Amazon launches marketplace for handmade goods

Website will compete with sites like Etsy Inc

Amazon.com Inc is launching a marketplace for handcrafted goods on Thursday that will allow customers to buy products made by artisans from more than 60 countries.

"We don't allow any mass manufacturing, we don't allow any factory-made products. All of these products have to be handmade and hand-manufactured," Amazon Marketplace vice-president Peter Faricy told Reuters.

The "Handmade at Amazon" website will compete directly with sites like Etsy Inc, which made its name selling handmade goods.

A craft market will extend Amazon's role as a middleman for third-party vendors, which accounts for about 40 percent of its sales. It recently launched a platform allowing customers to buy 700 home services such as car maintenance, TV wall-mounting and house cleaning.

Over 600 handmade products will be eligible for shipping under Amazon's Prime shipping service.