For many people, a growing problem across the world is the power of corporate takeover. Huge companies are overpowering small businesses that can not compete with their low prices due to mass production. Buying smaller has many advantages, such as higher quality, more unique products, and the good feeling that comes along with knowing you helped a small business. Etsy.com is making buying homemade and small business goods easier than ever.

Etsy is an online store, where anyone can sell their products. Most items sold on Etsy are handmade, and there is a vast variety of things to buy. Some of the most popular things bought on Etsy are clothes, gifts, interior design and DIY products, art, and jewelry. No matter what buyers are looking for, Etsy is almost sure to have it. The website is growing in popularity, and more Etsy products can be found across the world than ever before.

Rob Kalin, Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik created Etsy in 2005. They wanted to a place for makers of small and creative goods to have a platform to sell their products. From that moment forward, the company started growing rapidly. Just two years later in 2007, Etsy had nearly 450,000 registered sellers and was generating around $26 million in annual sales. In 2015 they went public, and now a year later they are continuing to see growth in both sellers and buyers.

“I like Etsy because it draws from a large, diverse base of potential customers. I have sold images to people in the UK, Canada, and all over the United States,” Ryan Tester, owner of Etsy shop PhotoshotArt said. PhotoshotArt sells prints of Tester’s photography.

Variety seems to be one of the most popular aspects of shopping on Etsy. It’s easy to find products from all over the world on one website. This allows customers to discover new cultures in every purchase. There is also a variety in shops. Many Etsy shops may make similar products, but go about it in entirely different ways. Shop owners may work together and collaborate, combining their ideas and learning new ways to efficiently make new products and run their business. The products themselves are also extremely vast, just about anything can be found on Etsy.

“What I like about Etsy is the community, and the caliber of the handmade goods available here,” Megan McGory Gleason, who owns Etsy shop Blithe Button which sells vintage sewing buttons and handmade jewelry said.

It is not only sellers who are happy with Etsy, buyers are often time returning customers. People who are collectors of art or usual goods are especially fond of Etsy. Finding unique creative handmade products used to mean driving all over to local art shows or antique stores. Now high quality products can be found by logging onto one website, searching whatever you are looking for, and finding thousands of results to browse through. From products you rely on everyday, to gifts that your friends are sure to love, Etsy buyers are almost always happy with their products.

“I like buying a lot of things from Etsy, especially clothes,” sophomore Cates Ellisen said. “On Etsy I always find tons of cool clothes I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else, and they’re always high quality.

Most Etsy stores are small businesses, owned by artists and entrepreneurs. Selling local can be difficult, so Etsy provides a platform to reach potential buyers across the world. However, even with Etsy, it can still be difficult for these businesses to compete against huge corporations. Their handmade goods take time and effort, not to mention how difficult turning out a profit can be. Buying small may be something more people want to consider. The benefits can be huge.

“I would recommend people buying products from Etsy as opposed to bigger corporations because it really helps shop owners grow their business. It is more personal buying from Etsy rather than a big corporation,”  Virginia Presley, owner of Etsy shop BowsbyGinny said. Presley makes and sells handmade bows.

Etsy is a unique tool for buyers and sellers in a technology based world. The market for selling anything has been shaped and re-defined by the internet, smartphones and other new technology. When anything can be purchased from anywhere, it only makes sense to explore what is out there. The possibilities are endless, and Etsy is just one example of many new ways to do that. Whether you are interested in buying, selling, or both; Etsy is a website worth checking out.

“Etsy has been nothing but good to us,” said Etsy store owner Brandy Kamenski. Her Etsy store Country by the Bumpkins sells handmade rustic decor including mirrors and centerpieces.  “I like that I can run a businesses from my home and be with my children. I like that they offer almost all the tools you need to run a professional online business. If they offered bookkeeping you really wouldn’t need much else!”