Selling My Crafts - Julie Scott's Story
A hat on every head, a scarf round every neck, a poncho over every body, a blanket for every new baby, a prayer shawl for the devout and an afghan on every bed was not exactly a business plan. It just kept happening as I knit and crochet my way into a sustainable inventory.
Occasionally, my husband made subtle comments along the line of “there are only 200 million plus people in our country” or “150,000 people live in our city” and “you do have a plan for all of this handiwork, right?” It was only a matter of time before the comments stopped being subtle. When I thought about it, a significant marketplace awaited my arrival.
I did entertain several local possibilities: yard sales, craft sales and flea markets. Crafters are at the mercy of advertising, weather, signs and the readers of newspaper classifieds. One fact became clear. Visitors to flea markets expect to get value for less than cheap. I stopped taking my inventory to flea markets.
Yard sales often attract that same flea market mentality. Eventually, yard sales went along with the flea markets. Craft fairs became the only outlet as this was years before the advent of eBay. Some fairs had reasonable booth rental fees, but most were more than $50 per day and some required crafters to commit to two days.
Computers became “must have” items in most households by the mid 1990s. However, our household was not among them! That is, until the turn of the century drew closer. The computer opened a completely new avenue of selling. EBay, here I come!
Oh, there were drawbacks aplenty. I was no techie and certainly did not know computer lingo, let alone auction mentality. A Scorpio by birth, failure is not an option when based on trivial technicalities such as these. EBay is not an easy platform for a newcomer to master. I mastered the process along with fee applications - which were significant.
In 2002, it was time to open an eBay store. I took pictures for oftentimes prolific listings. The store filled quickly. I spotlighted one item each month – at full price; rather, qualities and workmanship became the major emphasis. They sold – eventually.
The store closed in 2006 under duress of the economy, unemployment and the rising store rental fees. There are other crafter sites and I intend to test two of them very soon, although I have precious little inventory left. You know what that means ...
- Julie
Craft Business Guides from James Dillehay
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~ Ken Kobrick & Angela Greene
www.Passchal.com (featured on the Today Show!)
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CostumeSalon.com
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~ Cathy Marble
Chamisa Hill Designs
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