Have any of you tried to sell handmade items? How did you promote said items? I'm on Etsy, and have created listings on Craigslist and Facebook. But I haven't sold anything since August. I can't seem to get anyone to bite. Any advice?
Here's my site for reference:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5195243
Jymberry these are lovely. If I were you I would reword your introduction a little though. You don't need to mention you have two cats. Just say they come from a non-smoking, dust free home. I would also build up the fact they are eco friendly and so much better than plastic bags while larger than the average fabric bag you get for shopping. They do seem larger than the regular ones I have seen and I think that is a great advantage. You might even want to include the measurements if you havne't. Get people to think about the environment. Also, consider selling two at a reduced price. I always found that successful when I had my store. So if 1 is $30.00 sell two for $55.00. Hope this helps.
I just went back to read your profile. You don't mention if these bags are lined or what material they are made from. Also, try to get out of the habit of calling your stuff - stuff! They aren't "stuff" they are unique creations made by loving hands.
Ohmigosh I keep finding new things about your wonderful bags. Can you mention in your introduction they are reversible. I didn't realize it when I first took a look and thought that by clicking on the picture I would just see a larger version so I didn't bother. These are really quite wonderful and for the amount of work which has gone into them your asking price is more than fair.
Many churches and schools have Holiday Bazaars. And in some bigger cities, as well as some of the little artsy-crafty towns, there are consignment shows where people sell homemade items. For all of the above, you would have to give a commission to the site provider but it would get your foot into the door.
If you have some business cards (or better yet - sew in labels) with your goods, people who admired something their friends had bought would know how to get a hold of you.
If you had an actual website you wouldn't have to handle phone calls, just have a link to your email for orders. It's relatively easy to make a do-it-yourself simple website with some softwares. A website doesn't have to be elaborate, just enough to display photos and pricing. Some ISP's (earthlink, aol, etc) actually have free software for simple websites. Or, if you know a teen-aged techno geek, you could have a website made relatively cheaply.
Posted 3 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
Addendum: This probably goes without saying - make something with nice kitty-cat fabric and you'll probably sell more than one to your fellow TDK'ers.
Posted 3 years ago by CheetahBoysmommy #
You know...just a thought..since I am pregnant and also deal with a toddler...those could be made into really cute bags to carry the toddler stuff or a cool diaper bag. Of course I think those would have to be specially made with more pockets but that would be great to have. Craft shows, wedding/baby shows at the mall, could be a good start.
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
Thank you all for the advice! Diaper bags sound like a good idea. How many pockets would be good for them? Would a zippered closure be a good thing to include?
I've been meaning to get sew in labels. But I'm really short on cash, and don't have ink in the printer to print my own. Catch 22 on my part.
I might run out and find some kitty fabric ;-)
A zippered enclosure would be wonderful! You could put stuff in there that you don't want to fall out or if you make the zippered part out of waterproof fabric, you could put wet clothes, diapers etc in there! Pockets for bottles are a must..like 2 of them
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
I would think a zippered pocket, 2 pockets for bottles, and maybe 2 more of various sizes for things like medicine, or baby food or wipes...
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
I think I can do that. I might not be able to do water proof fabric, I'm not sure where to find it or even if I can afford it. I'm trying to sell the bags so I can pay for all the collect calls I've been getting. My bill shows up soon, and I'll have til December 2nd to gather up money.
The pockets for the bottles.. would they be easier to access on the inside or outside? I've been experimenting with bottle pockets, and haven't had tremendous luck with them. About how tall are baby bottles?
I have the Avent bottles...the small ones are 5 inches with the lid and the larger is 6.5 inches with the lid and about 8 inches around. Now there are taller bottles out there but these are just the ones I have. I like the pockets on the outside myself.
I hope you get the money for the collect calls. I wouldn't be accepting those JB, they can get pricey :)
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
Jymberry I see that you changed the wording a little on your introduction. I am not familiar with Etsy and I don't know if others who may see your post are either but I didn't know when I clicked on one of the pictures a series of different pictures would show up. That is very important. Otherwise people can't see exactly what you are talking about when you mention they are reversible. I think the Homer Simpson bag is fantastic. So please, give instructions to click on the picture to see the various ways the bag can be used and all of the great compartments they have "some of them secret". I just think they are fantastic. Also I read somewhere about shipping where you say you will "try" to get it out in 2 days. You need to be more assertive and positive. Except for some custom orders, bags will be shipped within 2 days.
I am going to send out your url from Etsey to my various lists. Maybe that will drum up some business for you. Try to remember one thing. The big guys know how it is done. Take a look through your newspaper or magazines or other online stores that you know are successful and see how they are presenting merchandise. There must be some baby bags online, probably even on eBay. See what they are doing.
jymberry..I will be more than glad to send your site to people I know to see if they want to order any. Were you going to update your site anymore? If so I can wait, but will do it when you are ready. petpntr has some great ideas.
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
Thanks CM. You know it isn't easy to market anything especially when you make it yourself.
