Auction Information

How to Sell Your Crafts on eBay


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 TheBidFloor.com.

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 auction closing price higher, at $27.81, or $11.52 more profit per item.

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 link for "completed items." Here, you'll be able to see the demand for this type of product. Do searches for your items every two to three weeks to chart buying patterns.

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 make and sell your product for a profit, eBay might not be your marketplace.

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 the starting price, starting day of the week, and duration of winning auctions.

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 sites.

James Dillehay is a 20 year crafts veteran and nationally recognized 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 magazines. For more information, see http://www.craftmarketer.com


MORE RESOURCES:

In need of cash, states auction goods online
BusinessWeek - 1 hour ago
Like most other states, New York also holds traditional auctions off-line for vehicles and equipment and had brought in $3.5 million by the end of October. ...


Extraordinary Art Auctions in Italy for Design, Modern and ...
MarketWatch - 11 hours ago
Pandolfini Auction House has organized at the new office in Milan (Italy) the auction sessions devoted to Design, Modern and Contemporary Art. MILAN, Italy, ...


Tepid jewelry auctions show wealthy holding back
Reuters - 7 hours ago
While one sapphire ring sold for a record $3.5 million, most of the eye candy languished on the auction block and items that did sell fetched prices 20 ...


Industrial Online Auction Company AssetNation, Inc. Formed
MarketWatch - 10 hours ago
AssetNation has created a global marketplace that assembles some of the strongest brands in the online auction community, which include SalvageSale, ...


London Auctions of All Things Russian
Wall Street Journal - 11 hours ago
By LLECTING MARGARET STUDER RUSSIAN SALES dominate the coming week at London auction houses as paintings, royal Fabergé, imperial silver, porcelain and ...
Faberge, Wealthy Russians Face Tests at London Auctions Bloomberg
all 3 news articles


Galleries wonder whether fair will draw collectors
CNNMoney.com - 4 hours ago
Sluggish sales at recent auctions in New York may be a sign that the years where collectors paid exorbitant prices for high art are over. ...
Roundup of events during Art Basel Miami Beach San Jose Mercury News
all 25 news articles


African Tea Prices Fall 14 Percent at Weekly Auction in Kenya
Bloomberg - 20 hours ago
21 (Bloomberg) -- African tea prices fell in Kenya, shedding 14 percent at a weekly sale in Mombasa, according to the founding broker of the auctions. ...
African Tea Prices Post Biggest Fall in 4 Years (Update1) Bloomberg
all 3 news articles


US company auctions 300000 UN carbon credits
Reuters - Nov 20, 2008
NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - US-based online exchange World Energy Solutions Inc said on Thursday it has completed an auction for carbon credits that can be ...


ABC News

The painful consequences of abandoning asset auctions
Economist, UK - Nov 20, 2008
Holders of toxic mortgage-backed securities had pinned their hopes on the American government’s plan to buy large piles of the stuff through auctions as ...
Fox Biz Anchor 'Frustrated' by Misuse of TARP Business Media Institute
More Evidence Of TARP Error istockAnalyst.com (press release)
Credit Markets Unlock but Remain Vulnerable to LIBOR, TARP and ... Sovereign Society
Structured Credit Investor (registration)
all 260 news articles


GeoCities 2.0 auctions self on eBay
Register, UK - 1 hour ago
In the summer of 2006, at the height of the digerati's Web 2.0 frenzy, social networking startup Kiko.com sold itself on eBay. ...

Auctions - Google News

home | site map
© 2006