DIY Ecommerce: 27 Things To Make And Sell In 2024
Welcome to our roundup of the best things to make and sell online.
There’s a huge market out there for hand-crafted goods right now. So if you’re a talented maker, you could easily monetize your skills by setting up your own craft business selling handmade goods through an ecommerce store or online marketplace.
The trick is focusing on the right products. That’s why in this post, we’re going to be revealing 27 handmade items that are in high demand.
Plus, we’ll also be sharing examples of existing ecommerce stores that are making a crazy amount of money selling these products.
#1 – Soap
Soap is one of the most popular handmade products to sell on sites like Etsy. There are tons of different types of soaps you can make, from scented organic soaps to soaps with interesting and unique designs.
What’s great about soap making is that it’s a fairly easy skill to master, and there are tons of tutorials online that can help you get started. All you need is some soap molds and melts.
You can get really creative with your designs too, which will help your products to stand out from the competition on seller marketplaces like Etsy.
Example
Here’s an example from soap seller iandgeco on Etsy. They’ve taken a simple and rustic approach to their soap box, with a good selection of organic and handmade products for customers to choose from.
This seller has had over 2500 sales on the Etsy platform, and they also offer a variety of different boxes for different occasions.
#2 – Candles
Handmade candles are another bestseller, and they’re extremely easy to make. You can either choose to create and scent the candle wax yourself, or simply customize the candle holder in order to create a unique product.
Candles with interesting or funny slogans on the label are super popular and take next to no time to create. Just design and print labels from your computer and stick them to the candle jar—easy!
Alternatively, you can go down the route of creating and molding your own candles from scratch. It’s not that hard, and candles in interesting shapes and styles are very popular at the moment.
You can sell your candles on marketplaces like Etsy, or build your own online store using a tool like Sellfy.
Example
GlimGlamCandles sell customized candle jars from their own ecommerce site. They sell a variety of different scented candle jars, as well as some humorous candles that make great gifts for friends and partners.
GlimGlam also stock candle accessories such as matched which are great for making upsells to customers at the checkout.
#3 – Bath Bombs
Bath bombs are another great personal care product to sell online. They make really good gifts for special occasions, and it’s easy to create bath bombs that have a unique selling point.
Much like making soap, making bath bombs is super straightforward. There are tons of YouTube videos that will help you to get started, and you’ll just need to choose some interesting molds and scented products to start making them.
When selling your bath bombs, it’s a good idea to create some custom packaging that will make your bath bombs seem more luxurious. You can also curate bath bomb gift boxes and sell them at a higher price.
Example
Etsy seller LatherUpUK has jumped on a recent trend to boost sales of bath bombs on Etsy. The seller created a unique bath bomb design in the shape of the popular influencer-backed Prime energy drinks.
Unsurprisingly, it’s been a hit and has sold over 400 times on Etsy. This is a great example of how you can get creative and make use of trends to promote your bath bombs online.
#4 – Jewelry
Jewelry is one of the most commonly sold handmade items online. You can sell everything from high-end luxury jewelry to more novelty items like charm bracelets and earrings.
An easy place to start when it comes to jewelry is selling custom-engraved jewelry. You can create bracelets or necklaces that feature the names of customers, or phrases and quotes. These types of items are really popular and easy for creators to make quickly.
Example
Here’s an example of a charm bracelet seller on Etsy. Ivy Greene creates personalized bead bracelets that feature people’s names. Customers can choose the name when they make an order and the seller creates and ships their products.
The bracelets are reasonably priced, and the seller has received over 600 orders.
#5 – Custom t-shirts
When looking for things to make and sell online, custom t-shirts are a go-to. T-shirts are super popular, and if you can come up with your own unique design and print them, you can make a pretty good profit too.
To get started, you can use a printing machine such as a Cricut, to print and stamp your designs onto plain t-shirts. You also have the option of using a print-on-demand service that will print your designs and ship them every time a customer makes an order.
Printing and shipping yourself will increase your profits, but print-on-demand is a good option if you’re looking for an ecommerce side hustle that is a bit more passive.
Example
This Etsy seller creates custom shirts for parents. Customers can add their children’s names or years of birth to the shirts when ordering.
These super simple designs are extremely popular, and the seller has made over 1400 sales to date.
Related: The Best Etsy Print-On-Demand Companies.
#6 – Drinkware
Drinkware such as cups, glasses, and thermoses are great products to sell online. If you’re a skilled potter, you can create your own mugs and cups to sell from scratch.
However, if you want a more simple product to create, you can add decals to drinkware to sell online. Using a printing machine like a Cricut, you can create dishwasher-safe decal stickers to customize your mugs, bottles, etc.
Some sellers will also add additional customization elements, such as diamante and other accessories. You can also use a print-on-demand store to sell customized drinkware too.
