eBay vs. Etsy ~ Which is best for you?

Most online sellers make two choices when it comes to listing their handmade crafts online. eBay or Etsy.

eBay

Fees. eBay offers  many different listing fee rates based on price, inventory, listing format and upgrade options. There are also store options for high volume sellers that include a flat fee on top of a small "per item" listing fee which can get your fees average listing fee price than what you would pay for standard listings.

Format. Multiple formats are available when listing your items. You can choose from auctions that can last from a few days to a month or fixed price listings that allow your listings to stay as a "Buy It Now" listing for a month or until canceled.

Exposure. Because of the auction style formats, items ending soonest typically gain the most exposure on eBay. It enables buyers to find listings through major search engines. eBay offers options for buyers to search through listing based on price, time ending soonest, and location.

Etsy

Fees. Etsy offers a flat fee for listing items, no matter what price the item is listed as. However, it does maintain a small percentage final sale fee.

Format. There is one main avenue that sellers typically list their items through. This is fixed priced listing. There are no auctions available on this site, so buyers either choose to purchase the item or not. Etsy's listings last for 4 months and allows buyers to request custom items.

Exposure. Newly listed items typically gain the most exposure and diminish as their listing time reduces. Etsy also allows items to appear in major web search engines.

The Verdict

There really is none. Many people find selling on both venues to be quite profitable. eBay offers many discounts to large scale sellers, while Etsy offers flat fees on all listings, no matter the price.

There are many pros to selling on each venue that you may be interested in. Finding the best way to sell your products and keeping your costs low can be the best things to look for when choosing where to sell.

Selling Your Crafts on eBay ~ Ways to Save on Fees and Get the Most out of your listings

Selling your crafts online is a great way to gain access to consumers worldwide. One venue most commercial crafters sell through is eBay. Unless you have been living under a rock, you have already heard of the platform it gives businesses that want to sell online. What you may not know is that there are many ways to sell your items without racking up high fees and bring more success to your listings by doing so.

List multiple variations. Recently, eBay has come up with a new listing option to not only list multiple copies of your item but multiple variations all in one listing. Sellers can save on the listing fees by listing multiple sizes of their knitted hats or multiple designs of their handmade bags while paying only one Fixed Price listing fee. This can provide your customers with an easier way to navigate through your listing and may entice them to buy.

List 0.99 cent Auctions. Auctions are a great way to get your listings seen and starting your auctions at 99 cents is a great way to save on listing fees. Starting your listing at .99 could lower your listing fees by as much as 50 percent. Also, eBay offers sellers who list start their items at .99 cents 100 free listings per month.

Opening a store. eBay also offers heavy discounts for sellers with a large inventory of items. A standard fixed price fees are charged per item. However, stores typically charge one flat fee plus a significantly lower fee rate per item. This allows you to save more the more you list averaging out your fees to a significantly lower "per item" fee. Having a store allows you more exposure by having a set inventory rather than sporadic auctions that may be missed by your customers. Read more about the fee assessment for opening an eBay store here.

Links:
Fees for selling on eBay
Fees for eBay stores

How to Make Money Teaching Craft Classes

If you're an expert crafter and are looking for a way to make extra money with your skills, teaching craft classes may be a great idea. With careful planning and an understanding of students' wants, it can be a great way to turn your skills into a profitable trade. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Complete the necessary paper work. Research your local laws and obtain a business license for your local area in order to conduct business within your community. Laws may vary depending on whether you do it out of your home, from house to house, or at a venue.
• Consider the market. As a crafter, you may have a few specialties up your sleeve but you will need to hone them to the markets' demand. Find out what potential students might be willing to learn. This may require a few months of research before you actually begin but it is important to getting students.
• Calculate. You will also need to consider the costs of operation. You may decide to provide your students with materials or allow them to provide their own. You may decide to rent out teaching space or go to your students. This will require calculating your costs and finding the best price to charge your students while offering competitive prices.
• Advertise. In order to have a crafts' class, you will need the main ingredient:students. This will require you to do some foot work by advertising to your local area through various venues. Oftentimes when renting a space, like a school or a crafts store, they may do a bit of the advertising for you. It's best to research which venue will attract the most students to your classes.
• Keep in touch. As an instructor, it's always important to keep informed about what you are teaching. Many students may be looking for the latest crafting technique or product and they may come to you simply because there are not many resources available on that particular craft. Keeping yourself updated can give you a great advantage.

Ideas, Crafts to Make and Sell, inexpensive Things to Make and Sell

Image by Flickr User Squirrel Cottage

So you're into crafts...but what is there to sell? Its obvious that you know what can be made, you don't need a list for that. You want to know what's selling so that you can sell too. This is a list of items being sold now from sellers that have made over 1,000 sales on sites like Etsy and eBay. This list is not complete, so keep checking for more ideas!

Stationery & Cards
Gift Baskets
Handmade Scrapbook Paper
Scrapbook Embellishments
Die-Cuts
Screenprinted Fabrics
Personalized Handsewn Items
School/Children's Supplies
Organizers
Diaper Bags
Wall Stickers
Art Paper
Homemade Stickers
Craft Kits
Candles
Stitch Markers
Custom Calendars
Totes
Party Favors
Iron on Appliques
Plush Toys
Dog Toys
Screen Print Clothing, Bags
Buttons
Children Hats
Gift Tags
Soaps
Invitations & Occasion Stationery
Handmade Pillows
Stained and Fused Glass
Quilts

How to sell your crafts online, sell handmade crafts on line

Image By Flickr User tsmall

When selling your crafts, one of the best places to go to is online. The internet provides many online venues for you to promote and market your crafts' products to the world. Here are some tips on how to get started.

