The progammers of GetCrafty.com have been working on a new website called Etsy.com where people can sell their handmade crafts as a part of a big collective. And they have been consulting with me on how it should work which has been really fun!

Basically it’s similar to the giant auction sites out there in that you, the seller, list items you want to sell and when people buy them you handle the shipping. The major differences are (1) Etsy is only for selling handmade crafts and (2) Etsy’s fees are much lower and (3) you get your own online shop for free with a url like yourbizname.etsy.com.

Etsy just opened up to the public over the weekend and it’s considered to be in a “beta state” which means there are some wrinkles to be ironed out, and exact functionality to be determined. I tried it out by listing a couple of items under my handmade crafts business name, Craftastic, and it was really easy to use. Here’s my little test shop: http://craftastic.etsy.com

Oh and it’s totally free to use Etsy until July 31st!

I hope it takes off. It seems like a great way for people to be able to make use of “strength in numbers” to get the word out about their awesome handmade crafts.