How to Tell If Something Is Truly Handmade: A Buyer’s Guide

Online shops look and are beautiful and professional. They may even say the right words: "artisan-made," "unique," "crafted with love." But not all of them are telling the truth.

How to Spot Truly Handmade Items:

1. Look for evidence of a real making process.

Social media, making-of pictures or clips, real hands working on something, even the tiny imperfections. 

When something is truly handmade (stitched, carved, shaped, or braided by real hands), you might see tiny quirks: Maybe a stitch that's just slightly angled. Maybe a flower that’s a little pinker than the one next to it.

If everything looks exactly the same, dig a little deeper: Check the shop's reviews.

(Yes, even the bad ones. People keep buying from shops with bad reviews. I wrote more about this here, if you want to go down that particular rabbit hole.)

Many buyers take pictures of what they received: this is what you are looking for. 

The reviews sections are usually rich; you will be able to find multiple reviews of the same products with pictures, and you can compare them. Even if the specific product that you are interested in is not there, other products are.

And you'll start to see signs of whether it's real handmade work or a repeated mass-produced mold.

(P.S. However, often with small shops that offer customization there are cases where the "not as pictured" makes total sense. I also wrote about this here - yikes, another rabbit hole!)

2. The Inventory Tells a Story (Or Raises a Red Flag)

Look at the shop as a whole. Real artists specialize. They may branch out, but their shop has a center of gravity.

Imagine a ceramic artist. Their shop might feature mugs, bowls, maybe a few wall tiles, but you’ll notice and feel the focus. Maybe 200 mugs, 50-60 other pieces. That’s consistency.

Check out my own shop: You will find some leather keychains, a few bookmarks, a couple of lanyards or bag charms. But you’ll notice what everything revolves around leather bracelets.  That’s the craft I’ve deepened over time.

I am a Braceletier! (Fancy, right? I thought it myself. 😎)

Anyhow, if you see a shop that sells crochet blankets, ceramic mugs, silk pillowcases, sea-sponges-whatsoever, knit baby shoes, and kitchen cutlery...

…that’s not a handmade artist. That’s a catalog!

We makers might be good at many things, but we’re not that good. Nobody can truly specialize in everything and still create genuine handmade items with care and quality.

Real shops don’t look like a department store.

 A leather shop might have a few simple cuffs listed along with their niche inventory, but you will clearly see that their expertise is leather bags. Or mens belts. You get my point.

There are certainly genuine multi-disciplinary makers. Studios with teams. Small workshops producing several types of goods. There are also shops that sell genuinely handmade products alongside sourced products.

Look for a recognizable center of gravity, and pay attention to whether the shop clearly explains who makes what.

(I want to know who dives for the sponges.)

3. Watch the Sales Volume vs. Time Open

If somebody says “Everything is individually handmade by me”...

(Oh wait, I actually say that.)

...and the numbers imply an enormous production rate, that's worth investigating.

A small studio (especially a single-person-business) can’t ship thousands of pieces per month.

It’s just not possible!

(I wish I could, I would be rich by now.)

A maker can make as much their two hands allow.

Just do the math with me.

If a shop has, say, 35,000+ sales, but was only opened 3 years ago, and claims everything is fully handmade by one person, just ask yourself: How?

A high-volume, high-speed shop claiming 100% handmade with no production help is suspicious at best.

4. Ask Questions. Then Read the Answers.

This is one of the most powerful tools you have as a buyer. Ask questions! Ask things like:

- Can you make this in black instead of brown?

- What kind of leather is this, and where does it come from?

- How will this material age or wear over time?

- Can you explain how the sizing works on wider vs. thinner cuffs?

- Does it matter if I take a shower while wearing it?

(Yes and no, it depends. I wrote about leather and water here, and now you are occupied for the rest of the day reading.)

A maker who works with the same materials day after day develops a kind of knowledge that doesn't come from a product description.

They know how leather behaves, where the closures sit best, and how to adjust something for you, because even with a size chart, not every Medium size wrist is the same with another (true story!)

Or how colors react to temperatures, how fabric absorbs each dye and so on.

And you know what? We love your questions. I do!

I wish people would come and ask things daily, ask everything, ask anything. Your questions give me new, fresh sets of eyes to look at my items every time, read their descriptions, see from a buyer's perspective what I offer, how do I present it, and improve it.

I cannot tell you how many times I have reworked and slightly improved the same listing and every time it was after a review, or a genuine question. 

Speaking of improving, I make mistakes too: This is me, accidentally drawing Homer Simpson hiding in the bushes. I finished it, took the picture to show the engraving to my customer, shipped it, got a lovely feedback, and weeks later I was browsing my finished work pictures when 😱 

(I don't know if my customer noticed it too. Maybe it's my imagination. But you have to admit: Once you see it, you can't unsee it 💀)

No matter how hard I try and how consistently I work on my shop, sometimes all my items look the same to me - and sometimes I assume that people already know the answer because I know it already so well, that is my second skin.

So, ask questions! And if the answers are vague, evasive, or overly rehearsed, it might be a red flag. Maybe a sign you're not talking to the maker at all. 

5. Reviews Reveal More Than Stars

Don’t just skim the stars and focus on how many 5-stars this and that shop have. 

Read the reviews. 

You’re not looking only for perfection and simply satisfied customers, but for patterns of realness.

Do people talk about the packaging, the personal touches, the communication?

Are there reviews with photos showing the item in real life?

When something went wrong, how did the shop respond?

Reviews are evidence. They tell you who the maker is, what they value, and how they treat people long after the sale.

You don't need to become an expert at spotting handmade work

Look at the object. Look at the shop. Look at the volume. Ask a question. Read the answers. Read the reviews.

You're not looking for one magical sign, but for a pattern that makes sense.

And when all those little pieces point in the same direction, you can buy with a lot more confidence.