Selling Crafts - Where to Sell Your Crafts

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Selling crafts can be a rewarding home business opportunity. Determining the best places to sell your crafts can be a creative process in itself. There are many options and opportunities available, and if you do some creative brainstorming, you'll there are plenty of good venues for selling crafts.

While there are many places to sell your crafts, it will be important to think through different possibilities to make sure they are a good fit for your craft business and your target market.

One thing I learn early in my own craft business is that just because an opportunity or venue exists, doesn't mean it makes sense to pursue that opportunity. Some venues won't present the right image for your craft business, and others may not appeal to your target audience. When determining how to go about selling your crafts, it helps to have an understanding of your target customer and your long term goals for your business.

Many people dive into any sales venue available, selling their crafts anywhere they can rent a table. There's nothing wrong with a little trial and error, but keep in mind, if your target market does not frequent a particular sales venue, or if the venue does not project an image that's in line with your own craft business image, then your time and resources would likely be better spent on other opportunities.

Below are several tips and options for selling your crafts as well as some pros and cons related to these options.

Start slowly. Focus on one or two sales venues at a time so you can focus enough time on each opportunity in order to make it a success.

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Discover great venues for selling your crafts:

Juried Art Shows
If selling crafts at juried art shows is part of your business strategy, these shows can become a significant source of profits for you, so getting your craft show applications in top form is important.

Selling Crafts Online

There's actually a huge amount of information out there to help you start to sell your crafts online. The challenge is not so much in finding tips on the subject, but rather in weeding out the useful information from the hype. Here you'll find an entire section with plenty of articles and information about selling crafts online.

Promote Crafts with Brochures and Catalogs

Developing a catalog or brochure that showcases your work can be an effective option to promote crafts. Catalogs or brochures can easily be distributed among your network of contacts, sent to your best customers on your mailing list or used to develop relationships with retailers.

Selling Your Crafts on Etsy

Selling crafts online in your own Etsy shop can be a simple, cost effective option to get started with online craft sales. It will take a commitment of time and some smart planning and promotion to get customers into your shop and buying your products.

Specialty Shows

Specialty shows in a related industry can provide opportunities for selling crafts. By thinking through the different niches that your art or craft fits into, you may realize you could sell your crafts at trade shows and other venues beyond the traditional juried art and craft show.

Selling Your Crafts on eBay and Other Third Party Sites

Selling crafts on eBay or other third party, artisan specific sites can be profitable if you have a unique product, and you're willing to put in the time required to market your work. It's not the simple, low time commitment sales strategy that some people would have you believe; you'll need to have a plan if you're going to sell crafts online.

Studio Tours

Joining a studio tour organized by your local artists' association can be a great opportunity for selling crafts. By partnering with many artists in the area, you gain added marketing power to reach a wider base of potential customers.

Craft Home Parties

A craft home party can be an excellent option for making money with crafts. This article provides information on selling crafts using a home party business model.

Open Studio - Open House

An open studio or open house can also be an effective strategy for selling crafts. This link will take you to tips on promoting your home craft business through an open studio or open house.

Trunk Shows

This concept has a lot in common with a home party, except instead of selling crafts in someone's home, you take your sales on the road, most commonly to someone's workplace.

Catalogs and Brochures

Developing a catalog or brochure that showcases your work can be an effective option to promote crafts.

Flea Markets or Farmers' Markets
These venues that may provide a profitable place for making money with crafts. You'll find an article on selling crafts at weekend markets in the February 2008 Inspiri newsletter. Just scroll about half way down the page to find it.

Small Venue Shows

Selling at smaller show venues has its pros and cons. Weigh out your needs and expectations to determine if this type of venue is a good fit for your home craft business.

Consignment
Selling your work on a consignment basis at a local boutique can be a viable option for making money with crafts. The shop will take anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of the sale price, with 40 percent being typical. If you plan on making money with crafts on a consignment basis, it will be important to ensure you have priced your work appropriately so that you can still make a profit after the retailers take their percentage.

Also you'll find that you probably won't want to consign your work to just anyone. The store owner is the one safeguarding and promoting your work. You will have a certain amount of inventory tied up at that store that you won't be able to retail yourself. So you’ll need to ensure you build a positive, productive relationship with a retailer you can trust if you want to sell crafts on a consignment basis.

Wholesale
Securing wholesale customers can be a lucrative way of making money with crafts if you are in a position to handle the volume of work. Wholesale prices are typically 50% of retail prices, but because your wholesale customer is buying a larger volume, as long as you have priced your work appropriately you can still make a profit at these prices because you won’t incur the same time and expense involved in retailing crafts yourself.

It will be important for you to determine your company's wholesale policies. Requiring a minimum purchase amount and a business number from your wholesale customer will ensure that you are not taken advantage of by someone who should really be a retail customer asking for wholesale prices. Some artists who sell crafts wholesale list their wholesale terms right on their websites. Try checking websites of competitors who make work that is comparable in price and target market to your own work to get a sense of what wholesale terms are typical in your niche. This information will help you to determine your own wholesale policies.

Wear Your Art
This option, of course, applies primarily to people who make some kind of clothing, purses, jewelry or other accessories. If your art or craft is wearable, wear it wherever it's appropriate.

When I was in a transition period with my own jewelry line and drastically changing the type of jewelry I made, I went through a period of a couple of months when I had very little inventory and no samples of my new jewelry style. I wasn't wearing my jewelry at the time because I didn’t have much of the old style, and I didn't have any of the new style. I can't tell you how many people, from my dental hygienist to my friends to my business mentor who expressed disappointment when I showed up not wearing any of my jewelry. They were all keenly interested in my business and were looking to see what new creation I would be wearing.

Wearing your art is free, and can be an effective strategy for making money with crafts.

Making money with crafts can provide a good supplemental, and maybe even eventually full time income. Consider what sales venues are most appropriate for your own art or craft business and you will be focused and use your time well.

 
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