Example
This seller creates unique drinkware using diamanté crystals to customize the cup with the customer’s name. The cups are fairly easy to create yourself and tend to have high profit margins.
#7 – Crocheted items
Crocheting is a fun skill to master, and you can use it to create a variety of different products, from clothing to children’s toys and more.
Although crocheting is quite easy to get the hang of, many people prefer to buy crocheted goods rather than create them themselves. As such, crocheted items are a good choice for products to make and sell online.
Small, easy-to-create crocheted products such as coasters are a good choice for sellers. However, if you’re quite skilled when it comes to crocheting, then you can start your own business creating more detailed commissioned pieces for your customers.
Many sellers also make extra money from selling crochet patterns that they create.
Example
The WoolyBaaDesigns on Etsy sells super simple crochet flower coasters. The coasters are affordably priced to encourage sales and compete with other sellers.
The seller has over 600 reviews for her products and has a customer rating of 4.5/5.
#8 – Upcycled furniture
If you want to make and sell things online in 2023, a good place to start is with upcycled furniture. By sanding, painting and generally giving a furniture piece a new lease of life, you can make a considerable profit when selling it online.
All you need to do to get started is source some older furniture pieces from local charity shops and house sales. You may even be able to get them for free on the Facebook marketplace.
You’ll need some general DIY skills, but if you have these, then you should know just what to do to get your pieces ready to sell.
You can list them on sites like Etsy, or resell them on community marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree
Example
Here’s an example of an upcycled dresser for sale on Etsy.
The item was listed for nearly $400 and was made from an old recycled piece. As you can see, the seller has added unique and modern designs to make the piece more in keeping with current household trends.
#9 – Artwork
If you’re a keen artist, then it’s really easy to make and sell your artwork online. Custom artwork and paintings are popular with consumers that are looking for something a little different from mass-produced items.
Etsy is a great place to sell your artwork, as it has a large user base and can help potential buyers to discover your products. However, there is also a lot of mass-produced artwork for sale on Etsy too, so it may be a good idea to create your own online store to sell your products there.
You can sell all kinds of artwork online, from funky digital art pieces to intricate paintings and wall art.
As there are lots of people selling art online, it can be quite hard to compete, so it’s a good idea to market your artwork and build a following on social media. Sites like Instagram are a haven for artists looking to grow a following and get their creations seen by new audiences.
Example
Lisa Shearing sells her original canvas paintings on Etsy at affordable prices.
She has a unique style and theme throughout her paintings, and they are all 100% original. To boost sales, Lisa also sells prints of her work and greetings cards.
#10 – Baked goods
People love to buy gifts online, and as such, there is a huge demand for handmade baked goods. On Etsy in particular, many sellers sell treat boxes that include items like cakes, brownies, and scones.
If you’re a keen baker, then this is certainly an ecommerce opportunity for you.
In order to make as many sales as you can, it’s a good idea to offer boxes for different occasions, such as birthdays and mothers day. You can also add customization options for customers to add names and messages to the cakes.
Another key tip is to make sure that your baked goods are fresh and meet food safety standards. Although this seems obvious, many sellers struggle to hone their shipping processes so that their goods are fresh on arrival, and this can lead to bad reviews that will have a negative impact on future sales.
Example
The Happiness Bakery sells personalized brownie slabs on Etsy. Customers can request to add their message to the brownie before it gets shipped, making it a really great gift item.
This Etsy listing is very popular and has had almost 2000 reviews to date.
#11 – Preserved foods
Another interesting food-based product to sell is preserved foods such as jams, pickles, and spreads. Foods like these are great as gifts, and they sell particularly well if you add stickers and labels to the jars.
For example, you could add popular quotes and messages to the jars or you can give your customers the option to add a personalized message.
Preserved foods are also good for sellers, as they are easy to make in batches and they can be stored for a long time and shipped easily.
Example
The Jam Kitchen Co sells a selection of artisan jams and spreads on Etsy. They also sell sampler packs that include small jars of each of their jams wrapped up in a neat package. Some of the packages are labeled for special occasions such as birthdays making them a popular gift item.
#12 – Chocolates
If you like the idea of selling sweet treats, then selling handmade chocolates online is a good option. Handmade chocolates make great gifts, and it’s really easy to make interesting and unique chocolate selections using different molds.
Some sellers add funny messages to chocolates, whereas others go down the artisan route, creating highly decorative chocolate selections.
If you like the idea of selling chocolates, but you don’t want to make your own, you can also curate chocolate selection gift boxes using pre-packaged chocolates that you would find in the supermarket.
Example
SweetTreatsbyLilly sells handmade chocolate slabs on Etsy. The slabs are unique and highly decorative, and they even include personalized messages based on the customer’s request. These types of chocolate products are not commonly found on the high street, making them an appealing choice for someone who wants a unique and thoughtful gift.
