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Craft Selling Advice for Beginners

Getting Ready to Sell

Hi,

I have a unique product, art and design in wood office & home products, trays, serving dishes, decorative tableware, mirrors, furniture, interior design wood carpets and mats etc.

I know to make money we need to spend, but we want to start slow and see where it is going. Please advise what we can do to start.

Miriam

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From your letter, it is hard to tell if you’re making all these products or just decorating them. You don’t give me any idea as to the quantity of product you already have in inventory.

I also don’t know how much of your product line consists of large furniture pieces as opposed to smaller, easier to ship, items such as dishes and tableware.

First, I would suggest you read my articles on pricing: Maximize Your Price, Craft Pricing Problems and Another Craft Pricing Problem. You want to make sure you are setting the right price for your product before you start your craft selling.

Next read the articles on marketing: Market Your Craft, Craft Retailing in the Traditional Way and Craft Shows, Fair and Other Events.

I think one of the easiest and least expensive ways to get started craft selling is to try your hand at some craft shows in your area. With Christmas coming, there should be plenty of them around and you’ll find more willing buyers at this time of the year than you will usually encounter.

Look in your local papers, check at local craft stores or do a search at Arts & Crafts Shows to find upcoming shows in your area.

Another easy and inexpensive way to get started craft selling, assuming your items are easy to ship, is online auctions at a site such as eBay. Sign up. It's free.

You can start selling just one item at a time to see how you product is accepted and how much profit you can make. This might not be the best venue to start craft selling, however, since a lot of the buyers on eBay are looking for bargains.

If you are interested in this route, read the articles about online auctions on my website, Online Auctions & Virtual Stores and Four Huge Mistakes Online Auction Sellers Make Every Day.

Be sure to download the free e-book, Make Your Net Auction Sell for a very good guide on how to place you items on online auction sites to maximize your price.

I think the craft show option will be the best way for you to get started craft selling. Reinvest your profits into more inventory and move into other markets as you get more comfortable with the selling process. You will be making sure your craft business is paying for itself and not getting in over your head.

As I have written about in other articles on my website, you can then move into other venues such as galleries, consignment shops, online auctions, virtual stores or your own website.

I have other articles on The Artful Crafter website about other aspects of starting a craft business, budgeting and financing, which I also suggest you look at.

I hope this answers your questions. If not, please provide me with some more information and I’ll try to provide you with more help.

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