A guide to selling your crafts

So you have a craft product that you enjoy making and now you want to sell it, well this is a guide to selling your crafts and earning back some of that supplies money.

By Kelly Williams   Talk to the Author.

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A guide to selling your crafts

Before we start telling you where and how, you need to sit down and really think hard about what you are about to do. No matter what your craft product is, if there is no need for it or people won't be able to afford it then there is quite literally no point taking your hobby any further then just that, a hobby.

Research:

Take the time to look around stores and craft markets to see if there is a place for your product, if someone else is selling the same item as you then either you need to be cheaper or you need to have another edge on your competitor, perhaps your products are packaged more professionally? Better materials? Or perhaps your product is better value for money?

Prices, packaging and most popular, stores, markets and products are all things that you need to research to insure your business has every chance of success as it possibly can.

Pricing:

Firstly you need to work out inch by inch and bead by bead how much the cost of your materials are for your product, this may seem a long process and the temptation to short cut and guess will be there, however if you want to sell your crafts then you need to work out the best possibly price for both you and your customers.

A good rule of thumb is to take the cost of your materials and multiply it by 3 to cover, taxes, power and your time, however you are guessing and later on you may find that you may need to make changes to your prices.

If you would like to work on a wage basis, then you need to calculate the time it takes you to complete a craft, sometimes its easier to make 4 at once as it is to make one, if this is the case then calculate the time and divide it by each completed product.

You need to work out your preferred hourly pay rate and add it to the costs of your materials for each product, but look at your hourly rate realistically, chances are you will not be able to sell your product at a price that covers your hourly rate, that's when your earlier research comes into effect, what's the average price for your product? And once you take out the materials cost how much are you left with? Multiply that by how many you can make in an hour and that is going to be your realistic hourly rate.

Packaging:

This may seem like the business side of things and not the creative side, but you are wrong, packaging sells your product!

Packaging increases the appearance of your item as well as it's perceived value.

The ability to create attractive packaging at an affordable price will come easily to those of you who are creative for those of you who don't know where to start with packaging design, then look back at your research and check out everyone else's and work from there.

Legalities:

Your business is going to need a trading name, you will need to register a unique business name with your local business-trading department. Your selected name will need to be applied for to insure no other companies are registered under that name. Make sure you do not have any labels or other print material printed until you receive permission to use your chosen name.

Premises: If you are working from your house then you may need a council license, check at your local office to make sure and prevent any legal matters later down the track. If you will be running a professional set-up then you may want to consider getting public liability insurance, this will also cover you for injury from products or from fixtures within your stall or store.

Where to sell:

There are many different options for places to sell your products.

Craft Stores

You can open your own store in a suitable area, or approach existing craft stores to stock your products either by purchasing or consignment. You will need to put together some samples and information about your products to take in to show the managers of these stores.

Craft Markets

You can setup your own craft booth at local fairs. Check out newspaper publications and craft magazines to find where craft events will be held, then contact the organizers and secure your self a stall. Setting up a booth is quite easy but you need to take time to work out a display layout for your products. Set up your booth so that all your products are within view and their prices are easily seen. If your selling craft items for kids it is a good idea to lower your table so little peeping eyes can see what they want from your stall.

You should now have the basic idea on what to, where to and how to sell your crafts. Now it's time to put it all into practice to make sure your new craft business starts off on the right foot.

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