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Crafts, Gifts & Non-Profit Ecommerce Site Design

Tracey Wallace

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Crafters and gifters often first launch on Etsy –– where transaction fees cut into margins and you don’t own the customer relationship (Etsy does). That can spell bad new when your sales spike –– meaning less revenue in the short-term and much, much less repeat business in the long-term.

And then, for the non-profit industry, where resources and funds are already low, so many forgo an ecommerce option due to budget restrictions rather than looking for solutions that can fulfill brand needs.

All in all, it’s time for crafters, gifters and non-profits to make a lot more money –– and better engage their audiences. After all, the audiences for these segments are some of the most engaged in the industry!

Here is how 11 ecommerce brands in this vertical set up shop to sell more online –– today and well into the future by increasing customer lifetime value.

Less Etsy. More Ownership.

Get started selling your speciality items on your own, branded site right now.

1. The Favor Design Studio

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As told to BigCommerce by Tawnya Zebrowski, The Favor Design Studio.

We love design and have given a lot of thought to our photos and layout to give our site a custom look while using a BigCommerce template.


2. BobbleGram

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As told to BigCommerce by Brina Bujkovsky, BlobbleGram.

BobbleGram creates custom wedding cake toppers sculpted to look like the bride and groom.

Out of all the ecommerce solutions currently available, the BigCommerce platform was the only solution that allowed for a varied product option functionality. Our customers are able to select from other products (to mix and match figures), upload their face and hair photos, select the colors for their hair, skin and eyes and enter custom text for their nameplate.

The process of customizing a cake topper is super simple and easy for our customers to understand. BigCommerce makes that possible. I think our store fully exemplifies the flexibility and robustness of the product option and product option set functionality.


3. Man Crates

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As told to BigCommerce by Kristin Peters, Man Crates.

At Man Crates, we believe men deserve better gifts – gifts that are just as exciting to give as they are to receive. Gifts you can’t wait to arrive because you know the recipient will love opening them. The gifts of water cooler legend!

We are Man Crates, and we create awesome gifts for men. Our CEO, Jon Beekman, started Man Crates in his apartment in 2011 and funded it by selling his motorcycle and getting $1K in seed funding from his wife, Mariam, who in turn placed the very first order for Man Crates’ BigCommerce site on 11/1/2011.

Man Crates is 100% not a bro or frat brand. We strive to be edgy and fun, not offensive. Because more than three-fourths of our customers are women, we work to make our products, our site experience, and our customer experiences welcoming, lightheartedly sincere and humorous.

Our ManCrates.com site design reflects this: our browsing experience rewards you with the thrill of discovering thoughtfully curated products in unique & unusual packages that are sure to delight the man you are shopping for. We’ve elevated the PDP to an artform with our entertaining copy and clear communication & visuals that outline exactly how each product ships, which minimizes confusion and ensures a great customer experience.

Our site also showcases the actual people who are responsible for putting together each and every order, ensuring our customers are delighted and come back again and again. And if you should happen to need additional instructions on how to open your Man Crate gift, our site provides that too.

How an API Helped Man Crates Grow 4000%

APIs are powerful. BigCommerce’s are especially so. Here’s how Man Crates leveraged ecommerce APIs to automate and scale to one of the fastest growing online retailers in the U.S.


4. Planet Applique

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As told to BigCommerce by Rehbecca Lowder, Planet Applique.

Our website went from Cubecart to BigCommerce in Feb of 2016. We took great care to import products, categories, and customers and it went very smoothly.

We have enjoyed the mechanics of BigCommerce and have seen a sharp rise in sales due to the ease of use of our new website and loyalty points program.

Our customers no longer complain about the website. Our left hand category menu assists our customers in quickly finding what they need. We have also modified our store so that customers can still access their orders from the old cart system.

We use the cart discount rules constantly! Banners and store slideshow are very important to the eye candy of our website and these items are placed clearly on the front page for clear presentation of current promos and offers.

We no longer get emails about problems with login, problems downloading. It’s a win for us, but most importantly, it’s a win for our customers. Thanks Bigcommerce for a profitable 2016 and a bright 2017!


5. Moonlight Feather

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As told to BigCommerce by Justin Quan, President at Moonlight Feather.

Moonlight Feather is exclusively an online retailer of feathers and feather products. Because the company has no retail presence ,we felt it was top priority to give customers an enjoyable and easy to navigate buying experience. With MoonlightFeather.com we have achieved that. The website beautifully showcases the company’s products, video and blog content.


6. CARE

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As told to BigCommerce by Ken Bess, Manager of Web Development at CARE. 

I selected BigCommerce because of its flexibility and its API.

At CARE, we were able to turn the traditional ecommerce model into one to make in kind donations that matter to people, and allow the ability to ‘gift’ a donated item to another buy tying together an ‘ecard’ system that builds a custom card with their custom message using a webhook over to my server the second an order is processed.

Never seen another store do anything like this!

How a 70-Year-Old Non-Profit Boosts the Bottom Line

Learn how Care.org set up a gifting website –– and how it powers their revenue to do more and give more than ever before.


7. A Gentleman’s Trove

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As told to BigCommerce by Stephen Thomas, A Gentleman’s Trove.

The goal of A Gentleman’s Trove is to make shopping for gifts for men easier, and the site allows for just that.


8. Jessica Lynn Original

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As told to BigCommerce by Jessica Mould, Owner at Jessica Lynn Original.

As a small business owner, I love the flexibility that BigCommerce allows me.

Out of the Box Gift Themes

Forgo custom design and use a gift and specialty shop specific theme.


9. Cabany Co.

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As told to BigCommerce by Jason Alex, Cabany Co.

Out design flows greatly with animation to  display our products for our customers to easily be able to browse and find what they are looking for perfectly.


10. White Dragon Miniatures

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As told to BigCommerce by Alan Crookes, White Dragon Miniatures.

I have spent time developing the free theme provided by BigCommerce to bring about a style that fits the company perfectly . I feel very proud of the look of the store. Not only is it very practical, but looks so professional that customers can’t believe the company is run by just myself.


11. National Autism Resources

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As told to BigCommerce by Bonnie Arnwine, CEO at National Autism Resources.

I am super happy with our new site and the BigCommerce platform. Since migrating to BigCommerce last year, we have seen a 13% increase in online revenue and a 20% jump in Google organic traffic.

Our offline orders are up too!

We’ve implemented an upload a PO option and are customers are downloading our W-9s. We love the free shipping calculator, ship rate calculator, and the new simplified checkout.

Our customers love the new design and our seamless integration with Olark and MailChimp is awesome. Check us out!

Leading Toy & Game Stores Choose BigCommerce

See which other toy and game online sellers use BigCommerce to sell more.


Tracey Wallace avatar

Tracey is the Director of Marketing at MarketerHire, the marketplace for fast-growth B2B and DTC brands looking for high-quality, pre-vetted freelance marketing talent. She is also the founder of Doris Sleep and was previously the Head of Marketing at Eterneva, both fast-growth DTC brands marketplaces like MarketerHire aim to help. Before that, she was the Global Editor-in-Chief at BigCommerce, where she launched the company’s first online conference (pre-pandemic, nonetheless!), wrote books on How to Sell on Amazon, and worked closely with both ecommerce entrepreneurs and executives at Fortune 1,000 companies to help them scale strategically and profitably. She is a fifth generation Texan, the granddaughter of a depression-era baby turned WWII fighter jet pilot turned self-made millionaire, and wifed up to the truest of heroes, a pediatric trauma nurse, who keeps any of Tracey’s own complaints about business, marketing, or just a seemingly lousy day in perspective.