Amazon Launches Rival Etsy Marketplace

Amazon crafted its own Etsy marketplace on Thursday with the launch of Handmade at Amazon, taking aim at the likes of the Brooklyn-based handmade-goods site. Handmade went live early Thursday with more than 80,000 items listed by some 5,000 sellers. The arts-and-crafts online bazaar allows artisans to sell their wares, ranging from earrings to leather goods. Amazon had been inviting sellers, including those on Etsy, to apply to sell on Handmade since May, in an attempt to take a piece of Etsy’s $2 billion business. Amazon is billing the site as a “factory-free zone” that’s completely different from the e-commerce giant’s other business.