As a small business handmade seller, you probably sell on Etsy or Amazon, and you might have your own website.
Every now and then a new platform will show up, and people wonder about whether they should expand to open a shop there.
One new(ish) site is Goimagine, and I personally think that it’s worth setting up a shop there.
(At this point it’s only available for US sellers.)
What is Goimagine?
Goimagine is an ecommerce platform that’s exclusively for handmade sellers.
That means actually handmade, with no manufacturing allowed, so that’s the main selling point for a lot of artists who have watched other platforms like Etsy change their focus and turn a blind eye to things that are listed that don’t fit the guidelines.
The founders, Jon Lincoln and Stephanie Romkey, wanted to put a marketplace that’s both built for genuine handmade artists and craftspeople, and that also has a social conscience.
Goimagine is set up so that after the company’s expenses are paid, all profits go to children’s charities. It’s a business model that’s similar to the Newman’s Own brand, and as the platform grows, the amount that they can give back also will.
Should you sell on Goimagine?
I think it’s worth setting up a shop on Goimagine for a number of reasons.
First, let me say that I’m not an affiliate for them, and I don’t work for them.
I don’t get paid to recommend them, but I do think that if you’re selling handmade products, this is a good platform to get in on while it’s still on the smaller side because their traffic is growing monthly, and the competition is still low.
The tradeoff is that with the platform being in a growing phase right now, you’ll have to send a lot of your own traffic.
This can get complicated if you have your own website, because you’ll have to split some of that traffic off.
I’ve set a shop up, and I’m planning on doing some social media promotion and some email promotion to Goimagine to see if I can drive some sales there.
I’m also not putting all of the things from my website on my Goimagine site because I’m going to keep it simpler than my full site.
But it’s never a bad idea to sell in more than one place, and after talking to Jon Lincoln I have full faith and confidence that this platform will work over time.
Interview with Jon from Goimagine.com
I spoke to Jon about Goimagine a couple of weeks ago, and I posted the interview on my YouTube channel.
This topic must have struck a nerve, because there was a little stampede of people who joined the platform in the week after it was published, and the video got a lot more views right off the bat than most of my videos do.
I would watch the video if you’re on the fence about joining, because after hearing Jon talk about it you might understand the concept better.
Reasons to join Goimagine.
- Handmade. It’s for handmade.
- The price is low for a monthly subscription, and there are a few tiers to choose from.
- Transaction fees are lower than other platforms.
- You can get a website that syncs with your Goimagine marketplace shop.
- They have an active Facebook group and an app with forums and seller education.
- Their support actually answers emails and solves the problems.
- Members are involved in the decision-making for platform polices, and they’re actively working to create a handmade integrity team that will help form the platform’s policies.
- Their traffic is increasing every month, and as more sellers join they’ll be able to allocate more budget to advertising.
- Their profits are donated to charity.
- They collect and remit US sales tax for you.
Take some time to look at the website
and maybe join their Facebook group to ask any questions.
If you’d like to see some Goimagine shops, these are some that have been set up by members of the Artisan Shopping Directory. Click the photos to be taken to the shops:
