Folksy is a digital marketplace that focuses on handcrafted and distinctive arts and crafts, facilitating connections between independent artists and creators and customers looking to support small enterprises and acquire exclusive products.
If you’d like to start your own marketplace like Folksy, you’re facing a buy vs build decision. So before you decide to build it in-house on top of Spree open-source, consider using Vendo which is a marketplace SaaS. Go live, start selling, iterate.
Build vs Buy a marketplace?
The benefits of using open-source are numerous, including complete control and the ability to customize freely. However, these perks come with significant expenses. Crafting a fully functional marketplace solution is a lengthy and costly process, often spanning months or even years. This is a lesson we’ve drawn from various marketplace projects.
Unless you’ve secured a hefty amount of funding, opting for a pre-built, comprehensive marketplace solution like Vendo is a wiser choice, as advised by someone who has extensive experience in billing clients for marketplace development.
Back to the Folksy marketplace case study
Folksy, an online marketplace focusing on handmade and artisanal products, exemplifies a successful niche e-commerce platform. Established in 2008 in the United Kingdom by James Boardwell and Rob Lee, Folksy was born from a desire to create a dedicated space for handcrafted items.
It has since evolved into a vibrant community where UK and international artisans and crafters showcase their talents, not just selling their creations but also sharing stories and creativity.
The marketplace has grown significantly over the years. By 2022, Folksy had become a multinational platform, generating its largest eCommerce net sales in the UK, followed by the United States. It operates as a hybrid marketplace, selling both its inventory and third-party sellers’ products.
With a diverse product range covering categories like Hobby & Leisure, Fashion, and Furniture & Homeware, Folksy’s global net sales reached US$10.9 million in 2022. In the same year, it ranked #281 globally in terms of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) among all marketplaces on ECDB.com.
Folksy’s success can be attributed to several key factors. First and foremost, it maintains strict rules to ensure all items sold are genuinely handmade or designed by the sellers, fostering authenticity.
This commitment to originality and quality has helped it stand out in the crowded online marketplace space. Furthermore, Folksy emphasizes community building, encouraging interaction between buyers and sellers. This approach not only enhances customer experience but also creates a platform for storytelling, which is integral in selling handmade products.
How to emulate Folksy marketplace success?
To somewhat follow the path of Folksy’s success, think about starting your marketplace in a few weeks rather than several months. Evaluate how well your product catalog approach aligns with what your customers want. Adjust how you attract customers based on actual outcomes.
Try out the market before you commit to creating it on your own.
Here’s what you’d be getting with a Vendo free trial:
- Book a marketplace demo call: We’ll set up your demo marketplace and populate it with products, so you could give it a try and start selling in 14 days
- Customize your Storefront: Use the drag & drop page builder or custom CSS
- Onboard Brands: Invite your brands or choose brands from our catalog
- Select Products: Curate products and collections manually or automate it
- Embed products: Make your content, newsletters, social media shoppable
- Get Paid: Get paid as soon as products are shipped by the brands
- End-to-end automation: Brands sync, fulfillment, payouts, invoicing, taxes
When you’ve tried all that and it works, start thinking about building your own, custom-made marketplace project based on Spree Commerce. First, by decoupling the storefront and going headless with Vendo marketplace API, and later with your own backend, if you decide you really need it. Just lift and shift the storefront.
Nobody has to know what’s under the hood, right?
