Help

Everything you need to buy, sell, and understand Hobbsy — in one place.

Start here

Hobbsy is a marketplace for handmade, vintage, and human-crafted goods. Every seller signs a Maker Agreement confirming their items are made by them or their small team — not mass-produced, not drop-shipped, and not generated by AI.

This page is the consolidation layer for how the platform works. Most topics link out to a fuller page — this is the map, not the whole library.

If you're stuck, jump to Troubleshooting or contact us.

For buyers

Browsing and searching

The homepage surfaces new arrivals, trending shops, and curated collections. Use the search bar to type anything — titles, tags, or materials. Filter by price, category, shipping destination, or whether the shop is currently accepting orders.

Your cart

Adding an item holds it in your cart for you, not away from other buyers. Stock only moves when checkout completes. Gift mode can be toggled per item; some sellers offer paid gift wrap.

Checkout and payment

Stripe handles payment — we never see your card number. Cards work everywhere, and supported wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link) appear automatically where your device and region allow. You can also check out as a guest: we email your confirmation plus a one-tap link to claim an account afterward, no password needed up front.

Your orders

After checkout you'll get a confirmation email. The order detail page shows status (paid → processing → shipped → delivered), tracking, and any personalization or gift message you added.

If something goes wrong

From the order detail page, you can open a dispute up to 30 days after delivery. Sellers have 3 business days to respond; unresolved disputes escalate to Hobbsy support. Most issues are handled in the messaging thread before they become disputes.

Favorites

Tap the heart on any listing to save it to your Favorites — your running shortlist. Saving a favorite doesn't reserve stock; it just keeps the item one tap away. Find everything you've saved under Favorites in your account.

Your feed

Follow the shops you love and their newest listings collect in Your Feed, so you see fresh work from your makers first without hunting for it.

Notifications

Order updates, replies to your messages, and shop activity show up under Notifications. Mark items read individually, mark all read at once, or clear the ones you've already seen.

Collections and wishlists

Group listings into Collections — keep them private as shortlists, or make one public to share as a wishlist. You can have up to 50 collections with up to 100 items each.

Saved searches

Found a search worth keeping? Save it (with its filters) from the search page and re-run it anytime from your account. You can save up to 20.

Gift cards

Buy a gift card for someone — pick a preset or a custom amount from $5 to $500, add a short message, and we email it to the recipient. Anyone can check a card's remaining balance with its code on the Gift Cards page, and cards you've purchased are listed in your account.

Custom orders (commissions)

Want something made just for you? Send a seller a commission request describing what you'd like, with an optional budget. The seller quotes a price; you pay once you accept; they mark it complete when it's done. Track your requests under Commissions in your account.

Becoming a seller

Ready to sell your own work? Start from Become a Seller in your account: choose a shop name and link, agree to the Maker Agreement (confirming your items are made by you — not mass-produced, drop-shipped, or AI-generated), and you'll land in your new seller dashboard.

For sellers

A full seller walkthrough lives on the For Sellers page: read the full guide

Your shop page

Shop Settings is where you set the shop name, bio, avatar, banner, and shipping profiles. Your shop page auto-generates from that. Shop sections group your listings; they're optional but help buyers browse larger shops.

Creating listings

Every listing has photos, title, description, price, tags, and (optionally) variants, personalization fields, and digital-download files. Status starts as DRAFT; publish to make it visible. Quick Capture is the mobile-first flow — photograph an item, AI drafts a listing, you edit and publish.

AI tools for sellers

We offer AI assistance for writing descriptions, suggesting prices, and drafting listings from photos. You're always in the loop — the AI proposes, you decide. AI-generated PRODUCTS are not allowed on Hobbsy; AI tools to sell your handmade work are encouraged.

Managing orders

Seller orders page shows new orders, in-progress work, shipped, and disputed. Mark shipped with a tracking number; the buyer is notified automatically. Print a packing slip from the order detail page.

Shipping

Flat-rate shipping profiles are the default — set per-item rates, international support, free-shipping thresholds. Carrier integrations (Shippo, EasyPost) are available for real rate quotes and label printing.

Pro tier

Pro is a paid seller subscription. It unlocks the AI tools — description optimizer, pricing suggestions, and photo-to-draft — plus bulk listing edits and seller analytics. The AI tools include a 14-day free trial. It's a monthly subscription you can cancel anytime; upgrade yourself with “Upgrade to Pro” in Shop Settings.

Inventory Hub

Inventory Hub is a sister app for sellers who track stock across channels (Hobbsy + Etsy + Shopify + in-person). Log sales, manage reservations, and get one source of truth for what's available.

