We once did a feature on different websites that offer great bargains for a wide variety of retail products. The World Wide Web holds more than online portals to low-priced brand-name products and hard-to-find phased out items. Many budding entrepreneurs and independent designers use the Internet as their main – sometimes sole – means of promotion. You might be surprised by the sheer amount of cool, one-of-a-kind stuff found online at good prices.

Artisan Marketplaces

Online communities such as Etsy.com and Artfire.com encourage individuals who have a penchant for creating quality handicrafts and DIY projects to share and sell their crafted accessories and other items at reasonable prices.

The Etsy Community is composed of buyers and sellers from more than 150 countries. Showcasing everything from original artwork and figures to hand-painted or embroidered accessories, and even plush toys artfully made from old clothes and recycled notions, the independent merchant portal is popular among people who want to find unique, handmade products that can boost their individual look and lifestyle.

Established just two years ago, ArtFire is much young and smaller than the Etsy Community. Like Etsy, the ArtFire Community provides an effective online platform for creative handicraft enthusiasts to turn their hobby into a profitable business venture. By browsing through the different items featured on the online community, you could find exclusive trinkets that are well-crafted and priced lower than products found in brick and mortar boutiques or department stores.

Most of the sellers in these online bazaars do not charge a shipping fee for local purchases. Some even offer customization of personalization options. Payments are usually done online, though some merchants prefer to meet up with their customers personally to deliver the product and receive payment personally if the buyer lives within the same area.

Social Networks

Yes, our friendly Internet-based lifelines can also hook us up to independent merchants and budding enterprises that give their products good value. Since Facebook introduced the Create Fan Page feature, many entrepreneurs have utilized this feature to create an account that can act as a sort of gateway to their actual online shop. Twitter is used in much the same way.

Facebook and Twitter are also largely tapped as promotional media. Exclusive announcements such as online shop sales or new product releases are usually communicated via these social networks. By following indie designers and budding boutiques, you could stumble upon a good deal you would not want to let pass.

A bargain is not the only thing you will be able to encounter when you deal with an independent seller. Items made by artisans and creative hobbyists tend to have more character than any number of department store retail products. More often than not, they are also totally unique. If you are the type of person who easily gets annoyed whenever you find someone else owning something you have in your own closet or home, bargain shopping in independent online shops just might be the thing for you.