Selling Crafts Online

Tips for selling crafts online from a customer's point of view.

Buying Crafts Online
Amber Thompson
Murrieta, CA

For me, as an avid online shopper, I will easily make the decision to purchase something online based on three things.

1. The reviews of other customers.
I feel that incorporating a few positive feedback items into the listing of each of your items will encourage me to buy. By simply knowing that someone else is satisfied with your product, I would feel more comfortable in purchasing it myself.

2. Clarity of photography, and additional views.
I've noticed that in anything that has intricate or delicate detailing, I appreciate to see clear, vivid, and BIG pictures of the work. For example, if I were going to purchase a gown online, and the gown had intricate bead work, in addition to showing an overall photo of the gown, a close up of the bead work would entice me to buy the piece. It gives your potential customer the ability to appreciate the hard work that goes into things that are hand-made.

3. Shipping costs.
It is completely apparent when someone is profiting from shipping their product by ridiculously overcharging for shipping. It will and does deter me from buying from certain websites. (Because, more times than not, I can find what I am looking for, or something similar, without paying exorbitant shipping costs.

These three things are SUPER important to me, and I feel like they are also important to many other consumers.

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Caravansharkey's Comment

I've learned to excuse the eBay crafters for inflating their shipping costs as eBay is now charging them ridiculously high fees and also taking a fee for the PayPal payments made. (they own PayPal) But retail sites--no, I won't pay high prices for shipping, unless it's something fragile. I think we in the US charge too much for shipping anyway. I've gotten items from Canada, UK & Australia for less shipping costs than some of the US-based websites.

When Will I Buy Crafts Online?

by Rachel
(Maryland)

I typically buy jewelry or clothing online. I like being familiar with the seller, but am okay with trying someone new. I really like testimonials or ratings/feedback for the seller.

The website itself should be simple and classic. Flashing backgrounds, glittery graphics or odd fonts throw me off. Good pictures (good lighting and on a simple background) is very important to me. I don't like being distracted from the item I am trying to purchase.

I also enjoy a concise but detailed descriptions. For example, why should I buy this from your site, what makes your items special?

Shipping information and information about return policies should be easy to find; I probably won't buy something if I have to search all over the site to find information that I want, and I definitely will not call or try to locate company information elsewhere.

In regards to shipping, I would like options such as standard shipping, express or overnight. If I really want something, I don't mind paying extra for the extra convenience.

Several payment options are a plus. Credit cards as well as PayPal should probably be offered, although I don't expect checks to be accepted.

My Insights for Selling Crafts Online

by sadia
(Manama, Bahrain)

It is very important to have a user friendly website with easy tools provided at the top.

I have made various purchases from different websites. For me, the images provide your first take on the item. The better the image the more keen I am on purchasing it.

The cost of the object is another important aspect. I tend to rethink when the item is priced way too high.

I am located outside of the USA, as a result my shopping is limited. Not many websites provide international shipping options, and believe me international customers can be a potential market too.

It helps if the image has various views to have a look at it from every angle. The item description as to what it is made of helps. The dimensions will provide an even better insight.

When it comes to payment, the more credit cards options the better. I would recommend PayPal as well. I dread when the shipping takes a long time to reach me. The more efficient the shipping, the more likely I am to make further purchases from that website. All in all the better facilities are available the more likely the customers would return.

Good luck!

Buying Online

Online shopping has always been the most convenient way for me to shop. I have done numerous shopping online and one the most common one which I do is craft shopping. I love to collect crafts and I get various designs and items online at a reasonable rate.

Online craft shopping is not an easy task for anyone. One has to be very careful while selecting the right product and finalizing it.

A lot of the items would look like the same and that's where the confusion comes. The more something is unique and stands, the more I'm likely to buy the item. I have done lot of research before I started buying online. There are many factors which play a key role for me to buy online.

The fist thing that I look for is the look of the item. I'm concerned about being cheated when I shop online, so always I buy it from a good rated seller when I shop on a site like eBay.

The second thing I look at is the cost of the item and the mode of payment. I also look at the shipping cost because it varies from place to place and gets very easy for anyone to avoid any confusion later. These are some of the ways that I look into when I decide to buy something.

Selling Crafts on eBay

To sell crafts online the first thing is to take a clear photograph of the item so people can see the condition of the item on sale.

Price the item carefully, if you ask to much you will not sell the item.

Describe the item thoroughly. Say what the color is and state the dimensions.

Price the postage by firstly weighing the item this will give you the amount it will cost to send through the post. The royal mail do have a website which will give cost of how much it costs by weight. Decide whether to include the postage in the price of the item or charge separately and put this in the description.

Give a time scale to how long you want to advertise maybe a month and this will give you time scale. Put the size if it is a garment or if you are selling items together maybe a boxed set tell how many items there are in the box. Selling on a website such as ebay is very good as they have all the information on the postage cost, but they do take quite a fee for selling your items this has to be considered. The local newspapers sometimes do freebies where you can advertise goods for a small amount of time. If you run a blog put some items on your blog you might get a buyer putting all the details outlined above.The payment options have to be considered ebay do paypal, or if you are selling items on your own a check is alright but should be cleared first before letting the items go. If selling on a website put some payment buttons so a debit/credit card can be used. If selling face to face cash can be used.

My Online Shopping Opinion

by Amanda
(Virginia)

When I consider purchasing hand crafted items online I look at several things. Since I do some crafting on my own I would only purchase something that I thought was beyond my own personal skill level.

I would not even consider purchasing something without a photo but beyond that I find it helpful if the photo also can be used to show the item's size, for example if selling a necklace include a dime in the photo so I could better judge the size of the item, yes you can do this by stating dimensions in a description but I think a comparison photo works better.

Typically when I make a purchase online I automatically add the shipping charges to the cost of the item and I decide if I am willing to pay that price for the item, however I don't like it when companies pretend they have low prices then gouge you in shipping charges, I think I prefer it when the items ships 'free' meaning really the company builds shipping charges into the price of the items.

Finally when I am dealing with online shopping I prefer the option to pay with paypal, first it is easier and second when I am dealing with a company I am not familiar with I am very nervous about handing over my banking information, paypal makes me feel very secure.