Online Auction Articles Make Money on eBay and Other Online Auctions With our informative educational auction articles enjoy
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay - with a Focus on Bead Work-part II
Date: Saturday May 19, 2012
Continued from Page 1
"Extra" Features
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. The next issue at hand is using ebay's features to your advantage. Always, always use the gallery pic option. It's only 25 cents, and most people in the Handmade Lampwork category use it, so if you don't you may be skipped over. Many customers have posted everywhere that they only look at the gallery view on auctions. If you don't use this option, you are missing out on a lot of customer traffic, and that means fewer bids and lower sales.
Sometimes, it may bring more traffic if you use the Featured Plus on one auction and then have several other auctions going at the same time. Using the subtitle feature on a couple of auctions, or the bold feature can also help. Use sparingly, though, because those get pricey if you do them all the time.
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. If you haven't created your own auction layout, use one of ebay's. They aren't bad, and having some sort of visual layout is
a huge plus. Or, learn HTML to create your own layout. However, *don't go overboard*. The customer is there to see your
beads, not all the bells and whistles of your auction layout.
Go easy on the images, and stay away from java-scripts as much
as possible. Some of that stuff can actually crash a customer's system, and then you can be sure they will never come back.
Commonly used unnecessary features to *stay away from* are:
Huge, bright text
Trailing cursors
Blinking or animated images and text
Music
Marquee lines (text moving on the screen)
Screen fading scripts (they make the screen change in odd ways when someone leaves the auction)
Slideshows (auction lister programs like Andale and Vendio provide these)
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. Keep any images that are not your beads small and fast loading. If you have a logo, make it small or short so that the customer does not have to scroll a huge long way to get to your bead pics. This is what works for me, and what I am drawn to when looking at auctions.
Reputation
When you first start at ebay, you're starting at the very bottom. You'll have low or no feedback - no one will know you. You
have to build a positive reputation to attract buyers, and that's no small task on ebay these days. Your feedback rating is
really very important to potential buyers. Start by making some small purchases to get a few positive feedbacks and to get
your feet wet on ebay. Buying is the best way to get to know the climate.
Leave feedback for the transactions you take part
in, and hopefully you will get some good feedback in return. Then, start listing a few smaller things here and there, and
follow the rest of the advice here to get a good start. At first, keep your expectations low. You will sell things at a lower
price at first - almost everyone goes through this at the beginning. It takes time to build a good feedback rating, and even
more time to build up a good customer base. Be patient and keep trying.
Know Your Market
The next issue is a touchy subject for many of us. But one that really needs to be addressed, IMO. Market Research and
understanding your target audience. In this case, you are looking for people to buy your beads on ebay. So you need to listen
to what people want. There's a happy medium between total artistic individuality and giving the customer what they want.
Here's a trade secret for you.
I make what I like. But I also pay a lot of attention to what the customer likes. If pink is
in, I incorporate the color into my work. I pair it with colors I think look great with pink. I experiment with colors I
might not normally put with pink just to see what's cookin'.
Research, all the time!! If your market is the jewelry artist/designer, check and see what people are wearing on TV. Check to
see what your friends and family like to wear. Look at bead - craft - art magazines, fashion ads, awards shows. If your main
market is the bead collector, check to see what shapes and colors are hot right now for the collector. Then, incorporate that
knowledge into your own artistic expression.
For instance, I don't like making lentils. But they are hot hot hot right now
(still!). But I only make them every so often. So I check to see what other shapes might be hot, and go with those. Shapes in
general are doing well right now. I love to make cubes and square tabs, so I stick with those!
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. Hang out where your customers hang out. Get to know them. You'll gain knowledge and friendship at the same time.
Here are a couple of examples:
The ebay community jewelry category board. I read there from time to time, to check the current "pulse". Most lampworkers
don't post there, so I post on occasion just to let them know I am around. We post auctions in the Jewelry category - doesn't
it make sense to see what people are up to there?
There are a surprising number of potential customers who read and post to
that board. It's main discussions are about gemstones, but a lot of them seem to really like pretty sparkly things, and when
they notice what I do, they comment about it!
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. The ebay community bead groups. These are new, and right now there are three that I know of: BeadHive, Beads, Beads and More Beads, and Lampworked Beads. There are a lot of members on each board, and each has its own culture. I don't have time for all three, so I stick with one of them. I have gotten to know the people in BeadHive, and they've gotten to know me and my work. They are a fun group of people!
Also, the rec.crafts.beads newsgroup. This is a public group and is **hugely** populated with people who adore beads. And
they will let you know what they like in a heartbeat (and what they don't like!). If ever you needed opinions from a
customer's point of view, that's the place to get them. Don't have a newsgroup reader? Go to Google Groups and enter
rec.crafts.beads into the search.
