Etsy Addict review

Any artist/crafter/knitter worth their materials looking to sell their goods knows about Etsy, “the world’s most vibrant handmade marketplace”…a virtual global bazaar upon which anybody who’s made anything can hawk their goods to anybody who’s looking to buy something handmade, vintage, or just a little off the beaten track. Now with Daniel Dickison’s Etsy Addict app, you don’t have to be chained to a computer to check on listings or featured/new items.

If you’ve ever been on Etsy, you know that their front page is filled with Handpicked Items. All these items are basically reflected on the first tab, Featured. Scrolling down, you can tap the last block to view more items. The second tab, Categories, mirrors the same list on the site’s left column; tapping an option will bring you to a sublisting, then further to actual items. While you can see a thumbnail, what it is, and the price in the listings, once you choose an item to expand your view into a detailed description. From there, you can read the seller’s pitch, view more pictures (if available) in a bigger format, and tap on the seller’s name to view their profile (which includes the all-important feedback information and other items for sale).

You can also use the tags and materials at the very bottom as a search filter. If you desire the item, tapping the arrow on the upper right corner will allow you to view the item in an in-app web browser, so you can snatch it up. (Emailing it is another option, if you want to save it for later consideration.) The Search tab is pretty intensive, with four possible filters you can use to help you find what you want: Listings, Tags, Materials, and Sellers. The last two tabs require an Etsy account to be able to use; you can’t add Favorites through the current version of the app, but it is a promised option in a future update.

As a way to access Etsy, Etsy Addict does a fairly decent job, but it still needs a bit of work (for such an artsy site, you’d think it’d look prettier, but this may be just me being shallow). The favoriting option is a must, and I’d also love more ways to order the listings; for instance, by price rather than just by the most recent. Another option to increase functionality would be the ability to actually buy items through the app, instead of having to log in through the web app, but I suspect the developers might have to reach an agreement with the Etsy site before that can happen. All in all, Etsy Addict works well enough in a bare-minimum kind of way, but if that’s enough for you, then you should considering spending the $0.99 to download it.

AppSafari Rating: 3.5/5

AppSafari review of Etsy Addict was written by Julie Guan on August 26th, 2010 and categorized under App Store, Art, Portals, Search, Shopping. Page viewed 6858 times, 1 so far today. Need help on using these apps? Please read the Help Page.