How to sell on Michaels MakerPlace: rules, fees and payouts

How Michaels MakerPlace works

Platform status, checked 2 Oct 2026: the MakerPlace seller sign-up page and seller agreement are live on michaels.com, and the agreement was last updated February 2nd, 2026. Nation found no closure notice on michaels.com. Nation also could not find an official statement on how much Michaels now promotes MakerPlace, so check the sell page before you put time into a shop.

Michaels MakerPlace, also called MakerPlace by Michaels, is a handmade marketplace on michaels.com that connects makers with Michaels shoppers. Sellers run their own shop: they set prices, ship orders themselves and handle returns. Michaels collects the payment from the buyer, deducts taxes and fees, and pays out the rest.

Sellers can earn three ways: selling finished handmade products, teaching classes, and earning a commission when shoppers buy supplies through the Add to Cart links on their how-tos or classes. This guide covers products, with short notes on the other two.

Who can sell on MakerPlace by Michaels

The seller agreement and handmade policy set the conditions below. To register, you apply by giving your legal name or business name, address, phone number and email, and you agree to the handmade policy and the seller agreement.

The handmade-only rules

Every listing must meet the MakerPlace handmade policy. When you create a listing you answer two questions: who was involved in making it, and what your role was. The answers range from "Just me" to a creative partner, a fabricator, a team of 2-20 people, or a cooperative. Your role can be made by me, designed by me, customized, personalized or upcycled by me.

Michaels can ask for documentation of your handmade process and of everyone involved in making your products, so keep notes and photos of how you work.

• Allowed: items you make by hand, items you design and make with help on tasks such as printing, packaging or shipping, and items where you lead the design and outsource the handwork to artisans.
• Allowed with conditions: Cricut and decal, sticker or T-shirt makers are allowed if you design or make the item. Gift baskets and DIY kits are allowed if 50% or more of the items must be handmade.
• Not allowed: reselling products you did not make or change, mass-produced items, and unaltered vintage items. Upcycled items count as handmade.
• Also not allowed: items on the prohibited items list, such as explicit or adult content, and products you do not have the right to sell.

How to open a MakerPlace store

The steps follow the MakerPlace seller support center. Registration and listings are free: the sell page promises free registration and free listings.

1. Create a Michaels account and apply

   Use the Become a seller link on the MakerPlace sell page. Use the same email as your Michaels Rewards account if you have one, because Premium status is tied to that email.

2. Agree to the policies and name your store

   Accept the handmade policy and seller agreement, choose a store name, and decide whether you will sell products, teach classes, publish how-tos or a mix.

3. Set your store policies

   Choose a return policy for products and a refund policy for classes. Personalized and commissioned items are final sale under the agreement.

4. Set a default shipping carrier

   Pick USPS or UPS before your first listing. You can switch carriers per order later, and you can build shipping profiles to reuse.

5. Create listings

   Each listing needs a title, category, description, main photo, price, lead time, shipping price and options, return policy, package dimensions, and the two handmade questions. Shipping weight is needed if you use weight-based shipping, and a handling fee charged to the buyer is optional.

MakerPlace fees from the seller agreement

Exhibit B of the seller agreement lists every fee. There is no listing fee and no monthly plan. Each product sale pays a transaction fee and an order processing fee, and the transaction fee is lower for sellers on the Premium plan.

Premium needs a Michaels Rewards account on the seller email and at least $500 in qualifying purchases in the calendar year. Once you qualify, Premium lasts until the end of the following calendar year.

Supply commissions run the other way: Michaels pays you 10% on the Standard plan, or 15% on Premium, on supplies bought through the Add to Cart links on your how-tos and classes.

The same sale on MakerPlace and on Etsy

Example: one $30 handmade item, paid by card, with free shipping and no sales tax. MakerPlace is shown on the Standard plan; Etsy includes its listing fee for the one listing that sold.

What the fee gap means in practice

On the example sale MakerPlace keeps $2.30 and Etsy keeps $3.30. The gap comes from the transaction fee, 4% against Etsy's 6.5%, and from MakerPlace charging nothing to list. Both platforms charge their transaction fee on shipping too, so free shipping does not avoid it.

Fees are only part of the decision. Etsy can add an Offsite Ads fee of 15% on orders that come from its ads, for shops under its sales threshold, and MakerPlace has no such fee. A lower fee on a marketplace with fewer buyers for your item can still mean less money each month, so compare how many sales each one brings you, not only the fee per sale.

Shipping on MakerPlace

You ship every order yourself. You can buy labels in the seller dashboard with up to 89% off USPS retail rates or up to 81% off UPS Ground, and the cost is deducted from your MakerPlace balance. You can also use your own USPS or UPS account or a third-party shipping app, but then you must type the tracking number in yourself to get paid.

• Acknowledge each order within 24 hours.
• Ship within the lead time you set on the listing.
• Mark the order shipped, with carrier and tracking, within 4 hours of shipping, and report tracking on 99% of shipped orders.
• Keep a seller rating of 85% positive or better, and accept 95% of return requests that your own policy allows.
• Answer customer messages within the response time the seller agreement sets. If you do not, Michaels can let the buyer return the item through a Michaels store and charge you the return shipping.

How MakerPlace pays sellers

Michaels collects the payment and the sales tax, then pays you the rest minus fees. The quick-start policy guide gives the working schedule: an order becomes eligible for payout 14 days after it is marked as shipped, payouts are processed every Monday and paid out by Wednesday, and the money takes an additional 1 to 3 days to reach your bank. The seller agreement sets the outer limit: payment no later than nine days after the close of each fourteen-day period.

Example: an order marked shipped on a Monday becomes eligible 14 days after it is marked as shipped, goes into the next Monday payout run and reaches the bank a few days after that. In that example, close to a month passes between shipping and the money in your bank. Supply commissions take longer: they sit in a floating balance until the return period for the supplies has passed.

Where Nation fits

Questions about selling on MakerPlace by Michaels