Selling Handmade Crafts on Ebay

[Katianne]

I have decided to sell some of my mirrors on ebay (just waiting for a 1p listing day!). I wondered if anyone could offer any advice on the following:

Is it best to Aution or Buy It Now?
As it's my first time, should I list one item to start or a range?
What if any item is damaged when the buyer receives it - do I have to send another or can I write a clause in the sale description?
Do handcrafts sell well on ebay?

Thanks for any help you can give me!:D

[goldy1]

Please read all detailes on selling on the e-bay web sites. They are a bit tediouse but worth reading.
If your items are packaged right you shouldn't get any damage .
I have just recieved a parcel that arrived in pieces. Luckly it was insured and I am going through a dispute with the postoffice at the moment.

State your postage fees to include insurance if the items are going to be of any great value. Also send to be signed for so many things are going missing at the moment.
If they don't pay the extra state you aren't responsable.
Dose this make scense . I have got a head cold and at the moment things are a little difficult to make scense off.

[Apple Tree Crafts]

......about ebay. I love it buying from ebay.

Selling my stuff, on the other hand, wasn't so hot. The overall probelem is that buyers, including me, are all out for a bargain. They have no appreciation of the work involved in handcrafted items!

That aside, if you need advice, the eBay Community boards are excellent. Just one thing - if you sign onto the eBay boards, get yourself a posting ID (another ebay account that you don't use for transactions) so that malicious board posters (trolls) cannot auction wreck. They treat auction wrecking as a sport, especially as eBay will remove the listing first and [maybe] ask questions later.....

I know that all sounds discouraging, but eBay, for me, is still a great place to buy and sell. My sales are usually just stuff I want shot of, or things picked up in charity shops that I sell on. Best was a huge crochet blanket bought fir £3.50 and sold for £96!

Jules

[gettincrafty07]

yeah, I love buying on ebay too, you can get some real bargains on there. I bought a couple of cds for on there recently and they were fab and only cost a few quid, shipping was really quick too. I recommened anyone making cards to check it out the name of the seller was craft-e-creations

:sm:

[GeorgeBee]

I can't really offer much useful advice as my items are quite obscure (nails) but as for selliong them it can be really random. I've sold nails from anywhere from 99p to £12 its really just luck i think!

[Snow angel]

Why dont you try on the craft jumble site as well its new and a bit slow but im sure it will pick up and If you register you are given £5 credit in your sellers account, so that can go towards fees etc. to begin with. Also if you refer anyone you can both get credit.

[Katianne]

I already have my mosaics on there! None sold yet though but fingers crossed! It is half price listing day today so I am going to give EBay a go!

[china-peter-xue]

I would like to deal in bussiness with somebody who can use chinese

[china-peter-xue]

Is there anyone who do business in woollen sweaters? I want to make a friend with you! 谢谢

[china-peter-xue]

My e-mail:MOD EDIT - PLEASE READ POSTING RULES

[Beadsage]

I would like to deal in bussiness with somebody who can use chinese

I could use a chinese. I'll have a chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork with fried rice, spare ribs, chicken and pineapple, oh, and prawn crackers, can you deliver? :D

[Katianne]

Well, nothing sold the first time around, so I relisted some of them in hope they would a second time around but again nothing sold. So I think ebay is not an outlet for selling my mosaics. Think I will stick with craft fairs.

[Andamento]

Hi there, if I remember correctly from another thread you did get an order through ebay though? I would say that's a small success. How many visits did you get to your listings? I tried selling two personalised mirrors through ebay but ended up listing them in an obscure category and only had about 28 hits in total which was pretty rubbish! I think I'll try again with one of my standard mirrors and see how it goes.

[Katianne]

Yes, you remember right! Someone saw my mirrors on ebay and ended up ordering a mirror to there own design through me directly. So yes, it was worth listing, even though no bids on what was there. The costs do add up though so think I will leave it at that and see how the fairs go in a few weeks time. Got quite a few hits - about 100 on the round purple one, so at least people looked. Had quite a few watchers too - maybe one of them will contact me directly?? Sorry if I sounded a bit negative in the last post - didn't mean to. I think i got my hopes too high as had lots of watchers but as you sau, got a sale I would not have had otherwise! Good luck with selling your mirrors - let me know how you get on!

[engravedstones]

Do you know engrave pocket stones,which is a natural stones engraved with any words or images on it,more information you can visit our website

[Beadsage]

Do you know engrave pocket stones,which is a natural stones engraved with any words or images on it,more information you can visit our website
Yaaaaaaawnnnnnnnnn............................:sle ep:

[Katianne]

Listed a mosaic mirror on ebay on Sunday (thought I would give it another go). Have listed it for a lot less than I normally ask for it, in the hope it will spur more interest. Was thrilled on Wed afternoon when I got my first bid!!! It ends on Sunday so I hope I get a few more bids. If not, it's still a sale so I'm happy, even if it's not much of a profit. Sorry to be a bore but I was pleased and thought I would share my happiness!!!!!

