Tuesday, February 24, 2009

1000 Markets

Not too long ago I signed up as a seller at 1000Markets. It's a new online market that is still in "sneak preview" slated to go "public" in April. In my humble opinion it's one of the nicest selling venues to date. While I haven't sold anything yet, I don't always judge the sites based on sales. Eventually the sites must have good sales, but in the beginning it's about so much more.

One of the features of 1000Markets is the site is juried for quality product, strong photos, etc. The other feature I really love is that you have the opportunity to join "markets", many of them invitational.

I have been invited to join two of the markets at this point.

One is Modern Heirlooms - Fine handcrafted items, reminiscent of your grandmother's attic, with a touch of modern vision. I will be featuring only my quilting and fiber art in this market.


"Sunset" Fiber Art Wallhanging 5" x 5"

The other is Old Town - Friendly Old Time Atmosphere ~ Where Imagination Runs Free. The market will feature my fine art and fiber art. It's really a lovely market with some wonderful artisans..potters, painters, jewelry artists, woodworkers, and so much more. I have already made my first purchase from Good Dirt Jewelry! It was shipped today!


"Crazy Horse" 18" x 21" Art Quilt Wallhanging

You can also check out the Old Town blog. The blog author will be doing features on the artisans that belong to Old Town.

The markets are featured on the 1000Markets home page randomly. The hierarchy of Market, Shop/Artist, Product Collections and Products really helps that dreaded "search" capability that so many shops stumble on.

My Etsy shops are still my favorites due to sales and site name recognition, but 1000Markets is right up there and as soon as it comes out of "sneak preview" and buyers find this delightful site....it has a very good chance to beat my feelings for Etsy!

For those of you who are fine artists you may want to check out 1000markets.com. There are several art markets that are up and running (invitational and I haven't been invited :-p)and one for emerging artists that is in the works. There is also an ACEO market!

Partly because of this new marketing venue, 1000markets, I have decided to combine my fiber art blog "In Stitches!" and my fine art blog "Color On!' into this blog renamed "Littleton Studio - Fine Art and Fiber Art from the Front Range of the Rockies".

The other reason for the combination is just plain old time! Multiple shops and multiple blogs take time, and nothing is forever ;-) Cheers!

2 comments:

Ann said...

Thank you for your review of selling venues. It is interesting to hear your take on the pros and cons. I,too, really like Etsy. But 1000Markets does look like a very nice site. I am in the same boat, wanting to streamline my marketing efforts. It is a lot to keep up with!

Unknown said...

You're welcome Ann! The other thing I like about 1000Markets is there is no up front fees. You only pay when you sell something.

I gave up on Artfire as you can only list 10 items for free. After that it's $7 a month. The views were few and far between and not promising enough to warrant the fee.

Many sites make their money off the entry and listing fees. Therefore, their efforts to publish the site and bring in traffic is not necessary in their viewpoint.