Quick Capture (photo → draft)

The fastest way to list from your phone: photograph an item (up to 4 photos), and the AI drafts a title, description, and tags. Edit anything, set a price, and save it as a draft to finish in the full editor before publishing. It's part of the AI tools — free for 14 days, then Pro.

Bulk import (CSV)

Have a lot of listings? Import them from a CSV. Preview first to see row-by-row validation — which rows are clean and what's wrong with the rest — then import the valid ones. Free for all sellers.

Coupons and discounts

Create discount codes for your shop — a percentage or a fixed amount, with an optional minimum order, usage limit, and expiry date. Toggle any code active or inactive whenever you want.

Commission requests

Custom-order requests from buyers arrive here. Quote a price and lead time, accept or decline, and mark the work complete once it's paid. Sort the queue by newest, status, or quote amount to triage.

Defending a reported listing

If a listing is reported and escalated to a challenge, you'll get a deadline to defend it — add an explanation plus supporting photos or video links. Submit before the deadline and your listing stays up while it's reviewed.

Documenting your craft

You can proactively document how an item is made to earn a “Maker Documented” badge: add a short explanation of your process and a few photos or video links. An admin reviews it, and you can resubmit if needed.

“How it's made” gallery

Build a behind-the-scenes gallery on your shop page — up to 20 photos or videos, each with a caption, drag-to-reorder. It's a simple way to show buyers the work behind your listings.

Shop sections

Group your listings into named sections — like “Necklaces” or “Sale” — that show up as tabs on your shop page. Optional, but they make a larger shop much easier to browse.

Integrations and API

Generate API tokens to automate your shop through the MCP integration (install @hobbsy/mcp-seller) — query and update listings, sync inventory, and manage orders programmatically. A new token is shown only once, so copy it right away. If you use Inventory Hub, connect reverse-sync from here too.

Inventory events

When stock changes sync in from your other channels, they show up here as a log. Map any unmatched events to the right Hobbsy listing so your quantities stay accurate across places you sell.

Managing reviews

Every review on your listings lives here, unreplied ones first. You can post one public reply per review; sort by newest, oldest, or lowest rating to find the ones that need attention.

Policies

The short version: we're a handmade marketplace, we take privacy seriously, and we enforce the no-AI-products rule. Full text:

Glossary

Handmade: Made by the seller or their small team. Not drop-shipped, not mass-produced, not generated by AI.
Verified badge (green): Seller challenged a report by submitting photo/video evidence that was reviewed and accepted by admin. Invalidates on substantive edit.
Verified Multi-Channel: Seller lists on platforms other than Hobbsy. Your card is authorized at checkout but not charged until they confirm stock — usually within a few hours.
RESERVED (order status): A Multi-Channel seller has received your order and is confirming stock. The hold auto-releases if they don't confirm by their deadline.
Dispute: A buyer flag on an order for item-not-received, not-as-described, or a policy violation. Investigated by the seller first, then admin.
Pro tier: A paid seller subscription that unlocks the AI tools (description optimizer, pricing suggestions, photo-to-draft), bulk listing edits, and seller analytics. The AI tools come with a 14-day free trial.
Maker Documented (blue badge): A seller voluntarily submitted process evidence (photos/video + explanation) for a listing and an admin approved it. Distinct from the green Verified badge, which comes from defending a report.
Gift card: A prepaid balance ($5–$500) bought for a recipient and emailed to them. Redeemable at checkout; balance is checkable by code.
Collection: A buyer-curated list of listings — private as a shortlist, or public as a shareable wishlist.
Commission: A custom-order request from a buyer to a seller. The seller quotes; the buyer pays on acceptance; the seller marks it complete.
Coupon: A seller-created discount code — percentage or fixed amount, with optional minimum order, usage limit, and expiry.

Troubleshooting

Check that you're using the correct email. Password reset is at /forgot-password. If you signed up with Google/OAuth, use the same button you used to register. Still stuck? Contact support.

Checkout isn't working

Most checkout errors come from Stripe itself — declined cards, address validation. Refresh and retry. If the Stripe page loads but your cart looks empty, clear your cart and add the item again — the item may have been oversold since you added it.

Not getting emails

Check your spam folder first. We send verification emails from noreply@hobbsy.shop. If you never get the verification, use /forgot-password to request a password reset — that email goes to the same place and will tell you if the account exists.

“Confirm your payment” after ordering

On multi-seller orders we hold the authorization on your card and capture it as each shop confirms. If a hold is about to expire, we'll ask you to re-confirm payment from a secure link — you won't be charged twice. Complete it and your order proceeds normally.

Still stuck?

We read every support email. Reach us at the Contact page and we'll get back to you within 2 business days. Contact us.