7 Money-Making Crafts Popular Among Online Sellers

Are you creative and good with your hands? Crafting can become a lucrative activity that can earn you extra money or even become your main source of income. If you have a knack for making beautiful and unique items, you can turn your passion into profits by selling your crafts online.

Where to Sell Handmade Craft Items

Knowing where to sell is arguably just as important as figuring out what to sell. Here are some of the top places to sell crafts online.

1. Etsy: Etsy is a leading online marketplace specifically designed for handmade, vintage, and unique items. Etsy provides a platform with a large customer base and various tools for sellers to showcase and sell their crafts. Selling on Etsy is a great way to market your crafts and handmade items.
2. eBay: eBay is a well-established e-commerce platform where you can list and sell a wide range of items, including crafts. eBay offers a global marketplace and allows both auction-style and fixed-price listings.
3. Amazon Handmade: Amazon Handmade is a specialized section of Amazon that caters to artisans and crafters. It provides a platform for selling handmade products to a massive customer base. Amazon Handmade focuses on unique, handcrafted items.
   Shopify: A popular e-commerce platform that allows you to create your own online store. With Shopify, you have full control over your branding, design, and product listings. It offers various tools to manage inventory, process payments, and market your crafts.
   Instagram: A social media platform that has evolved into a powerful sales channel for creative entrepreneurs. By setting up an Instagram business account, you can showcase your crafts, engage with potential customers, and direct them to your online store or Etsy shop.
4. Redbubble: A print-on-demand platform that specializes in customizable products. You can upload your designs and have them printed on items like T-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and more. Redbubble takes care of production, shipping, and customer service.
   

It’s important to research each platform to understand their fees, policies, and target audience. Choosing the right platform(s) that align with your craft and target market will maximize your chances of success.

Money-Making Crafts

A short scroll on Etsy is all it takes to see the power of crafting. You may be able to make a good chunk of change by selling crafts online. See if any of these in-demand craft categories appeals to you. 

Handmade Jewelry

People love to buy handmade jewelry because each piece is unique and can express their personal style. Find a niche and create a style that appeals to that type of customer. Some niches are by style (vintage, goth, classic, boho) while others are by type of jewelry (earrings, lockets, anklets, tiaras) or demographics/psychographics (men, women, children, eco-friendly, cause-related), materials (turquoise and silver, crystals, leather, gemstones).

Materials: Beads, semi-precious stones, wire, findings, charms, pliers, and jewelry-making tools.

Instructions: Create earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings using various techniques such as stringing, metalwork, wire wrapping, and beading.

Price Range: $10 – $500, depending on materials and complexity.

Soy Candles

The market for scented candles, particularly soy candles, is projected to grow 3.3% each year through at least 2028. Soy candles burn cleanly, provide a pleasant ambient scent, act as a decorative item and create a relaxing ambiance. 

Focus on creating delicious-smelling and unique fragrance blends, since this is the main differentiator in the market. Also think about using attractive and interesting candle containers.

Materials: Soy wax, fragrance oils, wicks, containers, thermometer, pouring pot, and packaging.

Instructions: Melt soy wax, add fragrance oils, color and any herbs or flowers, pour into containers, and attach wicks.

Price Range: $10 – $30, depending on size and design.

Hand-Painted Ceramics

Hand-painted ceramic items are a lovely way to add some unique decor to a buyer’s home. Decide on a style of pottery such as homestead, avant garde, artsy, traditional or sweet and create a series of different types of pieces in this style. Remember to make pieces for special gift occasions such as Mother’s Day, graduation and Christmas for people to buy as gifts.

Materials: Potter’s wheel, kaolin clay, kiln, sponges, trimming tools, cut-off wire, potter’s needle, rubber or wooden rib, acrylic paint, paintbrushes, varnish.

Instructions: Create different types of ceramics using the potter’s wheel, clay and water. Fire in the kiln. Paint unique designs on ceramic pieces, let them dry, and apply varnish for protection.

Price Range: $15 – $150, depending on size and intricacy.

Customized T-shirts

If you have interesting ideas for sayings and designs, then you may be able to make money by putting them on t-shirts and sweatshirts. While you probably won’t make a lot of profit on each one you sell, you can end up earning a lot of money from volume. Focus on a theme, either by style or type of message (funny, political, cause-related, patriotic).

Materials: Plain T-shirts and sweatshirts, fabric paint, stencils, brushes, and heat transfer vinyl (optional).

Instructions: Apply designs to T-shirts using fabric paint, stencils, or heat transfer vinyl.

Price Range: $15 – $40, depending on size and complexity.

Handmade Soap

Handmade soaps and lotions often appeal to people who are looking for clean ingredients and those searching for fragrances that are out-of-the-ordinary. Since they are consumed fairly quickly, try to capture customers’ contact information so you can contact them regarding reordering. 

Materials: Soap base, essential oils, molds, colorants, herbs (optional), clay, exfoliants and liquid surfactants.

Instructions: Melt soap base, add fragrance, colorants, surfactants and optional herbs and other additives, pour into molds, and let it set.

Price Range: $5 – $15 per bar, depending on size and ingredients.

Macrame Wall Hangings

Macrame is a large part of a relaxed, boho home style since it has a natural look and texture. 

Materials: Macrame cord, wooden dowel or metal ring, scissors, and a tape measure.

Instructions: Create intricate knots using macrame cord to make wall hangings and planter hangers of various sizes and patterns.

Price Range: $30 – $100, depending on size and complexity.

Hand-Embroidered Accessories

Hand-embroidered accessories are beautiful and unique, whether they are used for home decor or as a clothing accessory. While this is a competitive area, you can stand out by creating something unexpected such as humorous sayings or by specializing in a couple of types of products, such as embellished denim jackets.

Materials: Fabric, embroidery floss, embroidery hoop, needles, and embroidery patterns.

Instructions: Use different stitches to create unique designs on fabric, such as handkerchiefs, pouches, and tote bags.

Price Range: $10 – $75, depending on size and intricacy.