Aftcra: Failed Site to Sell Crafts

What is Aftcra?

Aftcra was a marketplace to sell handmade, American-made goods that allowed sellers to list for free, paying a commission only when items sell.

However, the site closed down March 31, 2024. As you can see from our review published in 2022 (below), there have always been better places to sell your homemade goods. If you’re interested in AFTCRA from a historic perspective, read the review below.

Otherwise, skip to “recommendations” where we link to our reviews of better sites to sell your handmade items.

How it worked

Sellers register with the site and list their items for sale, with photos — much like any other sales site.

However, unlike Etsy, which will allow you to sell manufactured items, Aftcra insists that everything be handmade — and only made by American artists.

Aftcra review

Although that sounds like a laudable goal, listings on this site are primarily made up of one-of-a-kind items that are likely to draw limited interest.

For instance, the site lists crocheted baby bonnets, purses and drapery ties, as well as handmade doilies — those lace circlets that your grandmother might have used as coasters.

Aftcra also has a minimum listing price of $10, so even a simple greeting card is going to cost $10, plus shipping. This, too, could discourage buyers.

Commissions and fees

And sellers pay a 7% commission if they sell anything.

Unfortunately, that’s not likely. Although the site has been around for nearly 10 years, it draws almost no web traffic — somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 page views in a month.

Recommendations

There are no listing fees, so there’s no downside to putting your homemade items for sale at this site. However, if you want sales, you’ll need to list elsewhere too.

Etsy, while flawed, brings in vastly more potential customers. So does Amazon Handmade and eBay. These are all likely to be better sites to sell your handmade goods.

Want to try Aftcra?

Here’s a direct link to the Aftcra site.

What their users say

Outside of blogger reviews, many of which were written shortly after Aftcra launched in 2013, there are few sellers talking about the site. An Etsy forum elicited several sellers asking about Aftcra, but only a few sold anything there.  They were, however, impressed with the site’s customer service.

Reviewed 9/27/2021