Are you thinking about ways to sell your handmades now that you have 100Â crochet dishcloths whipped up, and you’ve already given two to everyone you know? Are you thinking about possibly starting an Etsy shop?
There are options other than Etsy or craft shows for selling your handcrafted items which work easier and more efficiently.
Deciding to Sell Your Handmades
When I decided to start selling my handmades, I opened an Etsy shop. My husband was in the process of changing jobs, and I thought selling handmades would be a good way to supplement our income. I designed a cup cozy and started creating a bunch out of stash fabric– I simply used whatever supplies I had on hand as a way to make a profit.
My first year was dismal as far as sales; I didn’t sell a single thing. However, keep in mind that:
- The shop opened in November
- I had five items
- I had no idea what I was doing
Unfortunately, the next year wasn’t much better. I made $79.50 for the whole year! I will admit that:
- My photos were AWFUL! Just horrible.
- My listings weren’t much better
- My promoting was just BAD
An income of $79.50 for the year is not going to pay my bills. I had to either get better or quit. I chose to get better, and I slowly improved over time.
Consider All Your Alternatives
When I started selling on Etsy in 2008, there weren’t as many other online sales venues. Etsy wasn’t nearly as big as it is now, and it was mostly Mom and Pop shops (not individual sellers). Pinterest and Instagram were just ideas in someone’s head at the time, and selling on Facebook and Twitter was almost non-existent.
As you consider today’s options for ways to sell your handmades, ask yourself these important questions:
- Is it worth the cost to pay Etsy 3% of every sale you make?
- Do you want to be one of the 1.6 million sellers on Etsy?
- Why give Etsy any of your hard earned money when you can use other venues for free?
If you are set on selling your handmades online, either on Etsy or another venue, then it’s time to start thinking of some basic business decisions, such as:
- Imagine the worse case scenarios when it comes to buying/selling online and figure out how you will handle each of them. Write your answers out and keep them somewhere safe so you will have them if you run into any of the scenarios.
- What will your return policy be? Make sure you put this in writing. You will need it at some point.
- Wrap an item for shipping and weigh it. Put this info in writing for easy reference.
- Research shipping costs and decide how you will handle long distance returns. (See #2.)
- Figure out average shipping costs to various locations in the USA so you can set your shipping prices accordingly. Do you want to ship to Alaska and Hawaii as well? What about other countries? (If not, include this info in your shipping policies.)
- Think about custom orders. Are you going to accept them? Will there be special charges for them?
Keep all this info in a safe place. This is part of your business plan. As you make more business decisions (such as how to market your handmades), you will want to keep all of this info together in a place where you can find it easily.
Creating a Business
If, after answering all these questions, you still desire to sell your handmades, then it’s time to get serious– get some business cards made. Business cards are a great way to create a business identity. Tuck one or two into each and every item you sell, hand them out to friends and give one to anyone you speak with who asks for your contact info (doctors, sales clerks, local craft shops, etc). Include a photo of an item that represents your business on the front of the card to boost your identity as a serious business owner.
Take good care of your printer, or buy a sturdy one. It will become a good friend to you as you print out receipts, business cards, invoices, and shipping labels.
Make sure you set up your finances correctly, too:
- Write a budget. (And stick to it!)
- Open a business checking account. (Never mix business and personal funds.)
- Keep track of your expenses. (For tax purposes.)
- Get a sales tax permit for your state if you sell to your local friends. (The IRS will find you sooner or later if you don’t.)
- Stay out of debt. (If you don’t have funds in your account then don’t buy anything–it’s not a good deal if you don’t have the cash.)
My final piece of advice when you are ready to sell your handmades is simple: have fun, be enthusiastic, and don’t worry. If you take care to make quality items and treat your customers and other sellers well, you will succeed. You may need to make adjustments here and there, but everyone (from Wal-mart on down to the neighbor’s garage sale) does that.
Have you started to sell your handmades yet? Are you still thinking about it? Which social media or other venue have you found to be the most profitable? Leave a comment and let me know!
Talk to you later,
Karen