Where Should You Sell? Why I’m Skipping Marketplaces and Going All-In on Website + Instagram

Starting a Native American Jewelry Business
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Daisy Cowboy is going to be an ecommerce-only business — no brick-and-mortar storefront.

So the question becomes: where do I sell online?

Back in the early 2000s, the answer was simple: eBay. You listed your item in an auction format, sold it, packed it up, and shipped it out. Then came “Buy It Now,” and for a while, that worked too. But over time, eBay became less friendly for small sellers. Rising fees, customer expectations around fast/cheap shipping, and preference for large-volume sellers made it harder to compete as a small operation with one-of-a-kind handmade pieces.

Amazon? Not great either. They’re built for high-volume, FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) inventory models — not handcrafted jewelry with one-offs that can’t be restocked or duplicated.

Etsy? It’s still around and designed for handmade goods, but personally, I’ve never had much success on the platform. The fees are high, the competition is steep, and the customer loyalty often leans toward “cheapest version,” not brand value.

So Where Will I Sell?

:white_check_mark: My website is my main sales channel.
This is where I have the most control — over the brand, the experience, and the customer journey. And today, more buyers than ever are going directly to business websites rather than browsing marketplaces.

That means I want the website dialed in — and I’ll keep improving it.

:white_check_mark: Instagram will be my second sales channel.
Now, you might be thinking: “Instagram isn’t a marketplace.” And you’d be right. But it is a powerful tool for building a brand, telling your story, and connecting with buyers.

On Instagram:

  • I can show the jewelry in lifestyle settings
  • I can build trust and share the behind the scenes
  • My followers can share with their networks
  • I keep my brand front and center, not buried in a sea of listings

Connecting Instagram to WooCommerce

Because I’m using WooCommerce, I can sync the shop to Instagram using:

  • A Facebook Commerce Manager account
  • A Facebook Business Page
  • A WooCommerce plugin that links products to Instagram Shopping

:movie_camera: I found a h YouTube video that walks through the setup — I’ll post it, but know that I haven’t used it as a guide. Just recent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiUfzV8604

This kind of setup takes some upfront work, but the upside is long-term brand building.

If you’re launching your own jewelry business — are you thinking website-first too? Or still using marketplaces?

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Is your Instagram account active yet?

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My sister sells on etsy, gave up on eBay years ago, and it has definitely changed over the years (I find it annoying that I cannot refine my searches on etsy anymore and have to wade through so much crap that has nothing to do with what I’m actually searching for).

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I absolutely agree with what you are saying.

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I thought Etsy started for hand made crafts, much of it now is dropshipped cr@ppy imports, like Amazon. I have had some success selling on ebay, but it’s one-off personal collectible items from family households that desperately need a new home! Profit/business is not the motivator :slight_smile:

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In its heyday Etsy was wonderful for handmade crafts. There was also a feature (a bit like a forum, but on the main site) which IIRC was called Treasury, where you could request custom-made items.

Now it’s swamped with drop-shippers and mass-produced junk from China. There are still craftspeople selling handmade wares (and some vintage sellers too), but as you both say @RedlandMaggie @here4turquoise the search algorithm is dreadful. I suspect it’s on purpose.

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@RedlandMaggie I totally agree with you. Etsy has a very poor search function. Even using their filters and/or trying different word lineups in your search doesn’t seem to help much. It’s aggravating.

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@Patina I remember a time when you could use some Boolean operators on Etsy (e.g. excluding a term by putting a ‘-’ in front of it), but they tweaked the search mechanism and now it doesn’t work. My guess is that they want to ensure those sellers who pay to rank higher in the search results will appear no matter what.

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@chamekke I remember that, too, 'cause I used to use it, lol. Ticking off customers just doesn’t seem like a good business model to me.

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I’ve been having massive success selling on Facebook Marketplace, which you can have a completely separate business account, with business page that customers can follow and share, and everyone and i mean almost EVERYONE has a facebook which it seems to expand the eyes who see your merch. The other thing I enjoy tremendously is that you can list your listing in the marketplace AND up to 20 individual “groups” which you can find ones dedicated to native american jewelry which each varies in amount of people in each group but the good ones have 200k+ people. Also the good groups have standards on listings making sure yours doesnt get drowned out by shitty spam posts and mass merch posts. Just thought i’d throw in my two cents, you can completely ignore if thats not an avenue you might be interested in. Good Luck with your businiss! <3

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“the search algorithm is dreadful. I suspect it’s on purpose.” Correct. When they charge a lot for promotional listings, then the people that pay up get their items at the top of the list even if it isn’t what the person is searching for. Very frustrating.

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Thanks for sharing all this with us, Jason; it is fascinating. I’m one of those people who prefer a website to Etsy, eBay, etc. And I love blog entries like you discussed in another thread.

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