Etsy vs Amazon Handmade

Discussion in 'Stock Market Forum' started by Rainman, Dec 7, 2015.

  1. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    In October Amazon launched a new marketplace for handmade goods. Invitations were sent to artisans asking them to apply to sell what they made on Handmade. The wise IMHO would be to sell at both marketplaces but it does seem like Amazon already is gaining the upperhand. Since then Etsy's stock continues to fall. Since October the stock has fallen by 14% and might drop even further. Do you think the competition will "kill" Etsy?
     
  2. Susimi

    Susimi Senior Investor

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    Going by the numbers, it does not look that good for Etsy now that is has competition in the form of Amazon which is a huge company.

    You've got Amazon, which as I say is a huge company but is just starting out in handmade stuff, verses Etsy which has been in this market long and is well established, but not as big as Amazon. It's difficult to see but I think more people are gonna flock to Amazon and those who remain at Etsy will be the die hard few.
     
  3. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    The sellers will be able to list their products on both marketplaces and I think that newer customers who've never bought anything from Etsy will prefer to buy handmade products from Amazon because of it's reputation and that would negatively impact Etsy's growth that's unless the sellers prefer to sell their stuff on Etsy because Amazon takes a larger cut of the money they make [9%].
     
  4. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Competition always makes things harder. If I was selling these things then I'd definitely try both and see what worked best for me, and if both are ok then I'd keep selling at both.
     
  5. 111kg

    111kg Guest

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    Well, the more people get into the DIY industry and copy the Etsy products just to sell them on the local markets, the more people won't buy from Etsy. The same for Amazon, but the DIY sector won't affect too much the Amazon shares/earnings.
     
  6. Penny

    Penny Well-Known Member

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    Right now the upper hand comes from having customer traffic, and Etsy still has that. I looked a Amazon Handmade when it launched as a potential story location and was not terribly impressed. Amazon might evolve it into something but they tend to take a 'shotgun' approach to trying out new ideas and then just seeing which ones work out.

    Etsy is under some pressure, I think partly because the do not enforce the rule that things listed as handmade actually are handmade. If Amazon did a better job in that area I would take them more seriously. But as a seller there is no advantage to being an early adopter with an online vendor. You can just wait and see if they build a market, and join in if they do.
     
  7. SandyM

    SandyM Well-Known Member

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    The craziest "fun fact" that I read today is that Amazon has never technically "turned a profit" for itself. It just pays a salary for its CEO and employees. It's the fact that the public puts so much faith in the company and its apparent inability to fail that makes its value remain at a perceived high.

    In addition to Amazon Handmade, they are also doing a Made In campaign for foreign countries. I got a press release about "Made in France," "Made in Italy," and "Made in Brazil" by actual artisans. I'm not sure if Etsy can compete with that kind of volume or clout. It doesn't look like this sort of thing has ever been done before. So certainly, Amazon wants to give Etsy a run for its money. It wants to crush the enemy totally. Sounds harsh, but it's true.
     
  8. Corzhens

    Corzhens Senior Investor

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    I agree that Amazon is a huge company and like what Google did before, they vanquished the competition. With a mountain of money in their bank, Amazon can afford to lose by cut-throat competition with very low prices and the rival may fold up with huge losses on missed sales. With Google's style of buying the competition, maybe Amazon is willing to buy if they cannot beat Etsy in its own game. But take note that Amazon has the most number of clientelle so they have the upper hand.
     

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