Artisans who sell products on Amazon’s Handmade platform can now leverage the company’s 2-hour Prime Now delivery service.
Amazon announced today that customers in select Prime Now-eligible cities will be able to purchase items today until Christmas Eve from Handmade, the company’s marketplace for artisans who sell products made by hand.
This marks the first time Amazon is making its Prime Now service available to small businesses on Amazon.
The Prime Now eligible cities for Handmade product delivery include: Austin, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
Prime Now, which launched four years ago, is now live in 30 cities. It’s one of several benefits for Prime members who pay a $99 per year fee, or $10.99 per month.
Amazon requires that Handmade sellers offer products made entirely by hand; hand-altered; or hand-assembled and not from a kit. Mass-produced products are not eligible on the marketplace, which first launched in 2015 and now includes ten categories with products from more than 30 countries. Items range from jewelry to tie clips to cutting boards, clocks and baby bibs.
Customers can filter by location to shop for items made in their communities or other parts of the world. Sellers have their own profile pages where they can tell the story of their handmade items.
In October, Amazon launched a new gift shop for Handmade, which caused shares of Etsy to fall more than 3 percent.
Founded in 2005, Etsy has struggled since going public in 2015 as it battles Amazon. This New York Times report from last month details the tumultuous past few years for Etsy, which included a big round of layoffs earlier in 2017.
