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

---

Drop Shipping Secrets and Sources Revealed

Unfortunately for those just breaking into the wholesaling business, drop-shipping source information is jealously guarded. With a firm understanding of the service they offer, it isn't hard... Read More

The 3 Minute Auction and Minute Auction Explained

Am I the only person who doesn't know what a 3 minute auction is? Looking for fresh content for my site, I discover that "minute auction," or... Read More

Use Auction Templates For eBay Success!

Auction templates are simply a must for successful online auction selling. One day I spent approximately 45 minutes writing a listing for an item that would make... Read More

eBay Auction Bidding Strategies--Overcoming the most Frustrating Situation on eBay

The Problem...It's happened to the best of us.You've been watching the auction all week, and finally you're about to claim your prize--a rare bronze statue from the... Read More

Game Theory, Nobel Prize, & Auctions - Auction Primer Series ? Part 1

William Vickrey, highly regarded as the founder of auction theory, was an economics professor at Columbia University when he published two papers outlining his views on auctions:"Counterspeculation,... Read More

How to Double or Even Triple Your Net Profit Selling on eBay

eBay Search tips and secretsThis is an example of how I used the Ebay search tab to triple my sales and profit in 1 month!I had found... Read More

How To Cut Your eBay Fees By More Than 90%

Now, are you ready for the REAL TRUTH about selling on eBay?It's simple; don't list too many items for sale using their auction format. Instead, set up... Read More

Ebay And Dropshipping, A Marriage Made In Heaven?

eBay is the 'BEST' opportunity you can use right now to make money online in the dropshipping business from the comfort of your own home.Thousands of people... Read More

The Top Sellers On eBay & What We Can Learn From Them

A fascinating eBay case study is the number one seller on eBay, a little outfit called Marie's CDs, but is better known under its old name "1... Read More

The Drop Shipping Business

You have suddenly found the perfect business and you are all geared up to make lots of money. You have see the ads about Drop shipping and... Read More

eBay The Mega Marketplace For Everyone

eBay is one of the world's largest market places with over 35 million visitors per day. That first sentence is worth repeating because I want you to... Read More

From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: The Devil Is In The Details

If you've ever heard the expression "the devil is in the details," you can probably already guess how it relates to today's lesson. The bulk of the... Read More

5 Secrets for Increasing Auction Profits

1. Include your ebay seller name, store, and website information with all items you ship. THis can encourage re-orders and help the buyer leave feedback. I remember... Read More

Your Junk is Another Persons Gold

Saving money can be quite hard to do if you are on a tight budget, but all of us can do it very simply by selling the... Read More

Turn Your eBay Experience Into Even More Profit

Everyone's talking about eBay these days. With the frequency of the TV advertising campaigns increasing, and no sign of any sizable competitors the eBay empire is only... Read More

Instructions on How to Put Picture on Ebay

Like many folks, you have heard of online auctions. Heck, even non-computer users have heard of Ebay. Everyone starts out as a bidder. The brave move on... Read More

Top Secret Ebay Powerseller Technique: Classifieds Produce Auction Power

I was browsing through all of the classified sections, and stumbled on Wanted to Buy. I noticed that people were placing ads for items they wanted to... Read More

What Ebay Can Teach Us About Success

I flew back to New York from Atlanta a few weeks ago and picked up 'Business 2.0' magazine for the flight.It was an excellent issue, but something... Read More

Dont Be A Victim Of Online Auction Fraud

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) reported that last year 7.7 million dollars was lost through online auction scams. The actual losses are much greater. Most auction... Read More

Taxing eBay Part Deux

When my column on paying income tax on eBay profits ran it brought a wave of emails on whether you were required to report income earned from... Read More

7 Steps to Easier EBay Shipping

If you're like me, you probably hate packing and shipping the things you sell on eBay.Don't get me wrong, I love selling on eBay. I just don't... Read More

What YOU Must Know About The Advantages And Pitfalls Of Dropshipping

The following may be the most important information about dropshipping you will find.Dropshipping can be a great way to get started with your online venture. Just be... Read More

How Pop-Culture Collectibles Can Increase Your Online Auction Profits

How Pop Culture collectibles can increase your Online Auction profitsWith the increasingly competitive environment for products to sell in the online auction arena, sellers are getting more... Read More

Nine Simple eBay Selling Hints

Some of these eBay hints will save you money, others will result in higher prices. Either way, these will help you run more profitable eBay auctions.1. Write... Read More

6 Reasons Why an eBay Business is the Easiest and Safest Home Business to Start

Calling internet auctions an "Entrepreneur's Dream" isn't poetic license or part of the get-rich-quick rhetoric. Net auctions are the simplest, easiest way on this planet for the... Read More

Online Auctions Business

Online auction sites are a great way to find a bargain on almost anything and an excellent way of getting the best price for selling something of... Read More