Listings that sell
A listing has one job: let a stranger buy with confidence. Everything below — title, description, price, variants — is in service of that.
Titles: name the thing, then the buyer’s words
Lead with what it literally is, in the words a buyer would type: “Stoneware Pour-Over Coffee Dripper” beats “Morning Ritual No. 4.” Add the two or three qualities people search for — material, color, style — and stop. Keyword soup reads as spam to humans, and humans are who’s buying.
Descriptions: answer the unasked questions
The first line does the selling; the rest does the reassuring. A structure that works:
- One sentence of why it’s good. What you’d say handing it to a friend.
- The facts. Dimensions, weight, materials, care. Every fact you state is an email you don’t get and a return you don’t process.
- The process. How you made it, and how long it takes you. On MakerMade, process is the point.
- The particulars. Made to order? Processing time. Variations between pieces? Say so proudly — “each one differs slightly” is a feature here.
Pricing your work
The formula that keeps makers in business:
(materials + labor at a real hourly rate) × 2 = wholesale, × 2 again ≈ retail.
If that number scares you, resist the urge to pay yourself $4.00 an hour — instead, raise your efficiency or your positioning. Underpriced work doesn’t just underpay you; it reads as low quality next to properly priced peers. MakerMade’s low commission means you keep more at any price, but the price still has to carry your time.
Check what comparable makers charge — comparable in craft, not just category — and place yourself deliberately, not apologetically.
Variants
Sizes, colors, glazes, cord lengths — set them up as variants on one listing rather than five near-duplicate listings. One listing concentrates your reviews and your search relevance in one place, and buyers compare options without leaving the page.
Stock and made-to-order
Set honest stock counts; the marketplace stops overselling for you at zero. For made-to-order work, list the pieces you’re willing to owe and put the turnaround time in the first lines of the description and in your policies.
Digital products
MakerMade supports digital goods — patterns, templates, printable art. Attach the file to the listing and buyers receive a secure download after purchase; the file itself is stored privately, never at a public URL. Same care applies: show photos of the finished object your pattern produces, not screenshots of the PDF.
Before you hit publish
Read the listing as the coldest possible stranger. Can you tell how big it is? What it’s made of? When it ships? Then check the cover photo at thumbnail size, attach a shipping profile, and publish.