How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay
How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay Copyright © 2005, James Dillehay
Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully sellingtheir wares everyday on the online auction site, eBay. Accordingto a recent analysis of eBay sales, a crafts-related item is soldevery nine seconds, a scrapbook item is sold every minute, and 40cross-stitch items sell in an hour on eBay. Sales of craft itemson eBay have grown almost 60 percent in the past year, accordingto TheBidFloor.com. But, at the same time, many would be sellers are listing theirpieces for sale on auctions and getting no bids, concluding thateBay just doesn't work. Here are some tips from James Dillehay, craft artist, eBay sellerand author of the new book, "Sell Your Crafts on eBay" (Warm SnowPublishers), on how to profitably sell your wares online: How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay 1. Anyone who can type and has access to the Internet can sell on eBay. But the creative person has an advantage on eBay when she turns that creativity toward researching overlookedopportunities.For example, during the months before Christmas, more than 3,000Christmas items are sold every 24 hours on eBay. Research methods outlined in Sell Your Crafts on eBay showed that between February 12 and March 12 of this year, 4,107 auctions with 'Christmas ornament' in the title completed successfully at an average price of $17.34. Imagine how much more money a smart crafter can make all year long knowing how to ferret out this kind of information from eBay sales. Get the Craft Business Success Package here 2. A word's spelling impacts an item's profitability. Forexample, the word 'handmade,' spelled as one word, was part of2,233 auction titles with an average closing price of $16.29.However, auction titles that included 'hand made' as two wordswere found in 1,358 listings, but with an average auction closing price higher, at $27.81, or $11.52 more profit per item. 3. Go to eBay.com and find the search box. Type in the word orphrase that describes your art or craft item. Then scroll downthe links on the left side of the page and click on the link for"completed items." Here, you'll be able to see the demand forthis type of product. Do searches for your items every two tothree weeks to chart buying patterns. How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay 4. Find out how much people are willing to pay for your wares.Click on the link that says "highest price." This will give you a list of completed auctions from highest priced items to lowestpriced ones. You want to know what people are willing to pay foritems like yours. If you can't make and sell your product for aprofit, eBay might not be your marketplace. 5. Determine how much money you'll make on your product. Todetermine your profitability, use the cost of your materials plus the cost of your labor plus the cost of your selling price, which should be the minimum price to recover your expenses. If it takes you eight hours to make a piece of jewelry and the highest priced similar item sells on eBay for $26, you won't make a profit. 6. Look at the elements of successful sellers of products thatare similar to yours. Examine their winning auction titles.Observe how much detail they use to describe their item. See ifthe seller used any of eBay's special features such as galleryphotos or a bold, featured listing. Evaluate the starting price,starting day of the week, and duration of winning auctions. How to Sell Your Crafts on eBayFor more tips on how to sell your craft items on eBay, consult aresource book like "Sell Your Crafts on eBay," by James Dillehay. It offers-more than 200 easy-to-learn tactics and tips that helpsell art, craft and theme-related items for a profit on eBay and on other online auction Web sites. Writer's Resource Box:James Dillehay is a 20-year crafts veteran and nationally recognized expert on craft business. Author of eight books, his articles have helped readers of Family Circle, Better Homes & Gardens, Country Almanac, Working Mothers, The Crafts Report, Sunshine Artist, and many other magazines. James serves on the advisory boards to the National Craft Association and ArtisanStreet.com. For more information, see http://www.craftmarketer.com" Related ArticlesTurn An Arts And Crafts Hobby Into A Business Most people enjoy hobbies they have pursued with great enthusiasm for years. Even though they may find their leisure activities fulfilling and enjoyable they never imagined making money with a fun hobby! Article continues: Sell Your Crafts on eBay This article will show you how you can make money on Ebay, sometimes with only a minimal investment. I will show you how you can start small and keep your present job and yet make a few hundred extra dollars a month. Article continues with the accompanying link.
|
