New arts online seller his crafting his niche

It's not easy for a one-man operation to compete with Etsy, the worldwide online community of handmade- and vintage-goods sellers, which boasts 22 million members and sales up 70 percent from 2011 to last year. That much Scott Bentley knows.

But he was convinced that he could take the idea and improve on it. That was the idea behind Bentley's Articents.com.

A software engineer with Spectrum Medical in Fort Mill, S.C., Bentley created a website about three years ago so his wife, Suzette, could sell her hand-crafted jewelry online. Then, he thought, why not expand the platform to let other artists do the same?

Articents now has more than 100 artists promoting and selling their creations from all over the world. Wares run the gamut, from jewelry to paintings to baby clothes, greeting cards, to vegan shampoo.

For businesses these days, a social-media presence is nearly as common as a phone number. But Bentley, 38, used social media for more than promoting Articents - he used it to flesh out his idea.

Bentley searched LinkedIn groups and Twitter hashtags for such key words as "Etsy" and "handmade." Then he joined the conversation and asked how the seller's experience could be improved.

People were happy to oblige, Bentley said. He studied their feedback to decide on his business model - and recruit some of his first users.

He decided not to charge listing fees or a commission. Instead, at least during this early stage, he offers his service free and charges each user a $5 monthly subscription to customize an online storefront.

 Bentley isn't making enough to quit his day job, but he'd like to build the business enough to net $20,000 to $30,000 a year from it.

Of course, it's difficult for a small-business owner to take on bigger, more established brands - a situation that's exacerbated with web-based businesses. A new site like Articents won't even come up on the first page of Google's results for online crafts marketplaces.

Bentley's advice? Rather than replicate the competition, feature for feature, find a way to improve on the existing model. He believes his lower pricing is beginning to attract customers and build loyalty.

A U.S. Marine stationed in Japan sells handcrafted wooden pens on Etsy and Articents. The latter site lets him make the sale without paying a commission.

Molly Young, who makes and sells jewelry in Ohio, said she now uses Articents exclusively.

Young heard about the site from a co-worker who is a longtime friend of Bentley's. She opened her Articents store on Black Friday last year, and has sold about 250 items.

Because there are fewer listings on Articents, she said, loyal customers can find her page more easily.

And if she has a problem, she gets to chat with Bentley directly.

"I'm not lost in 20 million Etsy people," Young said. "How lucky that I found him."