Have you sold crafts in shops?

[Wishingwell57]

Have you ever had your crafts accepted by a local shop?

How does it work, what kind of mark up does the shop add?

I make small leather goods - purses, phone bags, that sort of thing.

It's only a hobby, and I 'm not after a huge profit, but it would be nice to get a bit of cash to buy the leather.

I used to sell on Etsy and did get sales, but it was many years ago, when Etsy was for handmade. It's not worth it now.

Hopeful bump

I sell in shops and galleries.
So they'd either stock your work as 'Sale or return' or they may buy them outright. Its usually the SOR as it means they dont need to pay you up front.

Sale or return means you still own the stock until it sells, commission can be anywhere between 20% - 60%, usually @ 40%+ these days.

Best to go around the independent shops in the area, see what they stock, find one you like and where you can see your products fitting in.. email them with photographs of your work, and a bit about yourself, ask if theyd be interested and go from there.

If they are interested, suggest an appointment (if they dont first) to show examples of what you make.. you will need to have in your mind how much you want for each item when you go.

Now the tricky bit.. it used to be that youd name your amount, and they'd add their percentage on top (mark up), but these days their commission comes from the retail price.
Also if they do buy outright, you need to think about the wholesale price, depending on how many they want to buy. The positive in this is you get a lump sum, and they take the risk of being left with stock if they dont sell. The wholesale price is usually much lower to reflect the risk they are willing to take.

HTH and makes sense!

My favourite client bought a large number of items, paid upfront & then gave me a second order when they'd all sold, again paying upfront. Perfect.

A less favourite outlet did SoR, but paid promptly & efficiently when things sold... until they put in an order, then when I'd made & delivered them, waited a while before deciding they didn't want to stock them any more & made it really difficult to get my own goods back off them.

Another one did SoR & was fine but under new management became totally inefficient, selling stuff but not coughing up for it & when I finally got my stuff back I didn't get my money or all my goods.

Oh, & there was one which did SoR & was lovely & supportive, selling larger items, promoting my work, paying promptly - until the venue itself disappeared. I didn't lose out financially but I really miss that place & the people who worked there.

Yes I have my jewellery in a couple of shops on a commission basis.

I tell them what I want to get for it and they add their margin on top. It works better for me than selling online.

Hi, I was selling my handmade jewellery in one gallery craft shop but personally had a difficult experience, not paid on time, some of the products collected dust, etc. But that was one gallery. Other people I know have the positive experiences. It is also good to start with online platforms as they do usually lots of marketing for you so the traffic is there. You can also try your own website with few products first. The commissions is different usually all of the have individual fees. All the best with your leather goods :)

I've sold in a handful of shops over the years, two at the moment. I have high online sales so get regular requests via this from shops to stock my work, but they usually want 'sale or return' which I always refuse. I think it's really cheeky for them to expect to fill space in their shops without paying upfront! So what happens is they'll put in an order, pay upfront (at the same price as I sell individual items online) then they add on whatever mark-up suits their business. I have no idea what prices they're selling my work for.