Why not both? I have a love-hate relationship with Etsy, the e-commerce platform for completely unvetted handmade and vintage goods. It's the best place to discover artists you can't access anywhere else and the best place to get scammed. Here are my tips for finding legit makers.

Go in with a mission. Make sure your search terms are specific to your goal. For example, “octopus block print” vs. “octopus art.” Do not trust the browsing and gift features. This will bring up the drop-shipped crap. You are on your own to vet the sellers. Etsy doesn’t give a shit.

Filter, filter, filter. After you do a basic search, you need to use the filter tools. I like to narrow down the category I’m after. Adjusting one filter setting takes my search results for “octopus block print” from over 1,000 to under 400.

Are there signs of life? Once you find a product, does the seller seem real? The signs: a bio about a person vs. a generic business, social media links, and videos or photos of them creating the product. For example, this seller clearly explains their process and product. They also have a social media presence promoting their art. I would buy from them.

Avoid these categories. You’re almost guaranteed to get scammed if you buy from these categories: jewelry (98% is from Temu), anything with a quote or a logo (think tacky 2010s wine mom apparel), “trendy” or motivational art (see quotes and logos) and simple home decorations. When in doubt, reverse image search it.

There is hope. I have a list of my favorite Etsy sellers I’ve bought from below. I can confirm they are real people who did not ship me lead-filled junk from overseas.