To market, to market

I’ve steadily been preparing to sell my handmade jewellery at a Sydney market. This is something I’ve wanted to do for at least 9 months, but life has been busy. So far this year… I’ve quit a job, started a job, started planning a wedding and have now just moved house. All of this whilst trying to pursue my love of jewellery making.

I’m now in the process of setting a market date. I’m thinking before school starts in 2010… but I’m limited to a Saturday (most common market day in Sydney). I think I have a wide range of earrings now- various colours, shapes and sizes. I estimate I have over 200 pairs, but still need to do a final count.

I’ve also created a market preparation checklist that others might find useful.

So, here is my checklist of things I hope to achieve before holding my very first market stall.

1. Book the venue

2. Organise display stands

3. Organise tables, chairs, mirrors

4. Create signs and price tags

5. Organise a safe and secure place to store money (e.g. a small container that can be locked)

6. Organise flyers, or business cards, that passers-by can pick up to find out more information

That’s about all I have for now. I really can’t wait to write a post about my first market stall experience. Hopefully it will be soon!

The dilemma of online clutter and being ‘different’

The internet, in my opinion, is in a state of disarray. It is a space (cyberspace) filled with a multitude of things stored in a disorderly fashion. To put it simply – it is chaos. And this chaos creates hurdles for anyone trying to send a message – about  anything!

I just typed “earrings” into Google to see what search results I would get. Not one of the top 20 listings is of someone who makes their own jewellery! I could have gone beyond the first 20 but I was starting to get depressed.

So what does this mean for people like me who are trying to bring their craft online?

It means hard work, lateral thinking and trying our utmost to be different. It means becoming the red flower in a sea of sunflowers.

I personally have found being ‘different’ online hard. Not in terms of making my jewellery…I think my range is different and has it’s own uniqueness. But, when it comes to selling, marketing, advertising and generally getting my stuff out there, it’s hard to be different.

So, perhaps I should just start by organising the internet first, and then get back to promoting my jewellery. That sounds alittle easier…

How to start selling on eBay

To date, eBay has been my most successful means of selling jewellery.

So, here is my short list of selling basics for new sellers:

1. You must create an eBay account. This is a fairly straight forward process and the site guides beginners well. Just click “register” at the top of the screen and you’re on your way.

2. Start the selling process by researching similar items you hope to sell, that are currently up for sale. Be the customer – use the search terms you would use to look for this item. Then, use those same terms ( if they return any search results) to name your own item.

3. You have to choose a means to sell your item. Buyers can choose to buy the item instantly “buy it now”, or they can bid at auction “auction format”. You need to set a price for both methods, either a set amount for Buy it Now, or a reserve price for auction.

4. Create a new listing. If you are creating a listing for the first time go through each step slowly and be patient. If you incorrectly describe your item or leave out important information, you won’t build up positive feedback from buyers. Think about the title and give a comprehensive description of the item for sale. Be sure to include a great photo of the item and then set a price. You will also need to research and think about postage and payment options, but the site does guide you well through this part.

5. You’re almost there – be sure to preview your listing before clicking submit. Check for spelling or grammatical errors. Ebay buyers look through many listings and fast. Your listing must be easy to read and include a big clear picture.

6. Click submit! You have just listed an item for sale. Over time you might want to introduce some html formatting into your listing and experiment with your photography. But all of this comes gradually with practice.

There are also some eBay listing programs – like, Auctiva, that allow you to create professional looking eBay listings offline. But, whilst these programs are useful, they are not essential.

So, be patient and practice and your eBay items will run out the door.

Selling on Etsy

I’m not ashamed to admit I’m new to selling on Etsy. In fact, I recently signed-up more out of curiosity than to actually sell!

At first glance, there are some obvious disadvantages being an Australian seller on Etsy. For a start, all items are listed in US dollars. So this means international sellers, like me, need to sell in a different currency. This difference needs to be taken into account when price setting. Also, unlike eBay, Etsy items are not sold at auction, so there is no reserve price.

Shipping costs also need to be carefully considered. If your item does sell you could be sending it anywhere from Alaska to Zambia.

Etsy’s seller fees appear reasonable and competitive compared with other online selling platforms. Etsy only charges US$0.20 for each listing. But,  if your item does not sell you can’t receive a re-list refund. And, for each item that does sell, Etsy takes a 3.5% sales fee. http://www.etsy.com/fees.php

Along with the fairly reasonable fee structure, each Etsy seller is given their own Etsy Store with their username in the URL. I have found this particularly appealing and look forward to building up my Etsy store over the next few months. http://www.beadedambition.etsy.com.php

If you have had any experience selling on Etsy, or, are just as curious about the whole process as me, drop me a line on Twitter @beadedambition, or by email, beadedambition@gmail.com.

I’m also keen to hear from any fellow jewellery makers out there in cyberspace!