Where Can I Sell My Dolls?
di
mcdonald
© di mcdonald
2007
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I hope I can help you work out where to sell your dolls. One website that sells only handmade items is www.Etsy.com. It is easy to set up a shop for yourself there and you can easily add your pictures and decide how you want to price your dolls. I wouldn't say you will make lots of money but you may have some success at selling your dolls. Most of the buyers seem to be other artists. It is a great way of getting to know other artists. Just in case you havn't thought of it yet, if you are a collector of art, its amazing the wonderful art you can accumulate by swapping . Most artists are happy to swap their work for other high quality work of a similar value. Anyway, Ckec out Etsy as it is a fabulour place to see what other artists are making and it will inspire you. Here are some more ideas to help you. How to Sell Your Crafts & Dolls on eBay Author: James Dillehay Artists, craftspeople and photographers are successfully
selling their wares everyday on the online auction site, eBay. According
to a recent analysis of eBay sales, a crafts-related item is sold every
nine seconds, a scrapbook item is sold every minute, and 40 cross-stitch
items sell in an hour on eBay. Sales of craft items on eBay have grown
almost 60 percent in the past year, according to
But, at the same time, many would be sellers are listing their pieces for sale on auctions and getting no bids, concluding that eBay just doesn't work. Here are some tips from James Dillehay, craft artist, eBay seller and author of the new book, "Sell Your Crafts on eBay" (Warm Snow Publishers), on how to profitably sell your wares online: 1. A word's spelling impacts an item's profitability.
For example, the word 'handmade,' spelled as one word, was part of 2,233
auction titles with an average closing price of $16.29. However, auction
titles that included 'hand made' as two words were found in 1,358 listings,
but with an average
2. Go to eBay.com and find the search box. Type
in the word or phrase that describes your art or craft item. Then scroll
down the links on the left side of the page and click on the
3. 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 lowest
priced ones. You want to know what people are willing to pay for items
like yours. If you can't
4. Determine how much money you'll make on your product. To determine 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. 5. Look at the elements of successful sellers of
products that are similar to yours. Examine their winning auction titles.
Observe how much detail they use to describe their item. See if the seller
used any of eBay's special features such as gallery photos or a bold, featured
listing. Evaluate
For more tips on how to sell your craft items on
eBay, consult a resource book like "Sell Your Crafts on eBay," by James
Dillehay. It offers-more than 200 easy-to-learn tactics and tips that help
sell art, craft and theme-related items for a profit on eBay and on other
online auction Web
James Dillehay is a 20 year crafts veteran and
nationallyrecognized 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
Art Career Success with Local
Businesses
Local businesses are often the best places to sell your original arts and crafts. If your goal is gallery representation, local sales can build your reputation, and fill in your resume. In addition, income from local sales can exceed what you earn with some galleries. REGIONAL ART ASSOCIATIONS Most communities have an art association of some kind. You'll find them listed in the yellow pages of your local phone book, and sometimes online. Look in categories such as "Clubs", "Associations", and so on. These groups are usually a mix of professionals and eager amateurs. At their meetings, I've seen everything from gorgeous, $10K watercolors to crocheted dolls in unnatural colors & fibers. No two groups are the same. Visit as a guest before joining, and see if the association or club is right for you. Most art associations sponsor regular gallery shows in their own meeting place or in a town hall or library meeting room. They often have at least one outdoor art show, at which you can display your art and perhaps demonstrate your techniques. Art association meetings include regular demonstrations (of art technique) by artists who will usually sell some art to the members, too. This can be a good outlet if you want to do demos. Start by creating a form letter that you'll send to every art association in the phone book. When the demo is announced, make sure that the publicity mentions that you'll have art for sale, too. The art association takes a commission based on how much you sell, and everyone goes home happy. USE THE ART ASSOCIATION'S CONTACTS FOR LOCAL SALES Many art associations have working relationships with local businesses, especially restaurants, bookstores, beauty salons, and banks... anyone with blank wall space that wants an "art show" to generate interest. (They use this to attract visitors and for press releases, publicity, etc.) Libraries are less likely to be able to offer work for sale, but it depends upon the local laws. This works best if the sales go through the art association. Next to each piece of art, place the art association's business card. On it, write the title of the art, the artist, the price, and how to contact the art association for more information. Of course, this should be something better than voicemail; someone needs to be on hand to answer the phone. A member who works at home is good for this job. If your local art club hasn't done this before, help them to set it up. The art association can have a single phone number, and use Call Forwarding to whomever is manning the phones that day. HELP YOUR ART CLUB TURN PROFESSIONAL If you are in an art association that doesn't have a working relationship with local businesses, bring it up at the next business meeting. Some members may already work at offices or shops that would cheerfully display your art. There are issues to sort out, including how the art is insured, if it's protected from damage, and so on. You can check with other art associations and see how they handle it. Once you start contacting businesses about displaying local art, you may be surprised at how easy this is. ART ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT CARD PURCHASES In most cases, the art association makes the sale, and has a merchant account that accepts checks and credit cards. The art association takes a percentage of the sales, usually about 20%. At the end of the month, the association issues a check to everyone whose art sold that month. IF YOU CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT ART GROUP FOR YOUR WORK If you don't have a local art association--or if their interests don't match yours--start your own. A simple, free announcement in the local newspaper will attract interest, and your public library can probably provide a free meeting room. Selling your arts and crafts locally is a great first step for any artist. In addition, it's usually fun, brings you recognition from your neighbors, and adds a little extra beauty to the businesses that participate. About The Author
Aisling D'Art is a third-generation artist
from Belmont, Massachusetts. Today, she lives near Houston, Texas, and
her paintings are displayed internationally. For more free information
about creating art and succeeding as a professional artist, see Aisling's
website, http://www.aisling.net
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