Published on 15 May 2026 · 9 min read

Etsy alternatives for makers in 2026: why creators are switching to Hey Dom

If you landed here, it probably wasn't by accident. Maybe your latest Etsy statement made you raise an eyebrow. Maybe you've received yet another message from a Chinese reseller dumping the same product you make at a third of the price. Or maybe you've simply realized that you're working for Etsy as much as Etsy is working for you.

This article isn't a blind takedown of Etsy. Etsy genuinely changed the game for an entire generation of makers. But in 2026, the legitimate question for an independent maker becomes: is it still the right platform for me?

Let's look at this coolly: the real costs, the credible alternatives, and why Hey Dom was built specifically for makers who want to break out of that dependency.

Table of contents

• Why Etsy is frustrating more and more makers
• The real cost of Etsy in 2026 (all fees included)
• What Hey Dom is, in one minute
• Hey Dom vs Etsy: detailed comparison
• 4 concrete reasons to switch
• Cases where Etsy is still the better fit
• How to migrate properly (without losing your business)
• FAQ

Why Etsy is frustrating more and more makers

Beyond individual frustration, three structural trends since 2023 explain why this topic keeps coming up in every maker community discussion.

1. Fees creeping up, quietly

In 2018, selling on Etsy cost roughly 3.5% commission. Today, between listing fees ($0.20 per listing renewed every 4 months), 6.5% transaction commission, payment processing (3-4% depending on country), and most of all Offsite Ads up to 15% which can be triggered automatically once your shop crosses a revenue threshold, the total cost can reach 25 to 30% of the sale price. And that's before VAT and currency conversion.

The problem isn't the amount as much as the lack of transparency: it's become genuinely hard to know exactly what you'll pay before you sell.

2. An increasingly opaque algorithm

Etsy has progressively moved from a relatively readable search engine (titles, tags, shop age) to a "personalization" algorithm that rewards shops which push their products through paid placements. Result: a quality product, properly optimized, can disappear from page one without any explanation. Support, when it answers, sends a templated reply.

3. Unfair competition that's hard to police

The Chinese dropshipping problem dressed up as "handmade" on Etsy is well documented and still unresolved. Makers spending 6 hours crafting a piece of jewelry end up on the same search results page as shops reselling the same item from AliExpress at a third of the price. Etsy regularly communicates about marketplace moderation, but the felt experience of makers is that the effort isn't enough.

The real cost of Etsy in 2026 (all fees included)

Concrete example: you sell a ceramic vase for $60.

On 100 yearly sales at $60, that's $1,455 going to platform fees. And that doesn't count voluntary Etsy Ads campaigns or Etsy Plus subscriptions.

💡 The issue isn't that Etsy takes a cut — that's normal. The issue is the invisible stacking that ends up exceeding 20% in many cases.

What Hey Dom is, in one minute

Hey Dom is a European platform built for makers, creators and artists who want to sell online without rebuilding the same dependency they had with Etsy. Concretely:

• A branded shop: your name, your colors, your story. Not a listing among millions.
• One clear commission: no listing fees, no hidden ad surcharge that auto-triggers.
• A built-in card reader (POS): for your craft fair, market and pop-up sales — synced with your online stock.
• Native pre-orders: launch a product before you make it, collect funds once the goal is reached, finance your production without a loan.
• Customer ownership: your customers are your customers. Their emails, history, preferences — yours.
• European-native compliance: automatic VAT OSS, compliant invoicing, accounting exports for sole traders, auto-entrepreneurs, Kleinunternehmer, freelance artists.

Hey Dom isn't "another marketplace." It's your shop, hosted on shared infrastructure that saves you from managing Stripe, hosting, technical SEO and security updates yourself.

Hey Dom vs Etsy: detailed comparison

4 concrete reasons to switch

1. You're building your brand, not Etsy's

Every sale you make on Etsy reinforces the Etsy brand, not yours. Your customers remember buying "on Etsy," not "from you." On Hey Dom, it's your name on the URL, on the receipt, in the customer's memory. Mid-term, that's the difference between a maker building a loyal customer base and a maker depending on a stream of casual buyers forever.