Who knows - you may make a few more friends while you're at it. But please, please get to
know what newsgroups are about before posting. Read for a day or two to get a feel for the group. It's fast paced and has its
own etiquette and culture.
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. I know a lot of people frown on making beads that other people want you to make, and instead wish to make only what you like. This is fine. But please don't complain about sales if you aren't willing to consider your customers' desires. There is a happy medium. You can do what you want *and* do what they want. You can take risks and still have high sales.
Targeting your Audience
Once you know who your audience is, it's time to get in touch with them when you have beads available for sale! The best way
to do this is to start a mailing list. (But please, be sure that people give you permission before adding them to any list or
you can get kicked off ebay.) You can do this by putting a link on your About Me page on ebay or on your website. Link to a
Yahoo group or other kind of email list that you control.
There are lots of places to create a mailing list - perhaps the
easiest is just to start one in your emailing program. Do some research on Google if you are unfamiliar with how mailing
lists work. Then, when you have items available, you'll have a pool of people to email. You can create weekly or monthly
newsletters, specials, promotions, whatever you like.
Another great way to get people to look at your items is to create business cards with your ebay ID and email address (as
well as any other info you wish) printed on them. Pass them out to friends, and mail them out with your beads to customers. I
get mine from Vista Print - they have very good prices and high quality cards.
They will even let you upload your own artwork
- if you can figure out the little card creating program on their website. It's a bit klunky, but does the job.
Having a website is another way to get in touch with your buyers. Do lots of research, learn HTML and create your own, or if
you have the means, pay for someone to create one for you.
(My friend and mentor Paulette does fabulous web design for
artists.) As an alternative, look to ebay's About Me page creation for a small simple place to promote your ebay auctions.
Basically, marketing is very time consuming and can be difficult to do. However, the more you market, the more buyers you will have - period. So it's in your best interest to try a few of these things. It's a pain - it's my least favorite part of selling beads! But it's worth the time and effort, I promise. Ebay may bring some traffic to your auctions, but your own marketing activities will create the all important "word of mouth" that you need to succeed.
Another touchy subject is that of talent and design. These cannot be taught, in my opinion. They have to already be there.
You can bring them out by observing your surroundings and finding beauty. But if you have no eye for color or design, you may
not be able to make a whole lot of money in this business. Of course, this art is not always about business or making money.
You have to really love what you're doing.
If you're totally in love with glass, fire and color, it will show in your work
and you will have higher sales. If you are just doing it for money, I don't believe you will really succeed. Move on to
something you love. Life is too short!
Be prepared to pay money for some of the things I have mentioned above. I pay for premium glass colors, tools, equipment, web
hosting, a decent digital camera, lighting, photo software, gallery pics in the auctions, etc. You don't have to spend a
fortune, but spending a little can be really worth it in the end.
If you aren't willing or cannot spend a little money on
your business, you will probably not do as well. If you can't afford the necessary tools to do this art safely and properly,
I don't think you should really be doing it.
Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay. One last and very important point - Ebay is not impossible. But *be prepared* to work very, very hard, and for long hours -
especially at first. Don't expect immediate success - it will take some time. And try to keep a positive attitude! You cannot
go into this with the attitude that you can make quick and easy money, and then when you don't succeed, get down on yourself
for it. It doesn't work that way, and if you look at ebay often, you will see tons of evidence of that.
As a matter of fact,
you *should* look at ebay often if you are trying to sell there. Look at your competition. Of course, don't copy their beads,
but look at what sells and more importantly, look at what does *not* sell. Think about why some sellers continuously have a
hard time. Think about why some sellers seem to have unlimited success.
Does any of this make any sense? I hope so. Am I giving you trade secrets? Well, no. This is all common sense, and came from reading everything I possibly could on the subject, and from my own experiences. My auctions do well. Almost every time. The above is why. I hope some of these things will work for you. Selling Handmade Crafts on eBay.
"Thank you for reading our Online Auction articles. We have other Auction Articles you will enjoy here on this site as well, come back any time...you are most welcome".
DISCOVER Jim Cockrum's eBook "The Silent Sales Machine Hiding On eBay" will teach you how to make money on eBay even if your items ARE NOT selling Simply amazing...and simple..The number one book about e-bay Click Here To Download Now
AuctionAds: Increase the bid on your site's income!
Free auction tools:
- Auction Typo - Find A Misspelt Bargain In Seconds
- Auction Lotsnipe - Free eBay Auction Sniper
- Auction Ad Creator - Free Auction Ad Generator
- Auction Venues - Free Auction Site Directory...
- AuctioneStores - Free eBay Stores Directory..
- AuctioneZone - Free Auction Articles...
- Auction Piccies - Free Auction Image Hosting
- Free Auction Templates - Create great looking auction templates & listings
- Feedback - Free eBay Feedback Display Tool
- You A Collectible Expert?
