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 weeksto 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:

Business Recorder

Treasuries Decline on Greek Debt Talks, Three-Year Note Auction
BusinessWeek
“The market's trading a little heavy here,” said Anthony Cronin, a trader at Societe Generale SA in New York, one of the primary dealers that are required to bid at Treasury auctions. “There's concern that given the positive tone to the news in the ...
Treasury Auctions $32 Billion Worth Of Three-Year NotesNASDAQ
Treasury yields ease ahead of U.S. debt auctionMarketWatch
U.S. 10-Year Yields Reach 1-Week High on Greek Debt ProgressSan Francisco Chronicle
Bloomberg -Washington Post
all 180 news articles »


Agriculture.com

Land rent auctions 'stunning'
Agriculture.com
The farm land broker and manager said it all started when he saw a copy of the sale bill from a series of farm land rent auctions held around Iowa between Thursday, February 2, and Saturday, February 4. It was the first time he'd seen such an auction, ...

and more »


Ritchie Bros. To Conduct First Tipton Auction Of 2012 The Day After World Ag Expo
Daily Markets
participate in the Tipton auction in-person, online in real time at www.rbauction.com or by proxy. Martella, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “The other manufacturers. We'll continue to have new equipment items added daily right up to ...

and more »


Telegraph.co.uk

Green auction expected to raise millions for environment
Reuters
By Chris Michaud | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bidders will be able to buy fine art, a vacation in the Maldives, or an internship with designer Donna Karan and help the planet at the same time in Christie's annual Green Auction, which is expected reap ...
Christie's Elizabeth Taylor auction boosts digital biddingTelegraph.co.uk

all 20 news articles »


MarketInvoice Completes Five Million Pounds of Auctions Within 12 Months of Launch
Sacramento Bee
By MarketInvoice Ltd Online auction platform MarketInvoice has completed over five million pounds worth of auctions to UK SMEs within a year of launch. With over 150 auctions to over 60 UK SMEs, MarketInvoice has helped many small businesses within the ...

and more »


Hindustan Times

Sahara open to negotiations as far as Pune Warriors is concerned
Times of India
Sahara India ended its 11-year-old financial ties with the BCCI and also pulled out of the IPL auction last weekend after it accused the Cricket Board of not giving due consideration to its genuine grievances. "If really needed I will not give a second ...
Open for talks on IPL but no sponsorship deal: Subroto RoyEconomic Times
I Hate You (Like I Love You). Subrata Roy and the BCCIForbes India (blog)
Shock before IPL auctions, Sahara dumps Pune, Team IndiaHindustan Times
TruthDive -Cricket Country
all 644 news articles »


IBNLive.com

Centre may fix 2G auction price at Rs 12000 cr
Deccan Herald
At Rs 12000 crore, the new auction price will be a whopping 7 times higher than Rs 1651 crore companies paid in 2008, but the reasons for fixing such a high price are many, said the DoT official. One of the main reasons is that, given the possible ...
Level of competition & reserve price need to be simultaneously determinedEconomic Times
India Telecom Regulator Reviewing Stand on RatesWall Street Journal
Spectrum sale seen to swell coffersCalcutta Telegraph

all 59 news articles »


Inside INdiana Business

Goodwill to manage state's unclaimed property auctions
nwitimes.com
INDIANAPOLIS | Unclaimed property turned over to the Indiana attorney general from forgotten safe deposit boxes and other sources can now be purchased through an online auction site run by Goodwill Industries. Items up for auction this week include ...
State auctions unclaimed itemsWISH

all 5 news articles »


Former Hungry Peddler restaurant set for auction
NewsOK.com
The auction starts Thursday at 10 am Everything in the building, including wall décor, a phone booth and an antique bar, will be sold and the structure will be razed. BY JENNIFER PALMER jpalmer@opubco.com Leave a comment The former Hungry Peddler, ...

and more »


Tattoo Auction Benefits Puppies in Montrose
The Daily Cortlandt
by Jessica Glenza (email) 14 hours ago MONTROSE, NY – Charity auctions can mean prohibitive admission fees or stuffy dress codes, but in a taboo-testing eBay auction, bidders will compete for eight hours of ink-on-skin artistry to benefit Recycled Paws ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006