Michaels store has been the source for majority of my craft materials for years. Now, they opened a beta Michaels MakerPlace – a new handmade marketplace where crafters like myself can sell their creations. Please keep in mind, it’s different from Michaels Thirdparty Marketplace. The latter is for craft supply vendors who sell materials for craft, not for the finished handmade creations.
As soon as I saw this new Maker Place, I thought, here’s the Etsy alternative for only handmade materials that I’ve been craving for so long! However, it might be wishful thinking as I only submitted the application today. Each account has to be approved by Michaels. Therefore, it seems they will manage the type of sellers that can sell on their platform. I truly hope, that they stay true to their mission and will help with visibility for smaller handmade makers.
Michaels MakerPlace Fees
At the moment, they offer Basic plan for free, and a Professional plan. The Basic plan comes with 7% + $0.20 fees from sales. And, the Professional plan comes with 5% + $0.20 fees from sales. For a limited time, they’re running a special. They charge only transaction fees for the Professional plan, which comes to a total os 3% + $0.20 in fees. It’s a great deal for those who sell a lot. There are also additional rewards on purchases in Michaels stores. It’s 3% for the Basic free accounts, and 6% for the accounts on Professional plan which cost $110+tax per year. The products are listed for free on both plans.
On top of the ability to sell handcrafted items, Michaels MakerPlace offers an option to host Live Online Classes and upload How-to videos with shopping lists. Profit split from Live Online Classes is 80% to the teacher, and 20% to MakerPlace. Therefore, it’s 20% fee of gross total income from the Live Online Classes. On How-to videos creator earns commission of 3% on basic and 6% on pro plans.
MakerPlace Application Process
To submit the application, one has to visit their website and create account. If you already have Michaels rewards account, you can simply login and fill out the application. As I’m a regular customer, I used my rewards account and proceeded with the application. To setup your store you will need the name of the store, logo, banner, creator’s photo, and description. By the way, if you have Etsy store, you may use the logo and banner from there. I simply opened my Etsy shop in the browser and saved the images to my phone. Then, I uploaded them in the Michaels MakerPlace application tab.
Next, there’s an option to include artist’s bio. I think is important as customers like to know who they buy from. Afterwards, you need to enter your full name, address, bank account, and SSN or EIN. It is needed for tax and income purposes. Finally, you have to enter your billing address and credit card info even for the basic free account. They do not charge the card, but it’s stored on file for the future needs. Overall, the application process is straightforward. The page does not reload while you switch tabs to pull information from other places. This was a great relief! As on some websites when I switch the tab to copy my bank info, everything I entered previously disappears. This was not the case with the Michaels Maker Place application.
I filled out my application with all of the images, store description, and artist bio, and it was approved within a couple of hours. I haven’t started selling just yet, but I will make another post once I list some of my creations. Overall, I have great hopes for this marketplace!
