*** New in 2022: wholesale supplies option for crafters and handmakers opens https://jamesdillehay.substack.com/p/new-wholesale-supplies-option-for?r=17sjg3&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web ***
Unless you can represent yourself as a craft supply store, it’s difficult to find genuine wholesalers that will sell to you. Browse the listings here, I’ve found tools, scrapbooking supplies and even a display for a trade show booth.
Some of these listings will display wholesale craft supplies in bulk lots. Save hours of searching online for discount craft supplies by browsing here.
How do I start a craft supply business?
We’ve explored how one of the ways you can lower your cost of materials when making craft items is to buy materials direct from manufacturers, use what you need for your projects and resell the rest to other craft artists.
You don’t have to open a store to sell craft supplies, you can sell them by mail order or online on eBay.
Early on in my weaving business and before the Internet and ebay, I was selling wearable art at craft fairs and to galleries around the country. Since I was in it as a full time business, it occurred to me that I could dramatically lower my costs by buying yarns directly from yarn mills instead of through retailers.
I went to the Thomas Register and searched for yarn mills as a source of wholesale craft supplies. I soon learned that the yarn mills often sold discontinued stock in large lots, so I bought some of these, picked outthe yarns I wanted for my work, and placed classified ads in weaving magazines, offering yarn samples by mail for $2.
Not only did buying yarns in bulk lower my expenses by about 50%, other weavers were buying the excess and creating another money stream.
I could have easily grown that into its own business, but used it mainly as a way to get my yarn cheaper because I was really into my creative work and chose to grow in that area.
How to find wholesale craft supplies at the lowest prices
When making crafts to sell, lowering your cost of materials increases your profits. One way to do this is to locate wholesale craft supplies. Buying supplies at local hobby stores is probably not the best way to save money, unless the store has a sale. Let’s look at finding low-cost supplies to make crafts.
See the listings of wholesale craft supplies here.
Another way to cut costs is to make craft items from recycled material — junk that’s been thrown away.
Locate manufacturers of craft supplies. The Thomas Register lists most of the major manufacturers by product. See your library or go to: thomasnet.com * Note that most manufacturers require a resale number and may only sell to you if you appear to be a dealer or a store.
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Apply to join the “Buy & Sell Handmade” Facebook Group here. Upon approval, you can list your handmade’s pictures, descriptions and links to Etsy or other ‘buy now’ options at no cost.