Financial Expectations Survey Results

Designing a Marketplace for the People Who Use It

The Artisans Cooperative released a survey to understand our community’s financial expectations of the marketplace April 2-10, 2023. 

Through this poll we are demonstrating our commitment to platform cooperativism: the people who will be using the marketplace should have a voice in designing and developing it. The results are guiding our business and marketing teams in developing our financial terms. 

For background on why we created the poll and how it was developed, read our post, Take the Financial Expectations Survey.

In this post, we’re sharing the poll results!  

TLDR: Jump to End Discussion >>>

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Survey Results

The survey was conducted via Google Form with answers stored in a secure Google Sheet from April 2-10, 2023. We received 76 responses. 

The questions were sorted into two sections depending on the answer to the first question: 

• Whether the respondent was an Artisan or general Supporter

Artisans were further asked to classify their business as one of either: 

• I am brand new
• I enjoy this as a hobby
• This is part-time, supplemental income for me
• This is my full-time job and sole source of income

Artisans: Sales Commissions on Marketplace

Question

Our research on sales commissions at Etsy and other Etsy alternatives shows that typical marketplace sales commissions vary from 5% to 20%.

Etsy’s complex fee structure, which now includes twelve different fees and even more costly policies, can range from 10% to as high as 40% depending on the seller, buyer, and order.

(Source, from our blog: The Best Etsy Alternatives You Can Try Right Now)

What are the commission percentages (amount the co-op takes from a sale) that would still compel you to be an artisan seller on the Artisans Cooperative platform?  

Please select all of the percentages you would be willing to pay, up to your personal maximum threshold.

These percentages do NOT include payment processing fees, which are usually around 3% and charged separately by Paypal, Etsy, etc. 

• 5%
• 6%
• 7%
• 8%
• 9%
• 10%
• 11%
• 12%
• 13%
• 14%
• 15%
• 16%
• 17%
• 18%
• 19%
• 20%

Results

The responses show a precipitous drop beyond a 10% sales commission. 

Artisans: Simple Fee or Transparent Breakdown

Question

Do you prefer the sales commission/fees be consolidated for simplicity or broken down for transparency?

• An example of a consolidated fee could be “A flat 15% commission includes payment processing fees” 
• An example of a broken down fee could be: “Transaction fees are 12% + 3% and $0.30 per transaction for payment processing, etc.”

• Consolidated for one simple fee structure
• Broken down for transparency to show different parts of the fee (transaction fees, credit card processing fee, etc.)

Results

The responses to this question were evenly divided. At one point near the end of the survey the results were a perfect 50% / 50%. 

As a tiebreaker, we looked closely at how the responses differed by artisan class to see what experienced artisans said, and found a clear preference for broken-down fees by experienced (part-time, full-time) artisans. 

Artisans: Cost for Member Buy-in

Question

To build a better alternative to Etsy, we need artisans to buy-in as cooperative member-owners. Together, we must raise enough start-up investments to fund the website and initial marketing.

Once it’s built, membership would not be required to buy or sell on the website. If a member later chose to leave the cooperative, they would be eligible to get this buy-in investment back. 

Artisan membership will entail benefits and responsibilities such as:

• Lower platform fees than non-members
• Additional marketing benefits (eg, “co-op owner” tag/filter in search)
• Profit-sharing 
• Ability to submit proposals for consideration for the platform
• Supporting handmade verification efforts
• Running for and electing Artisan board directors
• Voting on company-wide issues and planning (such as fee changes)
• Voting on bylaw approval and changes, major decisions like dissolution
• Attending Annual meeting (virtual)

Given these benefits and responsibilities, what amount(s) would you be willing to invest in order to become an artisan member in the co-op? Please select all that apply, up to your personal maximum threshold.

Currency in US Dollars:

• $250
• $500
• $750
• $1,000
• $1,250
• $1,500
• $2,000
• More than $2,000

Results

Of the 65 artisans who responded, 60 (92%) provided a response to this question. The results are shown below.

In hindsight, we wish we had paired this with another question first, asking if the respondent would be willing to become a member at all. Then ask how much the “yes” respondents valued the buy-in (similar to the next question on the optional set-up service). Membership is voluntary and not all artisans will want to become members. So those folks might value the buy-in differently, as a burden instead of an opportunity. 

In a way, this was a “double-barreled” question: asking two questions in one. 

Artisans: Payment Plan 

Question

Would you prefer a buy-in option with a payment plan (pay in installments)?

• Yes: monthly payment plan
• Yes: yearly payment plan
• No

Results

The responses showed strong interest in a payment plan, particularly a monthly payment plan. 

Artisans: Optional Set-up Service 

Question

Assistance in store development on the marketplace.

