7 Ways to Sell What You Make, and How Each One Works

7. Take custom commissions from people who want something made just for them

Seven ways to sell what you make, starting with pieces made just for one buyer. Number seven: take custom commissions from people who want something made just for them. Custom character designs, pet portraits and bespoke jewelry all fit this way of working. On Ko-fi, you start by heading over to Commissions, which is where the setup begins.

From there you can show or hide your Commissions tab and manage your listings. Your available slots and terms are yours to control for every commission. When someone requests a commission, you're the one setting the terms. A Commission open status lets you show buyers whether you are taking new requests right now.

You can allow buyers to message you about their idea before they buy. Limiting the total number of commission slots across your listings is also possible. Then you manage each order from that same place as new requests arrive. Ko-fi Shop sells digital and physical items, so it works alongside commissions.

You tap Add Product, choose a name buyers will understand, and select digital file or physical item. On Ko-fi Free, one-time tips have no fee, while a flat 5% applies to commissions and shop items. Both options are free to join, with no monthly cost. By our count, a forty-dollar commission leaves $38 after the 5% fee, before payment processor fees.

Payments go straight into your own payment account. You set and follow your own terms, and payment processor fees vary with the account, location and currency. Payment fees can differ where you live. If guides like this help you, subscribe: every step in this video comes from each platform's own help page, linked below.

6. Sell the design files you create through a shop of your own

Number six: sell the design files you create through a shop of your own. This suits designers who already have a portfolio of their work to show. On Creative Market, you send a shop request by clicking Open a Shop. Before applying, you prepare a link to your online portfolio or a showcase of your work.

Your account's email needs to be visible on that page, so the platform can verify ownership. A real person, who is also an artist, reviews each shop request. Once your shop is open, there is no review process every time you sell a new product. You also set your own prices for the files in your shop.

Commission rates vary per shop and per product. With a discount code, your share is based on the discounted price. Buyers pay a separate fixed Platform Fee on each order they place. Your Sales Dashboard then shows sales stats, products sold and your conversion rate, so you can follow your shop.

By default, a shop's share of the list price for each sale is 50%. That is the starting point, and rates can vary by shop and product. By our count, a twenty-dollar design file leaves $10 for the shop at the default 50%. That share comes from the list price you set yourself.

A person reviews each shop request before it opens, and some payout methods are not available in all countries. Payout options can differ where you live.

5. Put your designs on products that are made on demand after someone orders

Number five: put your designs on products that are made on demand after someone orders. Your own drawings and artwork are the starting point for each product. On Printful, it's free to start, with no setup fees and no order minimums. A free version is available, with no monthly subscription required.

Signing up gives you access to custom premium products, unlimited connected stores and up to ten Quick Stores. Orders are fulfilled automatically through free integrations. You only pay when an order is placed, covering product and printing costs, shipping, and taxes if applicable. Your customer pays you through your storefront, and you pay Printful for fulfillment.

Quick Stores are free, and the customer pays the retail price, which includes your markup, plus shipping. Printful charges the base cost and fulfillment from that amount. The remaining amount is transferred to your bank account each month, as long as it exceeds $25. The base price includes the blank product and one print area.

450 plus products are listed for you to customize with your designs. Extras like more print areas or custom inside labels cost more, and sizes above two XL add cost. For example, a drawing of yours could go on a mug that's printed only after someone orders it. That is how on-demand works: the customer pays through your storefront first.

In most countries you can use Printful, but some countries and regions aren't supported. Prices depend on where a product is fulfilled. Shipping and tax rules can differ where you live.

4. Open your own shop

Number four: open your own shop, and sell in person too when you meet buyers face to face. A personal storefront suits anyone who wants a shop that carries their name. On Big Cartel, you begin by creating your account, and the shop essentials are covered during onboarding. After that, you add your first product to the shop.

Setting up checkout is essential for receiving payment for your sales. Big Cartel shops can use two payment processors, set up from your Big Cartel admin. Connecting both processors, if you choose to, gives your customers more options when they pay at checkout. Products sell out automatically once the quantity hits zero.

The plans are a free Gold plan with limited features, Platinum, and Diamond. Platinum starts with a seven-day free trial. Platinum lets you sell physical and digital products and print shipping labels. It also lets you sell in person and take payments from your phone.

