A great number of disappointed and discouraged eBay listers, craftsmen trying to sell their products gaining no interest nor bids on them, will sadly answer : it isn't.
But statistics says : it is. Every nine seconds a crafts-related item is sold on eBay, daily. Last year sales of crafts items were up by almost 60% compared to the previous year.
So, this takes us back to our question : can selling crafts on this market-place be remunerative? here are some things you should consider when thinking about selling craft on eBay:
Creativity can be considered the
key-factor Any internet user can get an account on eBay, but a creative glance will make you see and exploit both the evident and the hidden chances, which will turn a "user's account" into a "seller's account".
Let's make an example, to make this clearer. Let's consider the months preceding last Christmas : thousands of Xmas-related items sold on eBay every day.
In "Sell your crafts on eBay" we find out that over 4000 "Christmas ornament" auctions concluded successfully, with an average price of just over $ 17, between the middle of of February and the middle of March of this year. How much money can a clever craftsman
make yearly, just knowing how to draw this information out ?
Spelling impact This can be considered a basic factor which strongly affects items' profitability : don't underestimate it.
Check the demand In eBay's site search the words that best describe your crafst-related item; then check the links that will appear (on the left side of the results page) and click them to see "completed items" . This way you will get an idea about the demand for your kind of products. You should repeat this search twice a month, updating your information.
What will your gross gain be?
How much money will this site's users be happy to pay for your products ? Check the "highest price" link and find it out. Have a look to the selling prices for items like yours, compare them, and determine whether your selling will be remunerative enough for you or not.
Then, what will your net gain be? Determine your "profitability index": how much money will you earn on your products ? Consider both your material and labor costs, and define a minimum selling price which will let you cover the expenses you sustained, at least, and then define what your profit can be.
Observe and learn from popular
sellers, the ones who succeed in their business. Look at successful closed autions that dealt with similar products and examine their winning marketing strategies : how the headlines are built up,the use of key-words; the detailed items' descriptions ; the eBay special features used, if any (images displayed in the gallery, featured listings, bold or plain characters, colours, etc.).
Also factors like auction's starting price, what day of the week it was displayed, and the lenght of negotiation should be considered.
