Etsy alternative for craftspeople: your own online store, with no commission

What Etsy does very well

Let’s be fair, Etsy has real strengths:

• buyers already there: millions of people look for handmade, unique or personalized items on it;
• nothing to build: you create your store, add your photos, and you are online the same evening;
• trust: buyers know the site and don’t hesitate to pay.

To get started, test your products and land your first sales, it is a very good starting point. The problem comes later, when sales go up… and the fees go up with them.

The real cost of Etsy over one year

Let’s take a craft store that makes €15,000 of sales in a year: 300 orders of €50, shipping included, with around fifty items listed.

Around €1,300 of difference per year. In other words, on Etsy, you give away roughly one order in eight. For a craftsperson, that is often the whole profit of a month’s work.

And the rules can change at any time: in France, Etsy’s regulatory fees went from 0.47% to 1.14% on 22 June 2026. You don’t get a say, and you find out by email.

Etsy’s public fees for a seller based in France, observed in October 2026. Offsite ads cost 15% of the sales they bring in, and become mandatory, at 12%, above $10,000 of sales per year. 123Ventes card fees are Stripe’s fees for standard European cards.

Are your customers really yours?

On Etsy, the person who buys from you is an Etsy customer first. You can see it in the details:

• your store sits in the middle of your competitors’ stores, and Etsy suggests other items right next to yours;
• you cannot add your buyers to your newsletter without their consent: to bring them back, you have to go through Etsy again;
• your address is an Etsy page: if you leave, your search ranking does not leave with you.

With your own store, it is the other way around. The customer list is yours, you send your newsletters, and your store can use your own domain name. When customers come back, they come back to you.

123Ventes gives you a store already equipped: card payment with Stripe or PayPlug, PayPal, bank transfer and check; shipping with Mondial Relay, Colissimo, Chronopost, DHL, your own carrier or pickup at the workshop; sizes, colors and options for personalized pieces; statistics and newsletters. All for a fixed price, with no commission.

Etsy and 123Ventes at a glance

Other alternatives to Etsy

There are other ways to sell your creations. Here are the ones you come across most often, with what you need to know before choosing.

Etsy or your own store? Often, both

You don’t have to leave Etsy overnight. Many craftspeople keep both:

• Etsy to be found by people who don’t know you yet;
• your store for everything else: your customers from markets and craft fairs, the ones who come back, the ones who follow you on Instagram. Those sales have no reason to pay a commission.

Slip your store’s address into your parcels, onto your cards and your labels. Little by little, the share of your commission-free sales grows. To bring in those visitors, see our tips to attract customers to your website, and our guide online store for craftspeople.

Etsy remains a very good choice to get started, test a product or reach buyers abroad. Every tool has its own playing field.

A French alternative to Etsy

Etsy is an American company. 123Ventes is designed in France, for local craftspeople and shopkeepers:

• Support in French, by email and by phone, included in the subscription, with real people.
• Data hosted in France, on the company’s own servers: your customer records and your orders stay here.
• A price in euros, tax included, known in advance, with no commission on your sales.

To find out more: why choose a French e-commerce solution.

Frequently asked questions about Etsy alternatives

How much does Etsy take on a sale in France?

For a seller based in France: 6.5% commission on the total (shipping included), 4% + €0.30 in payment fees, 1.14% in regulatory fees and $0.20 for the listing. On a €50 order, that comes to about €6.30, i.e. nearly 13%, not counting offsite ads.

Can I keep Etsy and have my own store?

Yes, and it is often the smartest move: Etsy to be found by new buyers, your store for your loyal customers, the ones from markets and social media. Those sales are then made with no commission.

Can I bring my Etsy products into 123Ventes?

Yes. Etsy lets you download your listings as a file; after a little formatting, you can import them all at once into 123Ventes. You can also ask us to set up your store and enter your products for you.

Will my store get visitors without Etsy?

A store of your own does not come with millions of buyers: you are the one who brings visitors in, with Google, your social media, your customers and the store’s address on your parcels. In return, every sale belongs entirely to you.

Can I try before paying?

Yes. You set up your store for free, with no time limit, and you only pay when you put it online.

Conclusion

Etsy is a very good shop window to get known. But it is a window in someone else’s shopping mall, with a rent that goes up with every sale. Your own store is your online workshop: your rules, your customers, and your margin.

The simplest way is still to try it: the demo is free, and so is setting up your store.