Dive Brief:

• Etsy.com, an e-commerce marketplace for crafters and a go-to place to find unique homemade and vintage items for a decade, has launched Etsy Wholesale to help small businesses get their items into stores. 

• Etsy Wholesale will announce Tuesday that starting in August it will take a 3.5% commission on wholesale transactions, equal to what it takes on its retail site, but lower than the industry standard 35%.

• Sellers operating through Etsy Wholesale will also be assigned an expert to help them with the wholesale side of their business, which for many is a new enterprise.

Dive Insight:

Etsy has been a force in online retail for a decade, and this move could expand the reach of many small manufacturers interested in getting their wares into other seller’s hands, including into physical stores. Most of the items available through Etsy are unique, high quality, and made in America and their other countries of origin. Many of these small businesses won’t be able to produce on a massive scale, but this new opportunity to get into the wholesale game could attract the interest of larger retailers who may want to offer small runs of customer-pleasing artisanal items.