Handmade Checker

The Problem

Etsy’s marketplace is built on the promise of handmade goods. But as AI-generated images and product descriptions become more convincing, shoppers can no longer trust what they see. Listings that look handmade might be AI-generated storefronts with no actual craftsmanship behind them.

Existing solutions required manual inspection and expertise. Most shoppers simply had no way to know.

The Approach

I designed Handmade Checker as a complete ecosystem with three integrated parts:

Chrome Extension

The extension injects a “Check Listing” button directly into Etsy’s product pages. One click sends the listing data (title, description, and main image) to my analysis backend that uses Google Gemini and returns a clear, actionable verdict.

Marketing Website

A Next.js site (handmadechecker.com) serves as the storefront, handling:

• Landing page with feature overview and testimonials
• Pricing page comparing Free vs Pro tiers
• Chrome Web Store install funnel
• Blog for SEO and user education

Shared Backend

Both the extension and website share a single Supabase project for:

• User authentication (auth handoff between extension and website via URL hash parameters)
• Credit management (Free users get limited checks per day, Pro users get more)
• Stripe subscription billing ($5/mo or $48/year)
• Edge Functions for checkout sessions, webhooks, and credit management

Key Results

• Clean auth handoff between the extension and website using URL hash-based session tokens
• Scalable credit system preventing abuse while keeping the free tier viable
• Freemium model with real conversion to paid subscriptions