Ways to Sell

Often the biggest challenge facing Mums and Dads who have a creative talent is how to take that skill from being something they make for friends and family into a commercial venture. One of the hardest stumbling blocks is sourcing locations, venues and outlets in which products can be sold to the general public. As part of the Career Focus we have spoken to loads of small business owners about how they do it and have complied a list below of online and offline routes to getting your products out there!

Online Resources

www.etsy.com - Etsy is a fantastic website which enables you to buy and sell all things handmade. It's easy to use and with low fees is becoming increasingly well-known. Choose your username and password, then confirm an email address. Every seller on Etsy gets their own shop (for free), located at . Listing an item for sale is done in five simple steps. Etsy recommend that you've got your photos and description ready before starting.

Listing an item costs 20 cents (you pay in US dollars, when you pay your fees by credit card, currency conversion is handled automatically by those services). The only other cost is a 3.5% sales fee.

www.ebay.co.uk - Ebay is a well-known and widely used resource for buying and selling handmade items as well as maufactured branded goods. It can be harder to sell handmade items compared to selling branded goods as users often search by a 'make' rather than an item description, however there are some tips to help you sell handmade items on Ebay:

• Description: Take time on your description. Don't rush this step as it is hugely important. You must make sure to have everything spelled out crystal clear in order to try and reach as many potential buyers as possible. If you think your items have been influenced by a major style (i.e. Shabby Chic or more specifically something like Laura Ashley) then it can be useful to put that in your listing title as then you will reach users searching for items like this who otherwise might not find you!
• Sizing - often handmade items can be made to order. If that is the case with your items make sure you list all the sizes you can make. If you write that you will make it any size, make sure you have the ability to do just that. If someone wants you to make this garment much bigger or smaller than your pattern or experience has you able to do, you may lose a valuable customer. It is best to set a peramater, X size to Z size.
• Fabric: What fabric will you use? Are you picking the fabric or is the customer? Again, it is often best to set parameters.
• Timing: How long will it take to construct? You must be specific here because what the buyer thinks is an appropriate time may be a ridiculous request for your schedule. Give yourself ample time. Remember that the order may come in on that super busy weekend when you've got family in town or your children are ill. You never know, so be realistic with your timeframe. It is much better to tell your customer a week and then send it out in 2 days than have to email them with your excuses for taking longer than stated and hope that they understand.
• Pictures: If you are selling a custom made item, make sure you have already made one in order to photograph it. It is best to have pictures of the fabrics as well. Ebay charges per photo, but you can put a link to extra photos in the decription text of your listing. There are a couple of sites that offer free photo hosting such as www.flickr.com which you can use to store extra photos on.
• Pricing: You don't want to put the price too high and lose potential buyers, but you don't want to sell yourself short either. There are 3 things to take into account. One, cost of materials, two, your time, and three, ebay & paypal fees. Obviously you must price your item at least at the cost of the fabric, and fees, but please don't sell yourself short of your time.

Offline Resources

www.country-markets.co.uk - Country Markets are a network of over 450 retail outlets providing high-quality, genuinely home-made produce to the general public. Country Markets can be found across England, Wales and the Channel Islands. Country Markets sell a range of baked goods, preserves, eggs and honey, garden produce and crafts. However, all Markets are different - the produce range is dependent upon local producers and their specialities.

Becoming a producer - anyone over 16, with suitable produce to sell, may apply to join. All goods must be genuinely home-produced. It costs only 5 pence to join! All Country Markets are run co-operatively; no-one has their own table. Everyone is expected to take their turn manning the stalls and helping to run the market. There are no minimum quantities to produce - start small and build up. A small commission (usually about 10%) is taken from sales to cover market running expenses; the rest is paid to the producer monthly.

School Fairs/Fetes - having a stall at your local primary or secondary school's fete or fair can often be a great way of first taking your products to market and a relatively cheap way of testing response. Usually costs are very low, between £5-£10 for a table (if not free!) and a percentage of your profits go to the School (again usually very low). Unfortunately there isn't currently a centralised resource for finding about all of the events in a local area. Often ringing around or popping in to the Schools Office and asking is the quickest way to get details of when fairs/fetes will be and how you get a stall.

Nursing Homes/Residential Care Homes/Sheltered Housing - sometimes Nursing Homes etc allow companies to take products in to display or show to their residents. If you have a product that you think will appeal to this market then again this can be another great way of getting your items seen and purchased. Every organisation will have its own policy, so again the quickest way to find out if you can do this is to telephone and arrange an appointment to go in and see the Manager.

Local Fairs and Fetes - often community centres, churches and other local organisations host fairs and fetes and as with school events it is often possible to have a stall. Keep an eye on local posters, newspapers etc and if you know the organisation holds these types of events it could be worth you contacting the Secretary or a Committee members to see when they will next be holding one.

Car Boot Sales - these really tend to work best if you create consumable items that have a relatively low cost. Buyers at car boot sales are looking for a bargain, but will often pay 'normal' prices for things like homemade jams, cakes etc.

Host a 'shopping night' - see if you can link up with any other creative and crafty people in your local area and hold a 'shopping night', each having a stall and selling your own items. This could be in someone's home or a community centre, church hall or even a function room in a pub etc. You can advertise this with posters in shops, schools etc in your local area and try and get your local newspaper to publicise the event for free (a story about a local Mum creating a new 'shopping experience' is at least worthy of a paragraph!). If you don't know anyone else in your area who runs their own business making things then you can try and contact your local Women's Institute (www.womens-institute.co.uk) as a starting point and see if there are sewing or knitting clubs with talented members.