The Haud vs Etsy and Folksy.
An honest comparison from the maker's side, written by the founder.
I get this question often enough that it deserves its own page. Most of the makers we talk to have already tried Etsy, looked at Folksy, and are weighing up where their work belongs. Here is how the three places actually compare on the things that matter to a maker beyond the headline fee.
Each of these marketplaces exists for a different reason. Etsy is enormous, and the price of that scale is that it has had to optimise for volume rather than craft. Folksy is small, UK-based, and warmly community-led, but it is not curated. The Haud is the third option: smaller than either, vetted by hand, with a magazine attached to the shop. If you have spent years on Etsy watching good work get buried under print-on-demand, or on Folksy watching it get overlooked, you are exactly who The Haud is for.
Side by side.
Curation
THE HAUDManual application and a 25-minute call with the founder before approval
ETSYOpen to anyone with a valid email
FOLKSYOpen, with light review
Editorial
THE HAUDWhere the work earns it, a proper feature written by us
ETSYProduct description and shop bio
FOLKSYProduct description and a short bio
Listings and photography help
THE HAUDWe draft your listings and edit your photographs during onboarding
ETSYDIY
FOLKSYDIY (paid services available)
Marketing on your behalf
THE HAUDFounder-led editorial, magazine, press, pop-ups
ETSYMarketplace SEO and Etsy Ads (paid)
FOLKSYMarketplace SEO and community discovery
Pop-ups and offline presence
THE HAUDYes
ETSYDigital only
FOLKSYDigital only
Conservation badges (Heritage Crafts Red List)
THE HAUDDeclared on every relevant product
ETSYNo
FOLKSYNo
Founder accessibility
THE HAUDFounder reads every application, calls every maker
ETSYGeneric seller support
FOLKSYCommunity-led support
Reading the table.
On curation
Etsy and Folksy are both open by design. Anyone with a valid email can list. The Haud is the opposite: we read every application by hand and book a 25-minute call with every maker before approving them. That makes us slower to join. It also makes the brand mean something to buyers, which is the reason any of this works.
On editorial
Neither Etsy nor Folksy will write about your craft. Where the work earns it, we will. A proper feature: your story, your process, the lineage of the tradition you work in. The shop and the magazine sit next to each other, so the editorial pulls buyers towards the listings rather than living on a separate blog nobody reads.
On listings and photography
On Etsy and Folksy you write your own listings and shoot your own photographs. On The Haud, once you are approved, we draft your listings for you and edit the photographs you send. If we can visit and shoot the work ourselves, we do. For most makers this is the thing that removes the biggest practical objection to listing online at all.
On founder accessibility
On the bigger platforms, the founder is a stranger. On The Haud, the founder reads every application and calls every maker. If something goes wrong, you talk to the person who runs the place.
Honest recommendations.
Pick Etsy if
You sell in volume, want to self-serve, are comfortable running ads, and your work either tolerates being shown alongside print-on-demand or is print-on-demand itself.
Pick Folksy if
You want a UK-based community marketplace, are happy doing your own listings and photography, and are not looking for editorial or curation.
Pick The Haud if
You work in British heritage or traditional craft, you want your work shown and told properly, and you would rather be one of fifty makers than one of fifty thousand. Most of our makers keep an Etsy shop or a personal site running alongside; The Haud is for the pieces that deserve the editorial treatment.
Or read the full apply page first.
Rosie