I was bog hopping my "fav" blogs and ran across this post over at "Craftymumz Creations" that she saw over at another "fav" blog of mine "Bumble Bee's Craft Den" concerning selling your handmade items. We all know how hard we work making our crafting projects, but when it comes to selling them most people do not want to pay the worth of the item. :( A lot of people don't seem to want to pay a lot for handmade items or think that maybe they should be cheaper than a mass produced item. This poster hits the nail on the head really! Most crafters don't get paid anything like the minimum hourly rate and can take hours handmaking an item and I think sometimes people forget this.
Sad but oh so true!!!
People need to stop thinking it is a garage sale
and that just because it is handmade
doesn't mean it is cheaper!!!!
I have made it a practice to charge the cost of the materials, the time, and the profit.
Rule of thumb 3X the cost.....
this does not always work when trying to sell,
but it is what your items are worth.
How can you get these prices????
Well make your displays look inviting,
never overcrowd the table.
Always use boxes or something to give it
a tiered look, such as 3-4 levels.
Always keep your box with $$$ hidden behind a box.
Be super friendly and explain your product,
in other words sell it.
Also be sure to clearly mark the price, and name of item and maybe its use if there may be a question.
Think to yourself, why would I buy this item?
Then arrange how you might want to see it on a table. Also be sure to use a colorful table cloth
and put cheaper items up front.
Think of how restaurants do it???
They always have a "come on"
to get customers there.
Then once they are there they are sure to
buy something a little more costly.
You can maybe have a cute basket
of small $1 items, or hanging items up front
and make sure the $1 or $2 or $3 items
are clearly visible to catch their eye.
The point is to bring them to your table!
Even if it costs you more to make them,
once someone lingers at your table
they will start looking
at the other more costly items.
Keep a mirror handy for customers to see
what it will look like on them.
Never sit down and ignore customers,
always stand and talk to everyone.
Always have business cards,
flyers of where you will be next,
and a poster with your name advertised.
And most importantly, other than your "come on" items, never price your other items too low.
People will pay if they think it is a higher cost item. The ones that won't...
wouldn't have bought the item at any cost.
Don't cheat yourself or other crafter's trying to make an honest dollar. It may take longer to sell some items, but when you do you will go away with a
BIG smile [who can resist that smile]on your face, satisfied that you made someone happy with an item you worked with pride!
Happy crafting!!!
**I hope these hints help you this is PBDesigns personal opinion.
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