Best Selling Crafts
So
which ones are they?
Where is the 'list' of best selling crafts?
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What is or has been your best selling craft? Or best craft selling experience? Or worst? Or funniest?! Share here! |
Wouldn't it be lovely if there was an easy answer to this? But then of course, the market would become completely flooded with the so-called best sellers and they'd soon lose their appeal, then we'd have to come up with a new list!
That's not bad news, though - it's actually very good news! The fact that there aren't just a few items which can be pinpointed as best sellers means that you have an opportunity to find your place in the market. And of course, the market evolves all the time.
The first place to start in choosing a craft to sell is with yourself. What is it that you most love to make, and that you're very good at?
There's no point in choosing to sell a craft that you have little or no passion for or experience with. Even if you're not going to be selling crafts you make yourself, you still need to have enthusiasm for the products to get customers excited enough to buy them.
Let's take a look at some of the things you need to take into consideration when creating your range of best selling crafts:
Best Selling Crafts are... Popular and/or Useful
Which
in itself could have a lot
of
subheadings! How do you know what is popular? The evidence is right in
front of you, so just look around – investigate what seem to
be best selling crafts on websites that sell craft items, at stores
that sell craft items, and even in non-craft related retail stores to
get ideas for items you can create that follow style trends.
Consider
target audience (see next sub
heading for
more on this), which will help to narrow down your niche. If, for
example, you choose to target women, think of what sells well in stores
targeting women, such has handbags or jewelry. Take it a step further
and target moms – if you have children, you’ll know
how much you love buying all sorts of goodies for them, and from a
marketing point of view, children have incredible buying power
(“mom… I really love that cute handmade
t-shirt…”).
Handmade crafts
have escalated in
popularity
recently, because people want something different and unique, so
capitalize on this. While you’re considering all the angles
and deciding which craft items are going to be right for you to sell,
remember to keep within what you love to do and what you know how to do
well.
Best Selling Crafts are... Well Targeted
Ah...
the jargon of
advertisers/marketers!
But, they have a point - who is your target market? Your
products are not going to appeal to absolutely everybody, so focus on a
niche market to benefit from the most sales. Once you have this
established, your promotional activities must be driven towards that
audience, and your craft could become the best selling craft in that
particular niche.
Best Selling Crafts are... Well Priced
This
doesn't necessarily mean cheap. You can have a quality item that
customers know has taken thought, creativity, effort, time and expense
to make. As long as it appeals to an upper-income target market and is
priced competitively to similar items, it will sell.
Of course, cheap is also an option - these items are usually fast and easy to make, and will appeal to the 'bargain hunters'. This is a competitive area though, especially when it comes to imports.
Best Selling Crafts are... Easy to Make
Or,
at least relatively easy to
make. If
something takes really long to make, you might be missing out on sales
because you can’t fill orders quickly - best selling crafts
means lots of orders. If your item is something you’ve been
doing for ages, then you can probably make it a lot quicker than
someone just starting.
If you’re going
to try new
products,
practice a lot first until you get to the point where you can create
them fairly quickly and easily – and at the same time, you
can establish how popular a new item is, by making a few and giving
them to friends and family, judging their reactions (ask for brutally
honest opinions!), or even wearing/using/displaying your own creation
and seeing how many comments you get about it.
Best Selling Crafts are... Unique
Take
candles, for example – you find them everywhere, yet
they can still be considered as one of the best selling crafts. If
you’re going to sell something that is popular but that there
is also a large supply of, you have to come up with a way to make it
unique. A new shape, embellishments not used before, etc.
A great way to make something unique is to personalize it. Offer your customers the opportunity to have their order personalized in some way, or offer them the opportunity to get something custom made especially for them, in the style and colors they prefer (for example, create some sort of swatch they can use to choose the different parts that will make up their item). Personalization is great not only for someone ordering for themselves, but also someone who’s ordering a gift for someone special.
Best Selling Crafts are... Cost Effective
Find
suppliers that can provide
you with your stock and materials at
wholesale prices. This may be difficult if you’re not buying
in large quantities, but because crafts are so popular, you should be
able to find a few great wholesale sources. Let them know that you'll
soon have a range of best selling crafts on your hands, so you'll be a
great customer!
Here are a few ideas of some popular craft
items that can easily be uniquely crafted and turned into best sellers:
Home
Candles, placemats and
related kitchen items, cushion covers,
quilts
and throws, lamps (stands, shades or both), book ends, photo frames,
potpourri and other scented items.
Clothing
Apart
from individual items (dresses, shirts, etc),
children’s clothing is always popular, and clothing
accessories such as shawls, scarves, and belts that can be mixed and
matched with different outfits.
Accessories
Women
love accessories! Handbags, purses, hats and jewelry (see
individual heading further down).
Stationery
Books,
book covers, calendars, gift cards, note cards, to-do lists,
embellished pens and pencils.
Toys
The
usual stuffed toys and dolls etc. can work well if made unique, but
you could also consider handmade educational toys.
Special
Occasions
Bridal gifts and favors, baby shower and new
baby gifts, greeting cards, Christmas decorations, heart items for
valentine’s day, mother’s and father’s
day gifts.
Jewelry
Earrings,
bracelets and necklaces, even jewelry cases and jewelry
holders.
These
are just a few ideas and certainly doesn't cover everything.
But don't go out there and try to do everything! A reminder here to stick with what you know and love, then concentrate on one or two target markets with a niche range of craft products aimed at those particular buyers.
What is or has been your best selling craft? Or best craft selling experience? Or worst? Or funniest?! Share here! |