• When selling on some of the main websites like eBay, Etsy or Amazon you will need to set up an account. This may consist of providing your business infoand billing information. Many sites require this often, before you can begin listing. 
• Often ecommerce sites will give you pricing options depending on the amount of items you intend to list, the price you intend to charge, and the types of items you intend to list. Most sites offer discounts the more you list. You will need to decide on which plan is best for you to avoid paying for unnecessary services.

• If you choose to set up your own website, it may require a bit more technical know-how. You will need to set up a display of your items, a secure checkout application, and more. This will require consistent maintenance to allow your customers to easily access your site.

• Keep in mind that selling online requires as much detail as possible. Buyer will need to know that they can buy with as much confidence as they need. So it is important to be as descriptive as possible. Pictures allow you to do this very easily. Purchase a high quality camera that will allow you to take clear and detailed pictures so that your customers know what they are purchasing online.

• Ship your items on time. Make sure you set clear time frames for the shipment and delivery of your items. Buyers respect fast shipping and may reward you with repeat sales, if you build a reputation of prompt shipping.

• Keep records of all of your spending and stock. Keeping a budget doesn't end with groceries. It is very important, as an online seller, to keep a detailed record of how much you are spending and how much inventory you have. You don't want to run out of stock when you have 20 orders to fulfill or realize at the last minute or that you haven't earned any money from the past month's sales. It can be easy to forget this when you are an occasional online seller, however it is something that can not be overlooked.

Getting started selling your crafts online can be a very easy start up. However, there are a few things to careful steps to take. Keep these in mind and you should be able to keep your business above water.

Where to Sell Your Crafts

Image by Flicker User suvajack

When making money on your crafts, it is important to find the right venue for selling. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your venue. Here a few common venues crafters choose to sell their items on and how you can determine which one is the best option for you.

1. Online commerce sites.
Finding a commerce site is easy to do. Many sites like eBay, Amazon and Etsy offer selling opportunities for crafters to sell their goods at a fee. Some can range from auction fees to fixed price fees to flat monthly fees. You can list your items on the site for a period of time usually ranging from a few days to a few months. While upfront fees can seem inconvenient, your items will get a great deal of exposure on many of these popular websites.

2. Your own website.
While those mainstream websites, may be your first choice, another option is to set up your own website. Websites can be set up with little to no start up cost. Having your own website allows you to not be limited by fees per item. It also provides more flexibility in your marketing and sales. While this is a great cost-conscious option, you may find that it requires a lot more marketing to draw customers to your website.


3. Garage sales.
Garage sales may be the most common way to sell crafts for the small time crafter. This option works well if you only have a few items that you may be interested in turning into cash. It is quick and often, requires very few start-up costs. However, frequent sellers may find it difficult to generate sales with the infrequency of garages sales. While your neighbors may find your crafts interesting, you may find it difficult to target enough customers with craft minded interests in the 3 mile radius of your garage.

4. Craft Fairs
Finding your target audience may be easier when you get crafters under one roof. When attending craft fairs, you will find that everyone is there with one main goal in mind, to buy crafts. Many crafters use this opportunity to make some of their most profitable sales there. Craft fairs typically require their vendors to go through screening processes and pay considerable fees in order to set up shop. This may range from as low as $20 per day to hundreds of dollars for a weekend. Also, your business will depend heavily on the amount of attendees, the day, the weather and several other factors that may or may not be in your control. Keep in mind that many fairs do not refund vendor fees.

5. Consignment stores.
Another venue may be that of the consignment stores. This venue is a lot less common and they may be hard to find, depending on your location. Consignment stores work like online commerce sites, but with a physical location. Many of these stores are set up where the seller pays a fee to place their items on sale in the store. The seller will get a percentage of the money earned on their items, depending on the agreement made by the consigner. This works well if you want your items sold but prefer not to deal directly with the sale. This also works for higher value items.

There are many factors you should consider when viewing all of these options. Costs and exposure are two main important factors. Each venue has its pros and cons, and multiple venues can be approached simultaneously. Choosing the best venue for your products is essential to the profitability of your business.

Starting A Home Based Craft Business

Earning money from home can be easier than many may think. Many individuals take advantage of the home based opportunities that are offered both on and offline. With venues like online auctions and ecommerce sites it can be easier than ever to start. So before you get started there are some tips to keep in mind. 

Finding a product.
As a crafter, you already have many useful skills under your belt. It is now time to turn your skills into a product that others would like to buy. Selling a product that you can offer at the right price and with the right amount of demand is essential.

Finding a venue.
Once you have a product that you can sell, you will need to find a place to sell your items. Most crafters choose sites like eBay, Etsy or Amazon. Others choose to set up their own ecommerce websites, to sell their products. The latter allows them to avoid seller fees and provides them more marketing flexibility. Depending on your product and your budget, you will have to decide what's best for you.

Finding supplies.
Making crafts for your business won't be as simple as going to the craft store and picking up a few items for your handmade gift baskets. When selling a product, you will have to take into account price, quality and availability. Your materials need to be cheap enough to make a profit off of, maintain a level of quality to sell, and convenient enough to provide a steady flow of your products.
Starting a craft business from home is a very profitable way to earn money. With careful planning you can do well. To find out more information on what venue may be best for you, please read the post on Finding the right venue.