Honest Review – The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line
August 8th, 2011 Filed under: Internet Home Businesses — Small Home Business Author
The Lowest Price we could find is $14.95 $8.19
It’s an exciting new world for crafters. Handmade is hip, creativity is what the market wants, and there are many profitable sales opportunities that didn’t exist a few short years ago. For crafters who have more confidence running a sewing machine than setting up a Web site, The Handmade Marketplace breaks down and makes sense of the global possibilities for marketing and selling crafts.
First, determine the right price for every item not too expensive and definitely not too cheap. Whether the product is beaded jewelry or felted slippers, illustrations or tote bags, author Kari Chapin helps crafters determine cost of goods, market competition, and the pros and cons of wholesale and retail sales. If the price is right, customers will buy.
Then it’s on to selling. The boom in indie craft fairs and sites such as Etsy (“Your place to buy & sell all things handmade”) is providing artisans with an ever-expanding marketplace for handcrafted items. Chapin demystifies every venue. She explains the guidelines that craft fairs impose on exhibitors, the typical yearly calendar of shows, and how to start a new craft fair.
For the crafter interested in online sales, there are tips on styling and propping crafts for photographs and technical explanations of how the most popular Web marketplaces run. Traditional brick and mortar consignment stores are still very good options for many crafters. Chapin explains how to approach shopkeepers and build strong relationships.
Wrapping everything up with media advice and tips on how to get the word out, The Handmade Marketplace is the sales and marketing bible that today’s crafters need.
Review:
I’ve sold crafted items off and on for many years and can’t help but wonder how much better I would have done had I known the information in this book. Chapin does a great job informing the reader about things such as determining the cost of goods, pricing items, identifying the competition, navigating through the business side of selling crafts, and selling in various venues available to crafters today including Internet stores like Etsy.
I like that the author keeps the tone of the book upbeat and conversational as she sticks to the facts about the craft business. Chapter topics include basic business practices, branding your business, marketing, making connections in the crafting community, using blogs to promote your craft, advertising and publicity, and using marketing networks and social media. Also covered are the pros and cons of venues for selling such as craft fairs, online stores, brick and mortar stores, and other selling opportunities.
The tips on how to create a good craft blog and taking photos for using online were helpful. The author includes the advice of successful crafters as well as that of experts in specific fields such as an accountant’s general advice on what can be deducted as an expense when filing taxes, etc.
Although this isn’t a detailed business book and won’t address every issue one might encounter in running a business, it is one that will answer basic questions specific to the craft business and minimize having to learn from mistakes. I’ve learned a lot and look forward to implementing the ideas for more success in selling my own creations.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review but the opinion of it is my own and wasn’t solicited. If I didn’t like the book, I would say so.