#13 – Children’s toys
Children’s toys sell really well online, and parents are always on the hunt for new toys to encourage their children’s development.
Handmade toys are becoming increasingly popular, as they are thoughtful gift items, and they make a nice change from mass-produced plastic toys that are available at high-street stores.
When it comes to creating handmade children’s toys the possibilities are endless. You can sew quaint children’s plushies, or create engaging toys from wood. It’s particularly trendy at the moment to buy neutral children’s toys that are minimalistic and don’t feature too much color, so this could be a good option for 2023.
Example
Seller Busy Puzzle on Etsy creates handmade wooden baby toys that can be personalized with the baby’s name. They are minimal and stylish, and they are a great keepsake gift for young babies. The seller has seen almost 70,000 sales on Etsy alone.
#14 – Keyrings
Keyrings are a simple yet popular item to sell online. Although these are not high-ticket items they are quick to produce, so you can still make a good profit on them.
There are lots of different options when it comes to making keyrings too. You can sell plastic keyrings made using epoxy resin, or you can create keyrings from other materials such as crochet, leather, and more. Some sellers also make keyrings out of wood and engrave names or quotes into them.
Popular styles include letter keyrings, or keyrings that can be personalized with the customer’s name.
Example
Rozecraft sells personalized loop keyrings on Etsy. The designs are super simple, yet effective, and appeal to a wide audience. The seller has seen over 2000 sales on Etsy so far.
#15 – Rugs
Rug tufting has been a huge trend online lately and more people than ever are keen to buy cool and customized rugs.
To get started making your own rugs, you will need to invest in some supplies, such as a tufting gun, but it’s a fairly easy skill to get the hang of. You can follow tutorials online to learn the basics.
Rugs are often high-ticket items, so you can make a good profit selling them online.
It’s a good idea to focus on designs that are trending, as they are more likely to sell than classic rug designs that are made by wholesalers. For example, you can create rugs based on popular characters from games, or that feature quotes from TV shows.
Example
RugReece on Etsy sells a selection of handmade rugs that are commissioned by customers. The creator focuses on pop-culture designs, like logos, game characters, and other designs that would appeal to an online audience.
#16 – Greetings cards
Greetings cards are one of those products that will seemingly never stop being in demand. There will always be birthdays, holidays, and milestones that people want to celebrate by gifting their friends and families with handwritten cards.
And handmade greetings cards are getting more and more popular, as people turn away from mass-produced cards towards products that are more special and personalized.
As such, now’s the perfect time to start making and selling your own greetings cards on sites like Etsy. It’s up to you what kind of cards you sell, but the more creative, the better.
Example
This greetings card from seller DebfoDesign uses original needlefelt artwork to create a unique card with a lovely soft texture. Each item is crafted with care and attention by hand, and the product page even features a video showing that process.
#17 – Digital products
Instead of selling physical handcrafted products, you could make your own digital products and sell them online instead. I’m talking about things like selling online courses, ebooks, fonts, printables, digital artwork, etc.
The great thing about selling digital products is that it has a much lower barrier to entry and the profit margins are fantastic.
There’s no need for shipping and you don’t have to hold any stock. You only have to make a digital product once, but you can sell it over and over again as many times as you want.
To get started, check out our roundup of the best digital products to sell online. Then, use one of the best platforms to sell digital products to build your store and start selling.
Example
Check out this Sellfy store by Sverre Glomnes. It sells presets and plugin packs for filmmakers and photographers, which is a fantastic digital product niche.
#18 – Terrariums/planters
Terrariums are becoming increasingly popular as a way to bring a touch of greenery into indoor spaces. They’re basically miniature gardens inside small, sealable glass containers.
If you enjoy botany, you could create your own and sell them on sites like Etsy. The process of making a terrarium includes selecting the right type of soil and plans, and adding decorative elements like moss, rocks, and figurines. And of course, choosing a container.
Example
DIYTerrariumsShop is an Etsy shop that specializes in handmade terrariums and planters. They sell tons of different terrariums in different styles, featuring different plants, as well as related items like decorative sand and gravel. They’ve made over 18,000 sales so far, and counting!
#19 – Curated subscription boxes
If you don’t want to make products from scratch, you could curate existing products instead and sell them as a subscription box.
The idea is that you offer a subscription box that caters to a very specific niche. For example, you might make a Korean skincare subscription box full of interesting Korean beauty products, or an anime subscription box full of collectibles, etc.
Then, you send out a box full of new goodies every month to your subscribers in exchange for recurring revenue.
If you go down this route, you’ll need to use an ecommerce platform that supports subscriptions, like Sellfy.
Example
BusterBox is a monthly subscription box business targeting the pet niche. Every month, pet owners are sent a new themed box full of unique dog toys and healthy treats. It’s one of the best-selling dog subscription boxes on the market.