[icecreamgirl]

Aww, that's great, as long as you've made some profit. You must be chuffed!!:)

[ccjewellery]

i've sold quite a few things via ebay & i've found i sell more using an auction but don't make any money this way, i've also tried best price options- plenty looked but nobody bought. i actually ended up loosing money by the time i paid the listing fee. i mainly use ebay to 'get my name out there' & always send a business card with my web site etc on. hope that's helpfull.
caroline

[Katianne]

Yes, I agree it's def more of a way to 'market' yourself more than anything. I plan to enclose a business card and leaflet when I send the mirror, perhaps then the buyer will look at my site and see what else I do. :)

[heavenlygirl]

I tried selling on ebay for a while with not much success. Had no trouble clearing all my second hand craft stuff but when i tried to sell new stuff it just wasnt happening unless you charged next to nothing for it and then with all the charges never seemed to make any money.

Sorry if this is not very inspiring

[kipper workshops]

Hi,

Ebay is a tricky old business. I have to say I love it, for both buying and selling. It is a rip-off though, the listing fees quickly mount up, plus paypal fees on top!!!

Here's what I tend to do.

I list all my items in my shop as buy it now, at my full price.

Then I list one of each item as an auction at a very low price, this usually helps getting the bids going, as people want a bargain. In each of those auctions I put a link in saying something along the lines of " if you want this item now click here to get it buy it now in our shop..'

Basically I treat the auction as marketing costs, as loss leaders, anything I get for them is a bonus.

I find this method works quite well for smaller craft shapes etc... On average the auctions go for about 1/2 to 3/4 full price, or they don't sell at all sometimes. But during the 10 day auction I usually sell some buy it now through the shop.

The outcome is that it covers the listing fees and I make a little profit.

The main advantage is that I have links in my auctions to my 'about me' page. This is a marketing push. Basically get your about me page loaded with all the info about your items and you are aloud to have links to your website there too.

If you can get your total sales on ebay to cover their costs and maybe a give a little profit then it is a good marketing system. Plus I find that when a search is done in say Google for an item ebay items get listed quite highly. So there is always a chance that people could find your items/website that way.

I could go on for hours about ebay, I have tried many different methods with varied success.

I will be including ebay tips in my webite newsletter - quick plug - so don't forget to register if you haven't already!! ;)

If I had to give a strategy for crafts on ebay it would be this:

1. Higher priced crafts don't do very well.
2. Use ebay to drive people to your about me page and onto your website.
3. The people who really make money from crafts on ebay are.... sellers who supply craft supplies. So in your case you are probably more likely to make sales selling mosaic tiles and backing boards, patterns etc... to other mosaic makers than selling the marked up finished items.

Hope all that makes some sense?

Steve :)

[Katianne]

Wow Steve, your advice is great! Very much appreciated! I do have an about me page and have referred to this in the lising (with a link) but think I will have another look at it now and revise it a little.

I wondered about setting up a shop as I know the listings are a lot cheaper but had a few questions about this -

1. Is it worth doing at such an early stage or should I keep just listing one or two items a week and see how that goes?
2. Do ebay take a higher % of the final sale price if you have a shop?

Your experitse is very much appreciated (all of you!). :)

[Quirky-Cottage]

Hi Kate,

How did you do with selling e-bay today? i hope you made some profit out of it.

All i can say about e-bay is from my own experience... and that is that i make load more money on ebay, that i do at any craft fair..

I have my own shop, and i normally do what the other man said and that is put one or two things in aution to attract people to my store. I sell more through my store than in aution, and most of it is commission made to order.

People are more likely to ask a question if you have a store, they must feel that your more professional or something..Wierd!!

Anyway, do watch the fees, but it is cheaper with a shop, as you pay about £6 a month and then it's only something like 7p to list( or something near this).

sharon

[Katianne]

Hi Sharon!

Yes, ebay ended this evening - I got 2 bids in the end, so that was good! It sold for a lot less than I would normally ask but I don't think ebay is the place to get a huge profit - I made a little profit still and as Steve said, a lot of it is about marketing. I really want to sell a few more mosaics as I have lots of new ideas I want to get started on, but no money to buy materials!

So would you say it's worth starting a shop now, or should I wait for a bit, list a few more items and if all goes well start a shop?

Looking forward to your craft fair!!! How's it all going?

Kate :)

[kipper workshops]

Hi,

In my opinion I think it is much better to have an ebay shop. Definately gives more cred but is easier to manage in many ways once it is set up.

This is what I do:
I list all my items in my shop in batches of ten using GTC (Good til cancelled). Listings are much cheaper 3-10p. By listing this way the items are in your shops for a long time so you don't have to keep updating them. If you sell three you still have seven more so this listing remains for a good while (well until you sell all ten!!).

Your shop listings are cheaper to list but the final valueation fee is much higher. Check them out here:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/storefees.html

Ebay is a funny thing. I get sales in waves it seems. I will sell a dozen little items one week then nothing for two weeks. In the end you kind of get out what you put in.

Oh, one thing I would say about ebay is this. It's a bit of a buying frenzy before xmas!! It's almost worth setting up your shop now to build up your feedback rating and go for it at xmas. This year I will be building up stocks throughout late summer and I'm going to hammer ebay in the three months before xmas.

Hope that helps a little.

