Portsmouth entrepreneur launches handmade selling platform promising to be an all-British Etsy

Portsmouth-born company BuyIndie was launched on Saturday, November 5, opening its doors to buyers and sellers. The platform allows independent handmade sellers across the UK to advertise and sell their wares without paying listing fees or commission.

The site stocks a wide range of items from pottery to handmade jewellery, all made by people in the UK. Within the first two weeks of launching, it has already had around 100 sellers sign up, listing more than 600 products.

It was created by Susan Bonnar, from Lee-on-the-Solent, who founded The British Craft House – an exclusive application-only selling platform. She started BuyIndie to allow all makers and sellers to access an affordable platform without needing to apply, after finding that a lot of creatives were losing money due to the high costs of other platforms.

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Susan said: ‘The next step for makers tends to be setting up a website, which is often pretty costly with monthly fees ranging between £20 and £40, no tech support meaning that if anything goes wrong, they have to fix the tech issues themselves. Other selling platforms are often hugely oversaturated and charge listing fees and commission, so there isn’t an affordable enough option for people. Not to mention whether products are made ethically or sustainably.’

BuyIndie charges £6 per month to sellers to open their shop, or they can pay £60 annually. Susan has also set up a Facebook support group to provide a safe space for vendors and to allow them to share experiences and tips.

Susan said: ‘Vendors often create things by themselves and it can get lonely, so having a community around them will hopefully empower them and make them feel like they have a tribe around them to support them with whatever they need. With Christmas just around the corner, it’s more important than ever to support small businesses. If we don’t support them at this time of year, they might not be around this time next year.’

The platform is available at buyindie.co.uk where you can browse or shop products.