2. You stop paying to be visible to your own customers

On Etsy, a customer searching for your shop by name can be diverted to competitors via ads displayed on your own page. On Hey Dom, your shop is your shop: no third-party ads can appear on it.

3. You unify online and offline

If you do markets, fairs, pop-ups, you know the pain: duplicate stock, manual invoicing, fragmented bookkeeping. Hey Dom links your physical card reader to your online shop. A market sale decrements online stock. An online pre-order can be fulfilled at your stand. One catalog, one stock, one accounting export.

4. You prepare resale or transfer

A rarely considered argument that becomes decisive at the 10-year mark: an Etsy shop can't be sold, because Etsy owns the audience and the SEO. A Hey Dom shop with your domain name, customer base, sales history — that's an asset you can value and transfer.

Cases where Etsy is still the better fit

Honestly: not every situation calls for leaving Etsy.

• You're starting completely from zero, no community, no Instagram audience, no qualified traffic: Etsy gives you immediate visibility that Hey Dom can't guarantee in the first 3 months.
• Your target market is the US, and you mainly sell in dollars to American customers: Etsy has US notoriety and traffic that no European alternative matches.
• You sell only a handful of pieces a year and marketing investment doesn't interest you: Etsy is simpler for very occasional use.

For everyone else — makers building a real business, already selling regularly, who've started building a community on Instagram or in person — switching to Hey Dom pays off within 6-12 months.

How to migrate properly (without losing your business)

The worst mistake: closing Etsy overnight. Here's the path we recommend to makers making the switch:

Step 1 — Open your Hey Dom shop (Day 1)

Plan 10 minutes to create the account, half a day to customize the shop page (logo, colors, story, About).

Step 2 — Import your catalog (Day 1-2)

Export your Etsy CSV (Shop Manager > Settings > Download Data) and use the Hey Dom import assistant. Your titles, descriptions, prices, variants and images come over automatically.

Step 3 — Redirect your communication (Week 1-4)

Update your Instagram link, newsletter, business card, email signature, market QR code. Gradually replace the Etsy link with the Hey Dom link.

Step 4 — Slip a flyer into Etsy orders (Month 1-3)

In every Etsy package, include a small card: "Find us directly at [shop].hey-dom.com with code WELCOME10." You convert your existing base without violating Etsy's TOS.

Step 5 — Switch Etsy to vacation mode (Month 3-6)

Once your Hey Dom revenue approaches your Etsy revenue, switch Etsy to vacation mode (temporarily disabled shop) to test independence.

Step 6 — Close Etsy (Month 6-12)

If independence is confirmed, close Etsy. If needed, keep the account for categories where Etsy still makes sense (US market, for instance).

FAQ

Is Hey Dom actually cheaper than Etsy? For most maker profiles, yes. Etsy stacks listing fees, 6.5% commission, and up to 15% Offsite Ads. Hey Dom applies one clear commission with no listing fees. Run 100 sales side-by-side: the gap is rarely small.

Can I migrate my Etsy customers? Partially. Etsy doesn't share buyer emails for marketing. But you can slip a flyer in every order pointing to your Hey Dom shop, or post on Instagram. On Hey Dom, you own the relationship.

How long does migration take? For 50 products: half a day manually, or about an hour with the Hey Dom migration assistant.

Is Hey Dom suitable if I sell at markets? Yes — that's a major difference: synced physical card reader, unified stock, one accounting export.

What if 90% of my traffic comes from Etsy? Keep Etsy in parallel for 3-6 months, redirect your communication to Hey Dom progressively, then close Etsy once the alternative pipeline is built.

Which legal status works with Hey Dom? All European maker statuses plus US LLCs/sole proprietorships. Auto-generated accounting exports for each.

Read next

• How to sell handmade products online in 2026: the complete guide
• Best card reader for craft fairs in 2026: SumUp, Zettle, Hey Dom compared