And my goal is to move from NC back home to Tallahassee, FL. Which takes green papers.
Part time jobs are hard to come by these days, so I'm thinking of opening my own Etsy shop to sell things I make. I LOVE working with my hands. I love medieval/fantasy stuff. Last year I made three items I am very proud of. Two small beds for 6 inch action figures, and a castle that I bought from a craft store and remodeled to look more like a real medieval castle.
Attached below are the pictures. What I'm hoping for is a bit of market research here today. I remember when I was looking for beds like these, and the only ones I found that I wanted were very expensive. One was $75; it was beautiful, truly, but $75???? Who can afford that? So I made my own.
I guess my ideal consumer would be someone who wants something whimsical for themselves or an older child, but doesn't want to make it themselves, and certainly doesn't want to spend $75 or more on it.
So I'm tossing this out to anyone who wants to comment on these. I'm not asking anyone to buy - though you certainly could! - just see if it's something that might end up on someone's wish list.
Right now I'm thinking of $45 for each bed. $50 for the castle. Plus shipping. And yes, I would very much welcome input on the pricing. I've never sold like this before.
I think they are cool! The hard thing with Etsy is getting folks to SEE your shop. Is there a craft fair in your area? That might be a better venue, or at least a way to get your name out Also, there are tones of fantasy fans who would *kill* to own a castle...although how you would market to them I haven't a clue. And the kitty pennants are such a nice touch!
ReplyDeleteKatnip Lounge is right....local craft fairs might be the way to start. You might want to ask other Etsy people how they got started. I know Beaded Tail has an Etsy shop.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
The Florida Furkids
My human says to research the marketing on these items to see what works to reach this market - and don't sell yourself short. If $75 is the going price and yours are just as good, then why charge less? All things being equal, people tend to put less value on the more cheaply-priced item - and some people will pay a higher-than-normal price because of perceived value. If you want to sell them for less, make it a time-sensitive introductory or sale offer. But don't make the lower price permanent.
ReplyDeleteGood comments already. First thing that came to mind is that this is a niche market, obviously,and the second thing that came to mind is convention: fantasy/sci-fi. Many, many years ago my ex and I would travel to Toronto for a Trek/sci-fi convention every August (have no idea if it still takes place). The dealers' room was like being a kid in a candy store. I would expect it's pretty pricey to get a table at a convention, but it's something to keep in mind down the road.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a number of bloggers have Etsy shops--I think you'd need to use this blog or another, plus Facebook, etc, to promote it.
I think you have been given some very good comments and I hope they help you because the things you make are beautiful and well worth selling. x
ReplyDeleteI like ur stuffs. :)
ReplyDeleteWe don't buy this sort of thing so we don't know. But what we do know is that underpricing is never good. People don't value things they get cheaply.
ReplyDeleteThere might be a local Renaissance fair as well, but we really don't know much about this sort of thing. We wish you the best of luck, though. It looks like you did a really nice job!
ReplyDeleteSome really great comments above! And Sparkle is right on -- don't sell your self short. :)
ReplyDelete