Hi, this is James from Craftmarketer.com with a video series of the ten most asked questions about selling your crafts and the ten questions you should be asking. This is video 1 of 20.
One of the most frequently asked questions I hear I how can I find ideas for crafts and make them sell. Before I show you where to look for craft ideas, understand this. It is illegal and unethical to copy other people’s designs. Copyrighting infringement can cost you legal fines and possible jail time. So, use the craft ideas you find here to jump start your own creativity.
The first place you want to look is qvc.com. Do a search for the word “handcrafted”. You could buy a lots and lots of handmade items for sale. One thing to know is somebody’s handcrafted products may have not been made in the US. You can also search for a particular type of craft like a quilt or even home décor.
Why at QVC? QVC buys its items in bulk and then resells in a marked up price. They have been on TV since 1986 and they are pretty good at buying items that will sell.
Now, the next place to look at, go over to www.ebay.com. On the left side of the page under “categories”, select “crafts” and then look for and click on the set category “handcrafted and finished pieces.” While you are still on the left side of the page, scroll down and look for “preferences” and then choose “completed listings.” In the recent search, I got back over 19,100 handcrafted auctions that it completed.
Now, I want you to look at three different things. Look for craft items that you might enjoy making. Also, look for the number of bids to learn if there is a demand and third, look at the closing price to see how much people are willing to pay.
Other ways to get ideas for crafts to make them sell include going to craft shows, shop in craft malls and craft galleries and looking online stores like etsy.com. The problem with this last way of researches is that you cannot really tell what is selling like you can on ebay.
The next video answers an important question you should be asking, how can I make my craft items stand out? This is James from craftmarketer.com. See you in the next video.
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