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Amazon looks to out-Etsy Etsy

October 9, 2015Written by George Anderson

Amazon's long-awaited answer to Etsy is here. Yesterday the e-tail giant announced the launch of Handmade at Amazon, a new online store featuring items made by artisans and sold directly to consumers.

The new store features products in categories including art, dining and kitchen, furniture, home décor, jewelry, party supplies and stationery.

"We have designed a custom shopping experience for customers looking for handmade items by bringing together many of the best artisans in the world, and they're adding thousands of items daily," said Peter Faricy, VP for Amazon Marketplace, in a statement. "Knowing an item has a unique story behind it creates a personal experience that customers have told us makes owning handmade items special. Handmade at Amazon offers customers more than 80,000 quality handcrafted items from around the world, and over 30 percent can be personalized by artisans to delight customers."

In an apparent attempt to distinguish itself from Etsy, Handmade by Amazon is billing itself as factory-free. Last month, Etsy launched Etsy Manufacturing, a matchmaking service between artisans and companies that can help ramp up production while holding to the site's mission of putting community before profits.

Handmade by Amazon features more than 80,000 products sold by more than 5,000 sellers. According to The Seattle Times, about 600 items will be available for free two-day delivery to Amazon Prime members.

Etsy, which was founded in 2005, has 32 million items for sale on the site from 1.5 million sellers. The company, which went public in April, has seen its stock fall from a high of $35.74 during that time to a low of $11.85. Yesterday, it closed down 4.3 percent to $13.57.

Amazon saw its shares fall 1.62 percent to $533.16 in yesterday's trading.

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