Amazon Launches a Maker Marketplace That Will Compete With Etsy
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Amazon is all about efficiency. Supermaximum, hyper-fast efficiency. You order a widget you need, Amazon puts it in a box and the widget arrives on your doorstep — sometimes, in .
That’s why the Seattle-based tech giant’s latest new online marketplace, , which launches today, is a wee bit of a head-scratcher. Can Amazon be Etsy? Can a tech juggernaut known for its focus on speed and automation successfully market itself as a place to buy all things crafty?
Amazon’s new maker marketplace features items like the , the and the . Each item comes with a photo of the maker and a bit about the individual. For example, you learn that Angela, the woman in Indiana who makes the bicycle card, is a “lover of great design, fine coffees and strawberry licorice.”
Related: Amazon Rolls Out New Marketplace for Startups
To be included in the marketplace, items have to be made by hand. Factory-produced goods are not included. The platform is launching with more than 80,000 items.
Etsy, whose shares were down 5 percent by midday Thursday, has reason to be worried. While the company already has significant brand association with the artisanal maker movement, Amazon’s customer base — and potential exposure for makers — is much larger. Amazon has an estimated 285 million active buyers while Etsy has .
Related: 5 Myths About Selling on Amazon
Amazon is all about efficiency. Supermaximum, hyper-fast efficiency. You order a widget you need, Amazon puts it in a box and the widget arrives on your doorstep — sometimes, in .
That’s why the Seattle-based tech giant’s latest new online marketplace, , which launches today, is a wee bit of a head-scratcher. Can Amazon be Etsy? Can a tech juggernaut known for its focus on speed and automation successfully market itself as a place to buy all things crafty?
Amazon’s new maker marketplace features items like the , the and the . Each item comes with a photo of the maker and a bit about the individual. For example, you learn that Angela, the woman in Indiana who makes the bicycle card, is a “lover of great design, fine coffees and strawberry licorice.”
Related: Amazon Rolls Out New Marketplace for Startups
To be included in the marketplace, items have to be made by hand. Factory-produced goods are not included. The platform is launching with more than 80,000 items.
Etsy, whose shares were down 5 percent by midday Thursday, has reason to be worried. While the company already has significant brand association with the artisanal maker movement, Amazon’s customer base — and potential exposure for makers — is much larger. Amazon has an estimated 285 million active buyers while Etsy has .
Related: 5 Myths About Selling on Amazon
