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Crafts to Make and Sell
Find Craft Shows to Sell Crafts
Craft Show Booth Covers +Canopies
The question you should be asking is..."How can I make my crafts stand out from others?" at online store fronts and when displaying my crafts for craft fairs.
With a few tweaks, your designs for handmade crafts can stand out from the crowded crafts business marketplace.
1. Use stories. People love stories. Create a story for each of the craft pieces you make and sell as a promotional tag or brochure. A story can make a craft special and add value.
2. Engage the senses. Studies show sales go up when a product interacts with one or more of the customer's five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste.
3. Use extra lighting. Shining more light on your displayed items has proven to boost sales.
4. Build a creative display when showing crafts for craft fairs. An eye-catching display for your crafts business may take you a little extra time to build, but it will draw customers into your craft booth.
TIP: Increase your sales with mobile credit card processing for craft artists These are just a few of the many ways to make your craft business stand out.
When you're ready for ways to sell your handmade crafts
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to Price Crafts and
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Find Crafts to Make and Sell
Here are some time-saving Ideas for how to find crafts to make and sell as a crafts business. Further down this page, you will find a list of popular crafts. Look under the list for "crafts products by category." You'll see a list of items. From many of these ideas, you can easily find inexpensive things to make and sell. However, you must know something before you start grabbing ideas for crafts from these sources. It is illegal and unethical to copy other's designs for handmade crafts. Doing so can cost you legal fines and worse. See the article on What is the law of copyright. Use the craft ideas you find at these sites to jumpstart your own creativity.
Okay, are you ready? Here we go.....
1. Go online to www.qvc.com In the "search" box, type in a craft you would enjoy making, or get your imagination rolling by trying, search terms like "birdhouse", "quilt", "ornament", "decor idea" or just type in "handmade". You'll get back ideas for high-priced and inexpensive craft items to make and sell based on what is already selling on TV. Note, some of the results you get are not handmade crafts, unless they are described as such. Those that are handmade, may not be handmade in the U.S. Write down the prices these craft items sell for. Figure out if you could make the craft for 50% or less of the selling price. If so, these are ideas or designs for handmade crafts to make and sell at a profit.
Why is QVC a good research tool? QVC buys items in quantity and then resells them at a marked up price. QVC has been around on TV since 1986. They've become very good at buying items that sell.
2.
Go online to
www.ebay.com. On the left side of the page, under "categories",
select "crafts", then look for and click on "handcrafted
& finished pieces". Then look for "preferences" and
choose "completed listings." The last time I did this search,
I got over 19,000 listings (ideas for crafts to make and sell.). On the
right side of the results page are completed auction listings of products,
some of which are inexpensive crafts to make and sell. You can sort the
listings. When sorting, choose "price: highest first."
There are three things to look for. (1) Craft items that are actually selling -- ask yourself is this a craft you would enjoy making? (2) Number of bids -- this shows whether people are anxious to buy these crafts. (3) Price -- shows the highest bid (ignore "Buy It Now" items) or how much people are willing to pay.
Again, write down the prices these craft items sell for. Figure out if you could make and sell the crafts for 50% or less of the closing auction price. If so, you can make and sell these crafts for a profit. Why is eBay a good research tool? The market never lies. By following the steps above, you will discover what designs for handmade crafts items people buy and how much they are willing to pay.
3. Go online to www.etsy.com/time_machine2.php. Choose the link "Just Sold". Last time we checked, Etsy had over 2,000,000 handmade craft items for sale. Note: The time of year at any of the sites mentioned above will affect sales results. For example on eBay, in the months of November and December you'll see more craft items and more sales because people are shopping for unique Christmas gifts.
Crafts for craft fairs
The
above ways of researching things to sell work great online. But if you
are looking at doing public events, you need a way to research best selling
crafts for craft fairs. Unfortunately for those in a hurry, there's
no fast path to getting this information. It requires some leg work. First
of all watch your newspapers and ads around your city for local craft
shows. You can also locate fairs in your area at Craftlister.com.
After you've compiled a list of events, visit them and walk around.
If you're an experienced craft seller, you already know that you don't appreciate spies checking out what you're selling. Why would you invite more competition? For newbies, be discreet when looking at the crafts on display. Don't take photos (an obvious giveaway that you're spying) and don't start a conversation saying "I was thinking of making stuff too. What sells best?" Just quietly observe what's going on; how many people come into a booth, are they making many sales, etc.
More ideas of crafts and things to make and sell
For more craft business ideas for inexpensive crafts to make and sell, here's my list of products:
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Home & Garden Crafts to Make and Sell: candles, placemats, napkins, curtains, towels, potholders, coasters, fire screens, baskets, pillows, quilts, room dividers, coverlets, throws, wall hangings, carvings, floor rugs, lamps, chairs, swings, stained glass, birdhouses, wind chimes, clocks, mirrors, cutting boards, pottery, plant holders, window boxes, potpouri
Clothing Crafts: dresses, shawls, blouses, aprons, suits, kimonos,
children’s clothing, men’s and women’s: shirts, vests, ruanas, sweaters,
jackets, coats, painted sweatshirts, t-shirts
Accessories You Can Make and Sell: handbags, purses, belts, sashes, babushkas, mittens, mufflers, house slippers, men’s ties, men’s and women’s: scarves, hats, caps, bandannas, boots, sandals, moccasins Interior Design Ideas: paintings, wall hangings, rugs, upholstery fabric, throws, curtains, passementeries, pillows, room dividers, screens, window frames, furniture Corporate: rugs, tapestries, wall hangings, sculpture, furniture, stained glass, paintings, batiks, folk art, carvings, flower arrangements Kids Crafts to Make and Sell: stuffed toys, dolls, puppets, animals, teddy bears, wooden trains, puzzles, building blocks, toy boxes, kaleidoscopes Special Occasion Crafts: bridal gowns and shawls, baby blankets, greeting cards, Christmas ornaments, stockings, Easter bunnies, heart pillows for Valentine’s day, wreathes Religious Crafts to Make and Sell: altar objects, vestments, tapestries, chalice palls, baptismal towels, banners, stoles, stained glass, candelabras Jewelry Crafts: earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, anklets, headbands, jewelry cases, leatherwork, nose rings Other Inexpensive Crafts to Make and Sell: tote bags, duffel bags, backpacks, garment bags, saddle-blankets, musical instruments, dried flowers, book ends, confectionaries, keyholders, seatcovers |
| Crafts Business Video 1 of 20 in the Series: "The 10 Most Asked Questions About Selling Crafts and the 10 Questions You Should Be Asking" | Crafts Business Video 2 answers the question you should be asking: "How can I make my crafts stand out with so many craft items for sale?" |
After you've decided what crafts to make and sell as a craft business and thought about how to make them stand out, in the next video in the series, learn where to sell your crafts. Sign Up Here to Get the Entire Video Course on Selling Crafts
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