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Do you love to create handmade goods and desire to use your passion to bring in some extra money for your family? There are plenty of options out there to do just that and today I am going to list some of the best options for selling handmade crafts.
I am currently not selling crafts in any way beyond allowing friends and family to buy my hand knitted dishcloths from me now and again–only because if they didn’t I would soon have more than I could give as gifts. However, I have always been intrigued by businesses people who sell their handmade goods either as a side hustle or as a full-time job. So I used some of that curiosity to study up on the most popular options for selling homemade crafts.
Places To Sell Handmade Crafts: Plus Tips To Help You Sell More Items!
Online
Esty
Esty is the best known online market for selling handmade crafts. There are a lot of different places you can find help for becoming successful on the platform including books, podcasts, YouTube, blogs and of course Etsy itself, which has a large support area on its website to help you become successful. A good place to start your research for what it takes to create a successful Etsy store is over at Handmadeology where they have many articles dedicated to helping you do just that.
Shopify
If you are a crafter that already has a good online or offline presence, Shopify might be a good fit for selling your crafts online. Shopify allows you to create an online store that is completely yours. You can try Shopify out for free for 14 days. What is nice about Shopify is that it is very user-friendly
I found many other online options for selling crafts, but these two seemed like the most popular. For more ideas check out this article I found that lists numerous more places to sell crafts online.
In Your Community
Craft Shows or Fairs
Typically in most towns craft fairs are held during the holiday shopping season in local community centers. Usually you have to sign up months in advance and the cost is a per table fee. Finding out about them can be tricky, I have heard that the best way is to ask other crafters who you know work the craft fairs in your area. While researching for this article, I came across this post that shares tips on how to get started, how to work the shows effectively and a list of online communities to join to find out about sales.
Farmers Markets
Farmers Markets often allow local artisans to set up booths amongst those of local farmers selling fresh fruit and vegetables. I found this article that is full of tips to help you sell more items once you get there, but as for signing up to sell in your local farmers market, you need to get in touch with the organizer of the market in your area.
Festivals
Many annual festivals often have an area full of booths selling handmade items related to the festival in some way- for example a war reenactment festival in our area has booths selling handmade wooden toy guns and spears. If your craft would fit into a festival theme in your area see if you can find their website. On it you should be able to find out who is in charge and how to contact them.
In-Store
Some locally owned stores are open to taking homemade crafts on consignment if it suits their store’s merchandise. For instance, a pet supply store might be open to taking homemade dog biscuits. For tips on getting started with selling your items on consignment, visit this article over at Craft Professional.
Open House
Depending on local laws in your area you may be able to open your home to the public at least one day/evening out of the year to showcase and sell your homemade crafts. This article at Creative Income Blog walks you through the basic steps of hosting an open house to sell your crafts.
One idea I have seen done well at open houses is to have an example of your craft set out and then take orders. Customers can choose the color, material, wording, etc. to personalize the item and you don’t have to worry as much about making items that don’t sell. It is a win/win situation. Of course, you do have to make sure that you can buy more of the supplies to make the product easily before you take orders.
Do you sell handmade crafts? If so, where do you sell them?
3 More Posts You Are Going To Want To Check Out:
- How I Earned $13 An Hour Last Year Working From Home
- Simple To Knit Fingerless Gloves
- How To Save Money On Craft Supplies
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