Welcome to Merc Mercado

We started Merc Mercado because we were tired of watching talented makers hand over 20—30% of every sale to platforms that don’t know their names.

The problem is simple

If you make jewelry on Canyon Road, or throw pottery in Tesuque, or weave on a walking loom in the Railyard — you already have buyers. They find you at Indian Market, at the farmers market, at your studio. But the moment you try to sell online, you’re competing with mass-produced imports on platforms designed to extract fees from every transaction.

Etsy takes 6.5% of every sale plus listing fees. Facebook Marketplace has no trust signals — you don’t know if the buyer is real. Craigslist looks like it was designed in 2003 (because it was).

None of these platforms were built for what you do.

What Merc Mercado is

A marketplace for handmade goods, starting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here’s what makes it different:

• Zero platform fees. Not now, not ever. No listing fees, no transaction fees, no monthly subscription.
• Off-platform payment. You and your buyer decide how to pay — Venmo, Zelle, cash at pickup, card at your studio. We never sit between you and your money.
• Verified sellers only. Every shop is reviewed before it goes live. This isn’t a free-for-all — it’s a curated community of real makers.
• Local-first. We’re starting in Santa Fe because this is where we live and where the craft is. We’re not trying to be everything everywhere. We’re trying to be the best place to buy and sell handmade goods in this city.

How it works

1. Apply to sell. We’re accepting our first 25 makers right now. It takes two minutes.
2. List your work. Upload photos, tell your story, set your own price.
3. Connect with buyers. When someone’s interested, you message directly. The conversation thread is the deal — when you both agree on terms, it becomes the contract.
4. Get rated (fairly). After a completed sale, both buyer and seller rate each other. Neither rating is visible until both are submitted — so nobody retaliates, and everyone’s honest.

Why Santa Fe first

Because this city runs on craft. The art market here isn’t a niche — it’s the economy. And the people making the work deserve a platform that respects what they do.

We’re not building another Etsy. We’re building the online version of what already happens here every day — makers selling directly to people who care about the work.

Join the first cohort

We’re onboarding our first 25 sellers by hand. If you make something — jewelry, pottery, clothing, woodwork, textiles, prints, anything handmade — we want to talk to you.

Apply to sell on Merc Mercado

No fees. No algorithms. Just your work, your price, your customers.