Jymberry I remembered something I thought you may find interesting. Years ago I was in an artist group. Most of them painted things to sell on eBay. Many of them were exceptional painters but they weren't selling anything. It certainly wasn't their work. It was their presentation. Please forgive me if I am repeating myself. I told this story not long ago and now I can't remember if it was here or not but I think it bears repeating. There was a woman on eBay who was selling stuffed dogs. She made them by hand and believe it or not she was getting upwards of $1000.00. Her most expensive one went for $1700 I think but she averaged around $800.00!!! Yep, that's not a typo - EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A STUFFED DOG. I studied her work for a long time trying to figure out why she was so successful. It was driving me nuts. Her dogs were certainly cute and very adorable but come on EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLARS????? The light finally went on and I took back her information to my art group asking them what they saw in her product they didn't see in theirs. These were people who for the most part as artists had a critical eye but they missed it entirely. The difference was the way she photographed her dogs. She had them in various positions, walking up steps, coming down steps, sleeping next to her real cat, eating out of a real bowl with real food. She gave those little stuffed dogs personality and I suspect the people who bought them paid so much because they reminded them of their dog, maybe a dog they had lost. At any rate her secret was her photography. Do you remember the wonderful pictures that TKN took of her little knitted monkey. They were wonderful and interesting because they were in places you would never expect to see them. They gave a laugh or smile and at the same time held your attention.
Whew!!!!!!! sorry, didn't mean to get on a soapbox but I just love your bags and I want to see you sell lots of them. Your pictures are extremely good (once I found them) you show them in various positions. Now see if you can get more pictures that are unique. Some of them have items in the bags and pockets and I think that's really good. Maybe you could put one of TKN monkeys in your pockets! Probably not but you could put different, even silly things just to show how many pockets there are and an idea of size. Put a husk of corn in one, a stalk of celery in another, something which will make your bags different than anyone elses. If you are unusual enough people will start sending out your url to friends just to show them what silly things are in your bags. Put a can of tomato juice in one pocket, a lime in another and a bottle of whatever you make margaritas with. How about some kitty treats and have your cats getting them out then say something like sorry, cat not included.
These are all hypothetical ideas for you. I don't really expect you to use them but I hope I have opened your creative thinking to come up with some various means of marketing your beautiful bags. Gee.....have you got a real baby around, dump it in your bag!
O.K. Í'll stop now.
Wow PetPntr! Thats a Lot of good stuff there and I am sure she appreciates it!
Posted 3 years ago by Momma to 2 MaineCoons #
Hey can't forget Kit and Pooch toy bags to keep all the toys in one place!
Hey JB do you thik you could make book covers for paper back or hardback. hard back could be just cloth but paper back would need to have a cardboard front and back to protect the paper back cover!
Posted 3 years ago by Momma to 2 MaineCoons #
Hmm.. I've never made book covers. I'd have to experiment with that one. I don't know how well they'd sell, unless they were custom orders.
And thank you SO much for the advice! The photography is a great idea. I'm only allowed a certain amount of photos on the site, so when I have the time to photograph them, I'll do it all at once so I can replace the old pictures again. Maybe I'll have Angie (my all black kitty) sitting in the Halloween bag.
And CM I don't have any plans to update anytime soon (sewing can be a time consuming project). But if I do, the people who really like my shop will know if they keep checking in.
I'll definetly go in and change my shipping wording.
Sorry about not responding for a long time. I was stuck working on my art homework. Because I like it:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2972904045_01920b5976.jpg?v=0
JB you are very talented!
Posted 3 years ago by Momma to 2 MaineCoons #
Welcome! UghhH!!!!!!!!!!! I can't go to sleep! i wanna go but can't body wont shut down! I see JB we are both still up in cali heheheh! only 10;35 ish!
Posted 3 years ago by Momma to 2 MaineCoons #
heheheheh I try 10 or 10:30 week nights and usually weekends too to keep my bodies schedule but tonight I just can't seem to crash. Even music laying in the dark nada
Posted 3 years ago by Momma to 2 MaineCoons #
heheeheh Well JB I am going to try again to crash!
Night Night
Posted 3 years ago by Momma to 2 MaineCoons #
jymberry -- You are obviously very talented. May I offer a male perspective?
I own several reusable shopping bags. The best for me are just a smidge larger than a large paper grocery sack and have some sort of waterproofing. Unfortunately I do not use them nearly as often as I should. I just seem to leave them empty and floppy in the kitchen; in order to be useful they need to make their way back to the car, and in order to get in the car, they need to be compressable (?) to a small size and they need to be able to retain that size.
My wish is for a design that can be folded up and zipped into a self-container. Such a bag could be made of ripstop/ballistic nylon to reduce bulk and weight. The idea is based on an unlined pullover parka made out of ballistic nylon. (Old Navy sold the item as an "anorak"). The parka has a big kangaroo pocket with a two-sided zipper into which the jacket itself can be stuffed. It makes for a windbreaker that I can keep in the glove box.
I would love a couple of grocery sacks made from ripstop nylon that had some means of self-storage so that the bags could be compressed with no chance of surprise expansion. I would be able to keep those bags in the center console or glove box where they would be available when shopping.
I hope that this has been helpful.
IB
Posted 3 years ago by Ivory Bill #
JB, I sent your website to everyone I know. Hopefully they will order. I also asked them to send the site to people they know as well.
I had a thought, since you are in college, what about if you promote them on campus, they would be great bookbags or computer bags!
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
I actually tried promoting them on campus, but a few days after I posted some fliers, they were all gone. I put them on a journal community specifically for my school as well. I just started carrying them around at school to try to get attention. I put price tags on them with "I'm for sale!" in big letters. So hopefully that helps.
And Ivory.. That sounds like an awesome idea. I just have no idea how to even begin to start a project like that. And I have no idea where to buy nylon (unless you can get it at the local fabric shop). I've never worked with the stuff, and it sounds like an expensive fabric to buy. But I can try it with normal fabric and see how that works out first..
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