilt patterns.
Does Etsy really only sell supplies for 1.2 million GMV? Or is that Etsy´s commission revenue? Or billion?
Thanks for pointing out this error, Axel, and for your help in analyzing the Etsy data. We’ve updated the article.
Hi, do you know if this is available in all Michales stores across the country or is it only at stores in the states?
It’s online only. I’m not sure if they will have international sellers. We’ll see once they release details.
So…the rumors that Michaels might have acquired Zibbet is false?
Why is it false?
I thought that you were associated with Micheals – when you stated this above, “The Zibbet website announcement about the acquisition states, “The future of Zibbet is VERY bright, and we’re confident it is being left in great hands that can take it as far as we dreamed it could go.” Peacock declined our request for comment” – it sounded like you were asking for a comment from Jonathan on behalf of Micheal’s.
Zibbet’s declaration that it’s Marketplace was acquired gave it’s sellers (one of them was me) the impression that we would have the opportunity to join this new marketplace. Now that an announcement that Michael’s is launching a ‘supplies’ only Marketplace, we are still wondering who acquired Zibbet’s Handmade Marketplace.
Has Michael’s acquired Zibbet and created this supplies only site?
Ah, I see. I’m sorry if this was confusing. Jonathan Peacock founded Zibbet and I reached out to him to ask if he could disclose Zibbet’s buyer, and whether it was Michaels, but he declined to comment because the acquirer needs to make this announcement first.
I’m curious where in Zibbet’s announcement about the acquisition they hinted or implied that Zibbet sellers would have access to a new handmade marketplace? I think I missed that part.
Please sign me up for Micheals Marketplace notifications
Thx!
Hi, We aren’t affiliated with Michaels. To sign up for notifications, you’ll need to visit the Michaels Marketplace landing page linked to in the article.
Here is info on their blog – Also sellers were sent similar info in an email. https://www.zibbet.com/blog/zibbet-has-been-acquired/
Thanks. Yes, I referenced this post in the article. But I don’t think it implies that existing Zibbet sellers would be part of any future marketplace, or that the future marketplace would focus on handmade?
Abby
I, as well as, many other Zibbet sellers interpreted this as a TEMPORARY closure and that we would be contacted by the “acquirer” when the new site is up and running and suggested that we download/exported our listings as a CSV file to be ready for this —
IN THE BLOG – “If you’re an existing seller… What does this mean for you?
On July 3rd, Zibbet will be temporarily closed. This means you will not be able to access the Zibbet Admin after this date, so we recommend you begin the process of making copies of any orders, products etc that you want to keep. We understand that this will come as a shock and is extremely disruptive to your business, and for that we are truly sorry. However, this is important as it allows the acquirer to make necessary upgrades to the platform and get it ready for a re-launch.
You can export your active products and orders by going to “Zibbet Marketplace > Shop Settings > Export Data” in your Zibbet Admin. You’ll be emailed a CSV file.”
***Why would Jonathan say “temporary”, encourage us to download our handmade listings and that we’d be contacted when the site is relaunched by the “acquirer”?
Are you confirming that Micheal’s is the “Acquirer” – but are relaunching as a supply only marketplace?
We have not been notified – I saw a reference to your article in a Zibbet FB group where people are still musing about what’s going on.
Thanks for any enlightenment that you can provide,
Cindi
No, I’m not confirming that Zibbet has been acquired by Michaels because I don’t know this for a fact. I know that it was acquired by A.C. Moore and they turned it into the A.C. Moore marketplace before they left the craft industry completely. When they did, Michaels acquired some of their leases as well as some of their intellectual property. On LinkedIn, Zibbet founder Jonathan Peacock wrote that Zibbet was then acquired by one of the largest companies in the industry. And then Michaels announced the forthcoming launch of this new marketplace. So I’m guessing that it was Michaels, but I do not know that for sure.
Thanks for your quick responses – sounds like it’s still a mystery. Jonathan has been dangling us on chain with grand promises for a few years with the ACMoore merger, New sales channels and then this. I was hoping that a company that people trusted would take over.
Hi guys, I work at iCraftGifts.com, a marketplace for handmade art and crafts. We are actually launching a new marketplace for craft supplies soon and looking for early adopters. We will not focus on high-volume sellers only, so every seller is welcome. I just posted about this in our community forum https://icraftgifts.com/forum/3232/updates-on-art-and-amp-craft-supplies-marketplace
@Abby, any chance you could connect us with Michael’s CEO? I’d love to discuss a partnership opportunity with him. Thanks in advance!
Hi Mariana,
Congratulations to you 🙂 I am not in contact with the CEO of Micahels. Sorry!
Etsy recently announced an increase in the seller’s fee from 5% as you stated to 6.5% starting in April.
Yes, April 11.
So, it is now 2023 and I am wondering if Zibbet exists…do you know? Or was it replaced with something else? I only learned of Zibbet when it was included in a few different online lists containing “Etsy alternatives”. I’m not sure how I got to those lists because I was actually trying to educate myself as to whether or not I needed Shopify or something similar in addition to my own website and also selling on Etsy and other like platforms, nonetheless when I read about Zibbet I tried to learn more, but it has been extremely difficult to find any concrete info. I’m glad I found this article because it has provided a lot more than I’ve been able to find thus far. Thanks for sharing.
On a side note, it worries me that Michaels may be gaining a monopoly on “all things arts & crafts” as their prices have gone up, they’ve eliminated coupons, and the quality of their customer service has diminished quite a bit in recent years. Oh well, thankfully there are still a few other options…fingers crossed they stick around, eh?
No, Zibbet no longer exists. It was bought by AC Moore and then AC Moore closed its retail presence.
Hi I have been chose and would definitely like to get in on Michael’s Marketplace.
When I went to enter my account and SSN i noticed theres no encryption or security for this sensitive information. I wrote but haven’t had a response yet.
Please reach out to Michaels. We aren’t able to help with customer service questions.
Just FYI…the contract for Michael’s new site includes the following text: “You hereby grant us and our affiliates and our service providers and marketing partners, a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, irrevocable, worldwide right and license (a) to publish, reproduce, display, distribute, transmit and otherwise use MakerPlace Seller’s name, store name, trademarks, service marks, and logos (“MakerPlace Seller Marks”), and (b) to publish and perform, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, edit, modify, store, create or prepare derivative works of, and otherwise use, commercially or otherwise, all MakerPlace Seller Product Content, classes or how-tos you post, in each case in connection with the Maker Place Program Platform (including without limitation advertising, marketing and promoting the Products, other products, or the MakerPlace Program through the MakerPlace Sites, third party websites, e-mail, social media or any other medium)…”
So basically you’re giving away your rights to your store name, trademarks, logos and designs to Michaels…forever. No thanks.
Without this clause, they wouldn’t be able to publish your shop. This is the same clause that Facebook, etc. have.
I have created and sold for years on EBAY and would love to be involved with Michael’s 3rd party sales opportunity. My specialty is jewelry (pendants, bracelets, earrings) re-purposed decorated iron crosses, native american jewelry . Thank you.
Will this platform allow selling digital products. I am an independent knitwear designer with 15 years’ experience and would like to sell my patterns.
Right now, you can only give away digital patterns for free. You can attach a supplies list of products from Michaels and if your customer purchases any of them from your link you get a small percentage.
Sounds interesting. Could you give me the %? Approximately at least?
You’re looking for Michaels MakerPlace which is different from Michaels Marketplace. If you look here we detail the fees: https://craftindustryalliance.org/michaels-to-launch-a-handmade-marketplace/