We are exploring offering the option of a set-up service for artisans to launch their stores on the Artisans Cooperative platform.

This could include assisting with product uploads and CSV spreadsheets, and/or setting up artisan stores for a fee. 

• Would you be interested in a set-up service like this? 
  • Yes
  • No
• If yes: what would be your personal maximum threshold for a fee to use this service?
  • [open field]

Results

The results show approximately one-third of artisans would be interested in a set-up service. 

Of the 22 that responded yes, 20 provided answers to the second question, valuing the service anywhere from $20 to $750. 

Artisans: Other Feedback

Question

Is there anything else you want to share with us about what is important to you when it comes to costs of membership and selling fees for Artisans Cooperative?

Results

We received 41 comments on this question. 

The top themes with multiple commenters saying something similar were (in order of most responses to least):

• Importance of transparency
• Lower fees for accessibility
• Want broken-out fees

Additional comments included (in alphabetical order): 

Can do higher buy-in with points

Can pay more as business grows

Consistency of fees

Dislike of up front fees

Hold portion of sales for membership buy-in

Importance of accountability

Importance of clarifying how funds from member buy-in are held/invested

Importance of equity

Importance of fair verification process

Importance of investment outside of member fees

Importance of marketing

Importance of quality products on the marketplace

Profit for coop should be minimal

Sponsorship opportunities for artists buy-in

Startup service menu would be great

Wanting to grow business

Want downloadable finances

Want consolidated fee

Want seo help for fee

Supporter Questions

Question: Cost of Member Buy-in 

To build a better alternative to Etsy, we need some supporters to buy-in as cooperative member-owners. Together with artisans, we must raise enough start-up investments to fund the website and initial marketing.

Once it’s built, membership would not be required to buy or sell on the website. If a member later chose to leave the cooperative, they would be eligible to get this buy-in investment back.

Supporter membership will entail benefits and responsibilities such as:

• Possible member-only perks/discounts
• Profit-sharing
• Ability to submit proposals for consideration for the platform
• Running for and electing Supporter board directors
• Voting on company-wide issues and planning
• Voting on bylaw approval and changes, major decisions like dissolution
• Attending Annual meeting (virtual)

Given these benefits and responsibilities, what amount(s) would you be willing to invest in order to become a supporter member in the coop? Please select all that apply, up to your personal maximum threshold.

• $100
• $150
• $200
• $250
• $300
• $350
• $400
• $450
• $500
• More than $500

Question: Payment Plan

Would you prefer a buy-in option with a payment plan (pay in installments)?

• Yes: monthly payment plan
• Yes: yearly payment plan
• No

Results

We had a small number of Supporter respondents (11), but 100% responded to these questions. Results indicated a strong preference for a low buy-in and a monthly payment plan.

In hindsight, we wish we had paired this with another question first, asking if the respondent would be willing to become a member at all. Then ask how much the “yes” respondents valued the buy-in (similar to the next question on the optional set-up service). Membership is voluntary and not all supporters will want to become members. So those folks might value the buy-in differently, as a burden instead of an opportunity.  

In addition, we received two comments from supporters: 

Need outside investment

Possible to be both a Seller and a Buyer?

Discussion

It’s never easy to talk about money and financial terms in this society. We are so grateful to our community for sharing their honest thoughts on this with us. Particularly because we asked the nearly-impossible: to put concrete value on a work-in-progress. 

Nonetheless, there are nuances in these results that give our Business and Marketing teams usable insights to work into our financial designs. When it comes to member buy-ins, we had the least clear actionable data. This is because in hindsight, we should have phrased the questions more clearly. Membership buy-ins are an opportunity for cooperative business ownership: ownership rights and financial rights.

As with any survey that asks what someone “would” pay for something, we have to interpret these answers with a heavy dash of salt. While planning this survey, at least one advisor warned us of its possible futility. They said, ask people how much they’d be willing to pay, and the answer is usually nothing or as little as possible. 

Our Business and Marketing teams are aware of that bias in these questions and answers, and yet pleasantly surprised by the number of people who value this idea as highly as we do! As one commenter said, “It’s hard to put a value to EXCLUDING cheep knockoffs. But that would be very dear to me.”

There is a common conundrum in project management (and politics) illustrated as “The Iron Triangle”: you can make it cheap, fast, or good: and you can only pick two. Nobody can do all three. 

As we plan our work, we’re balancing those constraints, and these responses here help us enormously.

What do you think about these results? Email us or share your thoughts in the comments below. 

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About Artisans Cooperative

We are growing an online handmade marketplace for an inclusive network of creatives: a co-op alternative to Etsy.
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