• by Thom Forbes , October 8, 2015

Amazon yesterday launched its long-in-the-making homemade-crafts site, Handmade at Amazon, with more than 5,000 artisans from 60 countries peddling over 80,000 items that are guaranteed to be “factory-free.” More than 30% “can be personalized by artisans to delight customers,” according to Amazon’s release.

Handmade’s inventory in six categories — home, jewelry, artwork, stationery and party supplies, kitchen and dining, and baby — currently ranges from a $13,800 salvaged Pennsylvania black walnut dining/conference table to $21 earrings bearing the chemical symbol for gold (Au) that will make you the “hippest nerd in the lab.”

“We're entering this space because our customers have told us that they want it,” April Lane, Amazon's category leader for Handmade, tells CNET’s Ben Fox Rubin. “We get thousands of searches every day for handmade items.”

The new Amazon offering is considered a direct threat to Brooklyn-based Etsy, which pioneered the idea of collecting craftspeople on an online platform to sell directly to consumers in 2005, the same year Amazon launched.

“Etsy has faced criticism recently for launching a new program that connects craftsmen with company-approved manufacturers in order to keep growing businesses from leaving the site,” Rachel Lerman writes for the Seattle Times. “Amazon’s entrance into the market could spell further woes for Etsy,” she points out. Etsy closed at $14.18 on the NASDAQ exchange yesterday after having hit as high as $35.74 since it was listed in May.

“We believe we are the best platform for creative entrepreneurs, empowering them to succeed on their own terms," Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson says in a statement cited by CNET’s Fox Rubin. “Etsy has a decade of experience understanding the needs of artists and sellers and supporting them in ways that no other marketplace can.”

Etsy last month announced a new manufacturing marketplace “to make it easier for its sellers to find ‘responsible production assistance,’” according to the AP’s Mae Anderson. “Manufacturers can apply to be part of the program and Etsy approves them based on certain criteria.”

“The divide on manufacturing highlights the challenge that platforms for handmade craft sellers face,” Anderson writes. "They want to preserve the personal nature of handmade goods but also help their sellers (and themselves) grow and make more money.” 

Amazon, as is its wont, isn’t sparing expense in its pursuit of dominating the market.

“Each section on the Handmade store will have an artisan page featuring pictures and sometimes video of the work and process of the artist behind the items being sold, as well as a map showing where they're based,” reports Elizabeth Weise for USA Today.

“When I got a call from Amazon last spring, I couldn't believe it,” Jodi Kostelnik, who creates screen-printed tea towels in her studio and already sells on Etsy and from her own website, tells Weise. “They came and filmed me printing and helped me put together the packaging.” 

Amazon’s “285 million active customer accounts dwarf Etsy’s 22 million, giving artisans access to far more traffic and potential customers,” points out Hiroko Tabuchi for the New York Times. It will also allow makers to utilize its Prime free-shipping service. But it takes 12% of the sale while Etsy “charges a 20-cent fee for each item a seller lists on its site and takes a 3.5% cut of the sale.”

Engadget’s Steve Dent writes that artisans have expressed concerns over the higher fees that Amazon charges, and think that the corporate vibe doesn't mesh with craft culture.” 

Vibes, schmibes.

“Amazon has all the capabilities they need to make their program a big success. They have all the marketing power in the world, and they’re already so global,” Dani Marie, CEO of Handmade Seller magazine, tells Tabuchi.

Would-be Amazon rival Jet.com, meanwhile, said yesterday that it was dropping its $50 membership fee “due to stronger-than-expected customer orders,” Reuters’ Nathan Layne reports. “They're just trying to get a huge number of customers and will figure out revenue opportunities later,” Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru tells Layne.

Greg Bensinger and Rolfe Winkler take a more skeptical view of the announcement in the Wall Street Journal, writing: “The change casts doubt on the viability of one of this year’s most-hyped startups, and suggests Jet was concerned about signing up paying customers over time.”