Give me a shout if I can help further.

Steve :)

[colourart]

Hello
I have just re-opened my ebay shop after shutting it earlier in the year. You can do this as your settings are saved for a few months. I tend to list all my items as inventory items and then put a couple into 7 day auction, this then drives more people to your inventory items as they don't always get listed.

I put one of my paintings on BuyItNow last week and also said I'd accept offers. Some cheeky so and so offered me half the price for it, so I declined. I say when selling on ebay stick to your guns, have belief that your product is worth a certain price and don't sell out to have someone pay below the odds so you don't make a profit. I sell on ebay for less than I'd like in an ideal world, but I have always made a profit.

[liz300art]

Well, nothing sold the first time around, so I relisted some of them in hope they would a second time around but again nothing sold. So I think ebay is not an outlet for selling my mosaics. Think I will stick with craft fairs.
hey
its really difficult selling handmade, handicraft items, I tried selling my bags on there but no great response.
General tips are start the auction at the minimum you would be willing to accept (1p auctions are damaging for handicrafts) Use the title bar, fill it with as many key words as possible that describe your item, believe it of not i once saw an auction with dress as the only title! This will help as many peeps see your item. Also words like retro are very popular if they are appropriate.
Decent photos are really important and I use the gallery option to attract people in.

Other tips list for as long as possible on auction (10 day listing) and finish the auction on sunday night, for the weekend traffic.
But its always unpredictable, I often use the free relist thing as one week things won't sell but the next week they'll fly out!!
Good luck and if you need any other info I've got ebay shop so just drop a line or whatever, I'm happy to help.

[FunkyEars]

I use an ebay shop for one of my websites (non craft-related) and that works well for sales in general as these items are hard to get in the UK normally, but remember that when there are several search results for an item then shop results dont tend to show in results and buyers often have to click a link to say they want to see shop results. If you are linking to your website ensure that page ONLY has 'about me' info and no obvious links to your items for sale or ebay can remove listing :(

Re craft products I find on ebay that if I think of an unusual earring design once its been on ebay for a few days you will see lots of people selling it - and nearly all trying to indercut each other. This seems to happen with many craft design that seems to be fairly rare on ebay unfortunately. Also if you buy any of your materials off ebay then open your shop/auctions under a new name as now that feedback cannot be hidden any competitor can come along and see where you got your beads, cards etc. Always send your items by recorded delivery - mail does go missing but some customers can also try it on (more so it seems than on a normal website)

Crikey this sounds all doom and gloom and totally not like me - in my opinion ebay is a great tool for promoting your website or myspace etc and any cash you actually make from ebay is a bonus. Great, just joined forum and now I sound like a wittering whinging moaner lol.

[Katianne]

If you are linking to your website ensure that page ONLY has 'about me' info and no obvious links to your items for sale or ebay can remove listing

Sorry Nickki, can you explain what you mean a bit more by this? Do you mean that I am not allowed to have pictures etc related to my crafts on my About me page? I thought this was ok? On mine I have put a description of what I do, dates of craft fairs and various pics of my mosaics? Is this not ok?

Thanks for all your advice! :)

[FunkyEars]

Ebay say that if you are promoting any off-ebay items for sale then they can pull your auctions as they dont allow any form of trying to get customers to buy from your website instead of them. You can put photos of your items etc and include links to your website however if that website page has any prices on it (even if higher than ebay) they dont like it. Linking to your about me page on your own website from the ebay mypage is a good way to get customers to your website but even better is to mention the link fairly prominent on all your auction listings but if there are any prices, obvious links to products, 'we are cheaper than ebay' or anything that could be considered as being advertising then it could be removed :(

I cant paste links here but there are loads of threads on it on the ebay forum and the general consensus is put pics of loads of your products (link from photobucket to save fees), mention that these auctions are only a small percentage of what you sell on your website* and then link to any info you can on your website e.g. your terms & conditions, your returns policy (if same as ebay), your about me page - anything to get the buyer off ebay and onto your site. Just nothing with prices etc.

Hope that was what you meant - our ebay about me page was fairly bland so i'm just pepping it up now hence all the reading of rules on ebay forum lol - was fed up with having my auctions pulled by ebay then having to change and re-list them

*needs to be mentioned something along the lines off 'if you dont see what you are looking for please contact me as we sell many more items on our website that are not listed on ebay" - so that ebay cannot say you are trying to lure customers to your website - instead you are being helpful to the customer but 'hinting' that your website exists and is better :) hehehe

[Katianne]

Do you mind taking a look at my About me page and letting me know if it complies with this? Thanks (link to my shop is in my signiture).

[FunkyEars]

Hi, i'm by no means an expert as still picking up tips from ebay forums and adapating my pages but from what I can see your page is fine :)
You link to lots of website pages which is what these forums recommend but you dont mention prices etc on these pages so no problem. Looks good and your website does too - i dont think your breaking any of the ebay rules that I can see anyway :)

[mrs_crochet]

hi
i dont know if its ok to post this linke her so pleas feel free to delet:pc: it

(How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay - Auctions)

http://www.canadaseek.com/information/auctions/44529.php


:mf: