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Hi there! We’re the Artisans Cooperative. A new online marketplace, built to shine a light on all the wonderful artisans that keep handmade craft alive!

Who are you?

We are a rapidly growing group of artisans and their supporters. We are creating an authentic handmade online marketplace. Think “Etsy,” but more honest and inclusive, more supportive of artisans, and more selective as a “verified handmade” marketplace for shoppers! 

What makes your marketplace different?

Artisans Cooperative is a member-owned and member-run cooperative. This means we want artisans to be in control of their own livelihoods and to put more money back in artisans’ pockets. (Learn more about cooperatives in our blog post, What is a Cooperative?)

Unlike private- and investor-owned marketplaces, the artisans themselves will own it and manage it to their own benefit. And unlike other co-op marketplaces, ours will be inclusive, and accessible to all genuine artisans and their supporters.

In addition to being artisan-owned, inclusion / lowering barriers and authentically handmade are the values we use as a lens to build the co-op and the marketplace.

Who are your “members” and how can I join?

Our members are the people who own the cooperative:

  • Artisans who (will) sell on our marketplace
  • Supporters, such as amazing customers and others who want to support handmade artisans
  • Employees of the co-op (when we have them someday!)

To learn more about membership, go to our Membership page.

What do members get? 

Besides being a part of an amazing community? Democratic control and financial rights. 

Democratic control means we make decisions together as a company based on one-member-one-vote. Members also have a voice (and vote) to elect the board of directors and in future co-op decisions, such as whether to raise or lower fees. 

Financial rights means that surplus profits go back to our members in the form of dividends. 

In addition, we’ll also be rolling out a few member-only perks – with the input of our members. This includes such things as discounted sales commissions, earlier shop setup on the marketplace, and priority visibility in customer searches. 

Compared to the typical corporate model where a company’s profits go to outside stockholders, we believe the co-op model will ensure long-term, reliable, and stable success for artisans and a better shopping experience for supporters. 

Do I have to be a member to open a shop to sell in your marketplace?

No. If you are a handmade artisan, you can sell on our marketplace. But membership does come with significant benefits for sellers, including lower commissions on sales, more marketing support on the site, and dividends in years that the co-op makes a profit. 

What are the fees and commissions you take on an artisan’s sale?

To fund our operations, we have a simple, transparent sales commission. No listing fees, no renewal fees, no weird advertising fees. 

To start, our sales commission is:

  • Founders Circle (members who buy-in prior to July 31, 2023) = 6.5% plus payment processing fees
  • Members = 8% plus payment processing fees
  • Non-members = 9.5% plus payment processing fees

Unlike other online marketplaces, we intend to LOWER the commission rate as the co-op stabilizes, grows, and thrives. 

I don’t live in the United States…can I still join?

Yes, we are international in scope. 

Do you have a marketplace yet?

Not yet but we plan to launch to non-members in October. We’re developing the pilot website now, and as we get closer to launch, we’ll be adding member shops and functionality incrementally so that we can work out the kinks. 

See our blog post on Marketplace Development to learn more. 

If you don’t have a marketplace yet, then how can I help?

Lots of ways! 

  • Become a Member-Owner Today. New memberships help us leverage additional financing from lenders and investors. Learn more on our Membership page.
  • Spread the Word. We need everyone to help spread the word: share what we’re doing with your friends, family, and customers using our grassroots outreach tools. 
  • Join the Team. We need your input for decisions we have to make – your opinions are super important to us. Head on over to https://artisans.coop/join to see the different ways you can have a hand in shaping our marketplace. 

How can I be sure you’re selling authentic handmade products?

Our community has designed an in-depth Handmade Policy with definitions, an in-depth verification process, and enforcement system that relies on the power of our community, not contractors, employees, nor AI bots. 

Our Handmade Policy has a careful checks-and-balances system, including: 

  • An inclusive yet enforceable definition of “handmade”
  • Prohibitions on mass-manufactured items, reselling, vintage, and most print-on-demand products
  • Accessible onboarding
  • Labeling system for “verified” and “unverified” artisans
  • Search filters by production type for transparency
  • Peer verification process, incentivized by our Points & Tiers Policy 
  • Actionable reporting form, incentivized by our Points & Tiers Policy 
  • Swift action on community-reported “unverified” artisans to catch bad actors
  • Evaluation process for community-reported “verified” artisans, incentivized by our Points & Tiers Policy

Learn more about our Handmade Policy.

Are you affiliated with the Indie Sellers Guild?

We are not affiliated with the Indie Sellers Guild (ISG). The ISG is a nonprofit dedicated to collective bargaining against Etsy and other platforms on behalf of all indie sellers, including vintage resellers, while the Artisans Cooperative is building a self-owned cooperative alternative to Big Tech platforms for handmade artisans. 

Our founding members did meet through the #EtsyStrike and some were actively involved in the early leadership of the ISG. We are separate organizations but we have many members in common.

Are you affiliated with Etsy?

We are not affiliated with Etsy.

Are you a nonprofit organization? Will my donations be tax-deductible? 

No. The cooperative is a democratically-owned business, not a nonprofit organization. Donations are not tax-deductible. Learn more about what a cooperative business is in our blog post, What is a Cooperative?

How did you choose the name and logo? 

Our name was democratically chosen from a series of votes in our early Discord community. Learn more about branding in our blog post, The Story Behind Our Branding (and Chickens!).

Many of our decisions have been made similarly, using information gathered from polls and votes of the interested community, including priorities for the Handmade Policy, sales commission and buy-in amounts, and other things.

Where can I find all your policies? 

Go to our Policies & Plans page.