If you sell your Arts and Crafts...

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Where do you sell, and how do you advertise?

I sell on Etsy, and have a Facebook page. I post on Instagram and Pintrest. Going to do a Craft Fair soon but there are only 4 a year near me.

What other ways are there to get my items out there? Not keen on Ebay due to the changes that are coming. Amazon Handmade looks interesting but complicated.

What else can I do? Any tips or tricks I am missing?

Thanks :)

I do eBay, Facebook and Instagram. What are the changes that are coming to eBay?

i dont know, but following!

tamebay.com/2018/02/ebay-uk-seller-release-spring-2018.html

Sorry, don't know how to make the link clicky, but if you Google Ebay changes 2018 loads of stuff will come up :)

Ha ha, clicky link automatically. I'm an idiot :p

Correct me if I'm wrong but the information in that link only seems relevant if you have an eBay shop, which is not compulsory?

I don't have a shop and only pay a fee to eBay and paypal when I sell?

Yes, I have over 300 pieces to list, I would have wanted a shop before the changes :)

Another relevant link: www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2018/2/1519091217.html

I gave it up 4 years ago but I only sold at craft fairs and shops (had my stuff in 3 shops).

Thanks Battle, I would love to do more Craft Fairs but there's a limit to how far I am willing to travel, so will have to stick to the 4 in my local town.

Local shops are a good idea though, we're in a touristy area. Thanks :)

I did 3 a month regularly , so once monthly in three different (still local)towns, then maybe one or two others. When I started I could have done two a week but over the years they gradually reduced. I'm certain two of the three I used to do are shut now.

How about showing a link on here where we can see what your selling
That may create sales

Battle, that's such a shame :(

Haribogirl, I'd love to do that, but I'm not sure it's allowed?

Send my your Facebook page via private message, I’ll have a look

PM'd you @Haribogirl, thanks :) Hope you like what you see, and any ccriticism welcomed!

I don't know op. I started around 10 or 11 years ago and did craft selling for around 6-7 years. Craft fairs were great to begin with but gradually became less profitable and professional over the years. Shops were much better by the end and I mainly used the craft fairs to try out new things as it meant I could talk directly to customers . What type of craft (generally) do you do? Could you do classes for adults or after school clubs?

I make jewellery Battle :)

Definitely couldn't do classes. I am a rubbish teacher :D

I do have a local shop who stocks a few of my items - one sale on the first day of display, then it snowed, but hoping things will go well when the weather improves! I'm planning to check out a couple more localish shops too when I can get out of the house :/

Thank you for taking the time to reply :)

Sounds promising! Two of the shops I sold in were in touristy places and it was good, especially on day when the town had special events on . I agreed with them that I wouldn't put my stuff in any of the other shops in that town (they were only quite small towns!). I used to do one of my regular craft fairs in the same town and agreed not to undercut them there either. It turned out to be a nice relationship as I would publicise the shop (and town events)at other fairs and she would do the same for my fairs.

Thanks Battle, I will definitely be taking some of my hosting shop's business cards with me when I do the Craft Fairs.

Just wish this weather would improve - we are still snowed in - so I can get out and have a chat with some shops in other villages... And so my long awaited supplies can be delivered to allow me to make more pieces!

Is this going to be your full time job? I'm a jeweller, full time and I sell directly to the public and also business to business. If you need any help or want to talk through wholesale catalogues and line sheets etc, then pm me and I will help you anyway I can.

Thanks so much Avasarala, that's really kind!

Not full time, more of a hobby at the moment, but I would be happy to do it full time if that's how it works out :)

That's much easier then! When you're just getting started, being full time can make it very stressful as you'd rely on it. Starting out part time ish means you get your foot in the door and can learn it all without being all stressed.

Feel free to get in touch anytime; line sheets and catalogues and emailing retailers can be daunting but you sound like you've got a great start!

Thanks! I've found some great suppliers, and had worked out prices, but got told by many people that they were too low :D

I've upped the prices and am getting sales, which is great. Apparently my prices would make people think my pieces were "cheap"! I don't buy much jewellery and thought things were fine, I have a lot to learn about that side of things :D

I sell via Fb. Word of mouth and I run a busy craft group where I sell craft shop items. Etsy didn't work for me. I grew tired of ebay buyers claiming to not have received and item

Thank you Miaow and Rhubarb :)

I'm hoping to get out and check out more local shops this week. Our road has been dug out by JCB, although it's pretty slippy now.

I've had 6 sales so far on Etsy, so I'll keep going for a while longer. I need to work on my SEO though!