- How to turn your antiques and collectible knowledge into an online business, and claim your expert status.
- Overcoming eBay Seller Frustrations
- I asked my readers to tell me about the frustrations they encounter when selling on eBay. This article explains the frustrations and my suggestions for overcoming them.
- The Drop Shipping Myth Explained
- The myth of drop shipping profits on eBay explained. Why a drop ship list or membership site won't help you make money on eBay
- Advice for Writing and Selling Ebooks On EBay
- I got two questions from readers this week about eBay and ebooks. Questions like these are a good way of finding out what you want to know so I'll assume others are interested and spend some time answering them.
- How To Sell Antiques On eBay
- Are your antiques not bringing what you expect on eBay? Here's 23 tips to help you get higher bids when selling antiques on eBay.
- Dealing with Pests When Buying Antiques and Collectibles
- Once you start running ads to buy antiques and collectibles, you will start to get nuisance calls. These are people who call for reasons other than to offer you something. Here's some tips for dealing with these pests.
- Dealing With eBay Changes 2012
- How to deal with eBay changes for 2012. This page covers changes in the 2012 eBay Spring Seller Update and has links to all articles on IWantCollectibles about working within the changes. Also covers 2011 changes.
- How To Learn About Antiques
- The best way to learn about antiques and collectibles is to handle them. Here is a short course to help you learn about antiques.
- Review of eAhoy - The Community Driven Marketplace
- I wasted my time looking at eAhoy.com so you won't have to waste your time. The site has no buyers and only 36 sellers.
- What to Sell On eBay?
- The question what to sell on eBay is best answered by looking at who you are. Don't look for profitable items to sell on eBay, look at yourself and the products will be clear.
- eBay Powersellers - Are your kids orphans?
- Being an eBay powerseller like a hamster on a wheel. He keeps running, but doesn't get anywhere. Did you build a job on eBay, or a lifestyle?
- Review Of Pete Bruckshaw's Auction Arbitrage Secret
- One of the biggest problems eBay sellers have is finding products to sell on eBay. Pete Bruckshaw has come up with some interesting tactics. Pete's been selling on eBay since 2004, and has perfected an interesting way of getting products to sell. Basically, he buys them on eBay from sellers who make mistakes in their listings. This is called eBay arbitrage.
- How To Sell Antiques
- A quick guide to selling antiques and collectibles. A lot of people think of eBay as the place to sell antiques, but there are more options. This page explains how to sell antiques in 7 different ways.
- Free eBay Shipping Calculator
- Here's a free and easy to use USPS shipping calculator. With this calculator, you can easily find out the shipping cost and options for any eBay item. All you need to know is the buyer's zip code and the weight.
- Finding Products To Sell On eBay
- How to find products to sell on eBay is the most common question I get from my readers. This page has links to all the articles and reports I've written about finding eBay products.
- Using eBay To Meet Your Goals
- When we sell on eBay we do more than offer products, we use eBay to move us towards goals. This article explores common eBay goals and the skills needed to meet your goals.
- Detailed Seller Ratings Advice For 2012
- eBay gives discounts on final value fees to sellers who maintain high seller ratings. This article explains how to get buyers to leave you better DSR ratings so you'll get the discounts. Updated December 2011 to reflect three and a half years of DSR results.
- Understanding eBay Changes 2011
- This page covers eBay changes and has links to all articles on IWantCollectibles about working within the changes. Sign up for my free newsletter for articles covering new changes as they are announced.
- How To Act At Antiques Shows
- How To be an antique dealer Part 2: Why being a friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable antique dealer will pay off in the long run
- 7 Habits Of Successful Antiques Dealers
- Over the years some of the antiques dealers I met stood out. One of the things that makes them stand out is they have continued to buy and sell items for decades. This article examines the common habits of successful dealers.
- Tips for Starting an eBay Consignment Business
- Selling on consignment is the perfect way to start on eBay. This article is an introduction to consignment selling, and explains what you'll need to be successful. First in a series on eBay Consignment.
- eBay Trading Assistant Tips
- Why you should become a trading assistant, and how to set up your account. Additional articles in the series on eBay consignment cover: consignment agreements, contracts, and inventory forms; starting a consignment business; consignment fees; and signing up people for your services.
- Increase Your eBay Sales Without Working Harder
- Get more sales on eBay with these simple tips.
- Uses For eBay Watch Lists
- When you look at your listings on your My EBay Item's I'm Selling Page there is a column that shows you how many people have looked at it and how many people are watching your listing. This article explains how to use the number of watchers to help us get higher amounts in our auctions.
- Review of Jim Cockrum's "Silent Sales Machine" eBook
- Jim Cockrum has released a newly updated version of his Silent Sales Machine book. I've been telling my readers to get his book for years. It's that good. The new version has some great additions.