June 02, 2007
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In this month's issue of Inspiri Art and Craft Business Newsletter:
New at Inspiri Art and Craft
Pricing crafts can be a complex issue involving emotions strategic business decisions, and self confidence. I've posted a series of four articles on craft pricing issues and strategies which cover the following topics:Applying a craft pricing formula
A detailed look at the real costs involved in selling crafts
Matching your craft prices to your business strategies
How your emotions and self confidence impact your prices
Feature Article
Selling Crafts Online - Etsy Shop Tips
If you're thinking about selling crafts online, Etsy can be a good, cost effective place to start. If you haven't discovered it already, Etsy is a site for buying and selling handmade products. The site, which was launched in 2005, is relatively new, but it's growing by leaps and bounds and has developed a positive image in the crafting community.Here are 4 great reasons for selling crafts online in an Etsy shop:
Price
Etsy's fees are extremely reasonable; they compare very well with other third party sales sites. Etsy charges 20 cents (U.S. dollars) for a 4 month listing, which includes 5 free images. When you sell an item, Etsy will charge you 3.5% of the selling price. With low fees like this, your profits will not be consumed by selling costs as they can be in some other venues.
Easy Online Presence
More and more, it is becoming expected and standard that professional crafters will have some type of online presence. If you're not ready to commit to designing, building, promoting and paying for your own site with a secure online shopping cart, Etsy can be a very cost effective alternative for selling crafts online.
Even if you do have an existing website for your home craft business, you may benefit from opening an Etsy shop. Unless you are doing a large volume in sales online, it's possible that the fees you pay using Etsy will be lower than the additional fees your web hosting service provider will charge to add a secure online shopping cart to your site.
If you want to add online sales into your business strategy, instead of adding a shopping cart to your own site, you may decide to post a link to your Etsy shop. Of course, adding a secure online shopping cart to your own site does convey a more professional and established image to customers, but if you want to test the waters with online sales, Etsy may initially be more cost effective. Do a little math and compare the estimated monthly costs to get a sense of which service will provide you with the most value for the money.
(Almost) Everything is Handmade
With the exception of the vintage and craft supplies categories, everything for sale in Etsy shops is handmade. That focus provides sellers with a targeted group of customers who appreciate the value of handmade work. Also, you won't be competing with people selling mass produced items priced to sell high volumes at slim profit margins.
International Sales
Selling crafts online opens up the scope of your market; you'll have the potential to reach customers internationally. Buyers and sellers from around the world are doing business on Etsy. At the time of this writing, all of the prices on Etsy are in U.S. dollars, but they have noted that there are plans to add a currency converter function to the site.
If you are thinking about selling crafts online, Etsy can be a good starting place. Whether you use an Etsy shop as your sole online sales strategy, or you use it in conjunction with your own website, Etsy can be a very cost effective way to add an online sales component to your home craft business sales strategies.
You’ll find even more detailed tips for setting up you own Etsy shop at the Inspiri Art and Craft website.
Online Craft Business Resource
Naming your home craft business or coming up with a catchy tag line can be a huge challenge. It actually took me three months to name my jewelry business, Beyond the Pale, and I'm not joking when I say that naming my son was easier than naming my business.One great resource I found in the search for a perfect craft business name is Wordlab. Wordlab. Wordlab is a free naming and branding resource. If you're at a loss trying to come up with a craft business name or tag line, check out their forum, Wordboard. You can post a detailed description of your business there, and the creative members of the forum will help you to come up with some great name ideas.
Thanks for reading the Inspiri Art and Craft Business Newsletter.
Best regards, Lisa