#20 – Upcycled clothing
Vintage clothing is all the rage right now. You can tap into the market while it’s hot by upcycling old, worn-out vintage clothing to give it a fresh new look, and then selling it for a profit.
You can source your old clothing from charity stores or thrift stores, and then upcycle it through cutting, sewing, darning, patching, and dyeing.
Example
Check out this upcycled trucker-style jacket by Etsy seller CasaGraceQuilts. As you can see, it doesn’t come cheap. The seller is able to charge a super high price as it’s a truly one-of-a-kind item made from a restored antique handmade quilt.
#21- Dreamcatchers
Dreamcatchers are handmade willow hoops that contain a woven net/web and are sometimes decorated with feathers and beads. Originally used in Native American cultures, they’re now popular decorative items that many people hang over their beds for protection against nightmares.
You can make your own fairly easily using materials you can find at your local craft store, like string, metal/wooden hoops, and decorative materials like beads, gemstones, and shells.
Example
Etsy seller SuzieCalypso sells lots of interesting dreamcatchers, like this moon-shaped dreamcatcher. Her store is super successful with over 10,400 sales to date.
#22 – Handmade wall hangings
Wall hangings are another easy-to-make item that’s popular on sites like Etsy. You can make your wall hangings using materials like macrame, yarn, or fabric. The best-sellers in this category tend to have unique, eye-catching, fresh designs that offer something new and original.
Example
This macrame leaf wall hanging is one of the most popular products in this category on Etsy, and you can see why. It looks great and is totally unique. The seller even offers customization options so you can choose the number of leaves you want, and the style.
#23 – Blankets
Everyone loves a good blanket. They’re a staple product that’s always in demand, and if you have a sewing machine, they’re super easy to make. Just grab some plush fabric and get sewing.
There are all sorts of blankets you can make, from colorful patchwork quilts that have that boho chic aesthetic to heavy, weighted blankets that offer maximum comfort.
Example
Here’s a lovely, multi-colored square crochet blanket from Etsy seller thisgrannyaintsquare. It’s made from 100% acrylic yarn and has proven to be super popular with Etsy shoppers, raking in a ton of sales.
#24 – Customized musical instruments
Another great crafts business idea is to customize musical instruments and sell them to enthusiasts. For example, you could offer painted guitars, handmade percussion instruments, etc.
Or if you have the skills, you could even upcycle musical instruments into decorative items. For example, why not make a coffee table out of an old electric guitar?
Example
Here’s a really cool custom Les Paul style guitar by Etsy seller FlamingGoodStuff. It has a high price tag to reflect the care and attention that went into it. The seller spent over 30 hours designing and decorating it with burn marks using pyrography.
#25 – Handmade leather accessories
Leather accessories are another product category that will always be in high demand. That includes things like wallets, belts, leather keychains, briefcases, rucksacks, etc.
It takes skill to craft high-quality leather goods, but if you can manage it, there are plenty of potential customers out there that might be interested in what you have to offer.
Example
Ety seller DuDidesign offers a range of interesting leather accessories, including chokers, bracelets, and cable ties. They’ve made over 6,750 sales to date.
#26 – Custom decals
Decals are a specific type of sticker that is typically used on things like cars, laptops, etc. They typically feature more complex shapes/designs than stickers and have an additional transfer layer to make it easier to transfer without risking wrinkles, tearing, etc.
If you want to make and sell decals, it’s worth doing some keyword research to see what kind of decals are in demand. Look for decal-related keywords with high search volumes and low competition, then set up a store to fill that gap in the market.
Example
EmeraldCityHardwear is a US-based Etsy store that sells decals for vehicles, as well as other products. The store is a roaring success with over 21,500 sales to date.
#27- Artisan keycaps
Custom keycaps have been getting more and more popular over the last few year, so demand is sky-high right now—and there’s not much competition in the space.
If you didn’t already know, keycaps are small pieces of sculpted plastic that fit on top of switches on mechanical keyboards. They’re popular amongst gamers that want to add a personal touch to their setup.
The easiest way to make and sell your own keycaps is to 3D print them and then hand-paint them. However, it’s also possible to use molds or even carve them out of wood if you have the right skills.
Example
TerraKeycaps is a UK-based Etsy seller that sells individually hand-crafted artisan keycaps that are incredibly detailed. They’ve made over 1,650 sales to date.
Final thoughts
That concludes our in-depth guide to the best things to make and sell this year. Hopefully, it’s given you some ideas to help you get started on your ecommerce journey.
Remember: When you sell crafts online, marketing is going to be super important. Check out these social media marketing tips to learn how to use social media to drive sales.
But if making your own products seems like too much work for the extra cash, you could always try dropshipping instead. Check out our roundup of the best dropshipping websites to get started or learn more in our post on dropshipping stats.
And if you’re not sure how to get started, check out our comparison of ecommerce platforms.
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