Best Places to Sell Your DIY Maker Electronics Projects

Sept. 9, 2024

You’re a Maker and you made something awesome. Now what do you do? Here’s a guide to places for selling your creations.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is arguably the most well-known site for selling DIY electronics projects. It’s basically eBay with DIY funding that lets users bring their designs to fruition with backing from the community. The company’s mission statement amplifies that notion by “helping to bring creative projects to life,” and as of 2024, Kickstarter has received $8 billion in pledges from 23.4 million backers to fund 264,748 projects.

Kickstarter is a popular crowdfunded site for the DIY electronics community as it offers sellers a way to procure secure funding for their ideas, gauge interest, and develop a project-centric community to share ideas before launching into full production.

Kickstarter Pros:

Allows creators to raise funds without needing traditional investors or loans. Users can presell products or provide rewards as an incentive for backing.
Provides market validation, demonstrating a demand for projects and products, which reduces risk when heading into full production.
Creative control lets creators retain full control of the projects and products from design to distribution.

Kickstarter Cons:

The all-or-nothing funding model can be frustrating and risky if the target goal is too high.
Running a successful campaign requires serious planning, marketing, and producing an attractive campaign page, which can be time-consuming and costly.
Kickstarter charges platform fees, which can run anywhere from 3% to 5% and eat into profits.

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What you'll learn:

Insight into e-commerce, crowdfunding, and marketplaces for selling DIY projects.
Features and toolsets for each platform.
The pros and cons connected with these platforms.

When it comes to selling DIY electronics projects or products, choosing the right platform can make all of the difference in maximizing income and success. No matter if you’re a seasoned creator or a novice maker, understanding the pros and cons of online marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, and crowdfunding sites is essential for finding the best fit for user's needs.

Each of the selling platforms listed in this roundup has the ability to turn projects and products into a thriving business venture. They also help get rid of projects or products that just take up space and are no longer needed or used. Each comes with its own set of advantages and challenges, but with the right knowledge and strategy, they serve as invaluable tools for gaining financial success.

From widely known Kickstarter to the simple Marketplace, this roundup serves to explore the top places to sell your DIY projects and what each has to offer:

About the Author

Cabe Atwell | Technology Editor, Electronic Design

Cabe is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design.

Engineer, Machinist, Maker, Writer. A graduate Electrical Engineer actively plying his expertise in the industry and at his company, Gunhead. When not designing/building, he creates a steady torrent of projects and content in the media world. Many of his projects and articles are online at element14 & SolidSmack, industry-focused work at EETimes & EDN, and offbeat articles at Make Magazine. Currently, you can find him hosting webinars and contributing to Electronic Design and Machine Design.

Cabe is an electrical engineer, design consultant and author with 25 years’ experience. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits”

Cabe writes the Engineering on Friday blog on Electronic Design.