I'm excited to share that we've officially transitioned Handcrafted into an industry-focused, verified, wholesale marketplace.

When I first had the idea for Handcrafted back in 2015, I thought it would be a place to help connect players with luthiers who took commissions. But the more Ryan (my co-founder/luthier) and I speak with the community, the more it becomes clear that we have built a tool that can benefit you and the industry in many other ways.

Our vision moving forward is fairly simple. Handcrafted is now a place for verified makers, dealers, and shops to buy and sell products between each other, away from the eyes of the general public.

As you know, pricing is very sensitive in the string trade. When the general public can see wholesale prices (or worse, purchase items intended for wholesale), it throws off the market dynamics for everybody.

To make sure that this doesn’t happen on Handcrafted, buyers and sellers will need to submit their reseller/tax-exemption certificates and documents showing that they are operating as businesses in the bowed instrument trade.

This permit requirement is not unique to us, and is common among other merchants that sell to dealers. The only difference is that we also allow sellers on the platform, who also need to meet this requirement.

For more details on our updated/current fees and unique wholesale features, take a look at our seller information page.

I'm looking forward to bringing more and more of y'all onto the platform. Hope to chat soon.