After that trial, Platinum costs $15 a month. Diamond costs $30 a month and adds abandoned cart recovery and scheduled product drops. By our count, twelve months of Platinum at $15 a month comes to $180. That total helps you compare the paid plan with the free Gold plan before you choose.

The free Gold plan has limited features, and payment processor pricing varies depending on location and payment method. Selling and tax rules can differ where you live. That's past the halfway mark: commissions, design files, printed products and your own shop so far. The last three cover original art, approved makers and a handmade marketplace, with the best last.

Number three: sell original art and prints

3. Sell original art and prints through an online gallery built for artists

through an online gallery built for artists. Paintings and printed editions of your work both have a place here. On Saatchi Art, you first create a Collector account, then choose Become an Artist. Next you choose Create Artist Account, and then you verify your email address.

Creating the artist account is free and needs no special application. Before selling, you complete ID verification in three steps. Verification uses a five-digit email code, a government-issued photo ID, and a live selfie check. You have thirty days to finish, and your works stay not for sale until it's done.

Originals sell with a 40% commission going to Saatchi Art on the artwork price. That makes it a sixty-forty split, with the larger share going to the artist. Prints work differently: you can sell open edition prints through on-demand printing by selecting Add Prints for Sale. Artists receive 60% of what's left after production costs on each print sale.

An original's price leaves the artist 60%, since the commission is 40%. Saatchi Art collects payment upfront and pays artists once the artwork is safely delivered. By our count, a five-hundred-dollar original painting leaves $300 for the artist after the 40% commission. A payout account is created after your first completed sale.

Processing begins fourteen days after delivery and takes four to five more days, up to nineteen days in all. Tax rules for artists can differ where you live. Number two: sell handmade goods as an approved maker,

2. Sell handmade goods as an approved maker

offering your creations to customers around the world. This route suits makers and collaborative groups whose products are genuinely handcrafted. On Amazon Handmade, you first register as a Professional seller, or upgrade from the Individual plan. That seller account is the base for everything that follows.

Next comes the application to be a Handmade maker, where you confirm you'll follow the Handmade guidelines. You also describe yourself, your products and your process in the application. After approval, you add the Handmade Classification attribute to your products. Adding it uses the standard listing process that other sellers use.

Approved makers can build a profile to tell customers more about themselves and their creations. Collaborative groups, such as cooperatives, nonprofits or charities, can sell handcrafted products too. Application and audit processes ensure Handmade features genuine handcrafted products. After a one-time first-month payment, approved sellers have the Professional plan's monthly selling fee waived.

The process moves from seller registration to the application, then to a handmade listing. For example, a maker of ceramic mugs would describe how each mug is made in the application. Approval then opens the Handmade Classification step for those mugs. Only approved makers sell in Handmade, and every product must be genuinely handcrafted.

Selling rules can differ where you live.

1. Open a shop for handmade goods

Number one: open a shop for handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplies on a marketplace made for them. Your shop suits anyone who physically makes their own items. On Etsy, items made by a seller must be physically made by hand or with computerized tools. A three D printer or a cutting machine counts, and you use your own photographs.

Reselling isn't allowed in the Handmade category, while vintage items must be at least twenty years old. Craft supplies are allowed too, so your shop can include them. Opening a shop means choosing the shop language, country and currency, and connecting a bank account. You also add a debit or credit card for your Etsy bills and pay a one-time, non-refundable set-up fee.

Listings take up to twenty photos and two videos, each video between five and fifteen seconds. Your title can run up to 140 characters. Seven tabs need filling in before you publish a listing. A new listing may take up to forty-eight hours to appear in search.

The transaction fee is 6.5% of the total order amount. A listing fee of twenty cents applies per listing, whether or not the item sells. By our count, a thirty-dollar order carries a transaction fee of $1 and ninety-five cents. The twenty-cent listing fee for that item comes on top.

Account owners must be at least eighteen, and sellers aged thirteen to seventeen use a parent's or guardian's account. Shops open only where Etsy Payments is available, and processing fees vary by country. Fees and tax rules can differ where you live. So, seven ways: commissions on Ko-fi, design files on Creative Market, and printed products on Printful.

Then your own shop on Big Cartel, art on Saatchi Art, makers on Amazon Handmade, and handmade shops on Etsy. Fees and rules differ where you live. So open the platform's own help page first, and check what it asks for in your area. Which one would you try first?

Tell us the number in the comments. Results vary, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings. Next, seven more ways people sell online, and how each one works, linked on screen.