Etsy is the online marketplace founded in Brooklyn in 2005 for handmade and vintage goods from independent sellers.
Rob Kalin, Chris Maguire, and Haim Schoppik created Etsy after identifying a need for an online venue where individual makers could sell distinctive products. The site opened in June 2005 and initially focused on handmade items, craft supplies, and vintage goods rather than mass-produced general merchandise.
Etsy’s model connects buyers with many small businesses and solo creators. Sellers manage their own listings, pricing, production, and shipping, while Etsy provides marketplace software, search, payment tools, and customer-facing infrastructure. The platform therefore differs from a conventional retailer that buys inventory and resells it directly.
Etsy is sometimes confused with Shopify because both support online commerce. Shopify primarily provides tools for merchants to run their own stores, whereas Etsy is a shared marketplace with a common buyer audience. Its Brooklyn origin is also distinct from eBay’s 1995 founding in California.