Sell Your Crafts Online

Where can I sell my crafts?

Of all the questions we get asked here at the Papier Mache Resource, one of the most frequent is “where can I sell my crafts?” There is no magic answer to this unfortunately as anyone in the art/craft world will tell you. A lot depends on what part of the world you are in, what sort of area you live in and the kind of items you make.

If you consider though, selling your crafts online – the world will be your oyster! Your works of art will be seen by many people in all the far-flung places of the world, people who would never get to see them under normal circumstances. You are sure to find someone out there who is interested in what you have to sell.

Where can I sell my crafts online?

Basically, you have to choose whether to sell one item at a time (such as on an online auction site) or to permanently display your work 24 hours a day, by having your own online “craft shop” and make your own website. Below are some of your options.

Online auction sites

Although I have no experience of this myself, I have spoken to a lot of people that have attempted to sell their work on auction sites, the best known being Ebay. A very popular site, it attracts many thousands of people every day from many different countries. While some have had some sales, the majority have had little or no success. This is possibly due to the fact that the items are only displayed for a maximum of 10 days at a time, and that maybe not too many people log on to the site in search of new art work. That might change of course as more people use it for this purpose. The people who do seem to have had some luck, have managed to get a bit of a “following” and are usually helped by having their own website where other examples of their work are on display and often have a link to their Ebay auctions. Although I don’t use Ebay to sell my work, I do use and recommend it for buying and selling collector’s items. I’ve bought some fabulous items from there and have found it to be quite addictive!

Tips for Ebay:

1 - Do a bit of homework. Search the site for similar items to give you an idea what section to advertise your work in. If you put it in the wrong category you will be wasting your time. Consider putting your crafts under the “self-promoting artists” section.

2 - Write a few notes about yourself and your work in your own “ME” page. This is easy to do and free.

3 - Don’t necessarily put “papier mache” in the title of your description. Not everyone is educated in the fine art side of papier mache!

To join Ebay – click here

Make Your Own Website

Owning your own website to promote your work will give you a touch of professionalism and you will be in full control of the layout and design as well as the content.

However, you will need to have some knowledge of HTML or know/pay someone who does, to build and then maintain the site for you. You will need to buy a domain name and find a web host. Some ISP’s provide free web hosting services, although these are usually somewhat limited and your web address may look unprofessional.

Another Option

If the thought of having your own website appeals to you, but you don’t want the hassle and expense of making your own, Craft24 provides the best of both worlds. You can create your own customised site at the touch of a button and have your own web address. Craft24 is not quite ready for launch, but I have been trialing the system and think it is fantastic. They provide customisable, professional sites linked to a main page to ensure that plenty of traffic passes through.