Does anybody sell homemade jewelry?

[shellie]

Does anybody on here sell homemade jewelry?

I've made some and would really appreciate anyones help who has experience of selling.

Other than friends and family what is the best way to go about selling it? I know I won't make a fortune, but it would be nice to sell some pieces.

Thank you for reading. xxx

 

[Angelicous]

I sold on eBay and managed to make around a £1000 over christmas a few years ago. I had to make what was popular rather than what I wanted to though if that makes sense. I had a few hit and misses, but then sorted out decent pics and some pieces/styles that I made regularly.

 

[xlouloux]

Could you make a facebook page for yourself, alot of people do that these and I agree try ebay I always buy little handmade pieces off it.

 

[shellie]

Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it. I will try e-bay and facebook.

Wow, £1000, I wouldnt dream of making so much, I think at the minute I'd just be made up if people actually liked it, lol. xxx

 

[Angelicous]

I was lucky I think lol. The downside is after christmas sales dropped off and I had lots of problems with the post (that year with all the snow) so in the end I gave up and I STILL have wedges of stock left. (2 years later!)

I used to make Hello Kitty jewelry. I bulk bought charms and chains from China and eventually added nightmare before christmas stuff too. It was scarey, I spent like £50 on bits and bobs, and then spend like another £300 on stock as it looked like I was doing ok to buy in bulk and get cheaper prices. (so instead of buying a couple of metres of chain and 10 charms I bought 10s of m of chain and hundreds of charms at a time and included free gift wrapping).

I used to charge around £2-4 per necklace, but it was a LOT of work to photo/list individual pieces, so I ended up making around 10 of one necklace to sell to save time.

I also did a school christmas fair and took in £200 but a Women's Institue christmas fair the following year I only got £30 (which only just covered the stall cost)

Sorry I hope it's not too much info, but I hope it gives you a slight idea of the ups/downs.

 

[shellie]

No of course thats not too much info. Any info is appreciated. Funnily enough I've done some Hello Kitty earrings and keyrings! I havent sold any yet though, lol. I have given my sister a couple of pairs to let my niece wear so people who she knows can see them. xxx

 

[Creative]

I have my own online store, i also use folksy (uk based selling platform for selling) I would personally avoid ebay as it tends to undervalue the work that goes into making things as people can buy mass produced stuff very cheaply on there.
I would use the term handmade rather than homemade (sounds more professional)

To sell you need to be registered with the Inland Revenue as self employed. You may also like to consider PL insurance.
You can find alsorts of help about setting up a craft business https://www.craftsforum.co.uk/showt...-information-for-starting-up-a-craft-business
also i am not sure if you are aware, but the UK spelling is jewellery, so if you are wanting to sell in the UK use this!!

 

[shellie]

Thank you creative, thats really helpfull to know. I never even realized the spelling. I will have to bear that in mind from now on.

I've bookmarked that page. That will be a big help if I finally get the confidence to try and sell some things. At the minute I feel like "why would anybody want to buy something I've made" as though I'd be somehow ripping them off. Definitely the wrong attitude, but I hope with a bit more practice at making the stuff it will look better. xxx

 

[Angelicous]

A friend of mine makes nice jewellery her label is "Dear Oh Dear" and she used to use etsy to sell her stuff. Had her own page etc

I used ebay because it was easy enough to set up a spread sheet on excel to work out costs/profit etc. but yeah, ebay is pretty expensive, I also paid additionally for auctiva (for design, works in conjuction with ebay) and paypal.

Paypal is also pretty expensive, but for small volume it's the easiest way, otherwise you need SSL hosting etc and merchant banking charges. Last time I checked paypal charges were 20 pence plus a percent. On a £2 sale that's a lot of your profit gone to paypal and ebay!

 

[bigbetty]

There are some lovely facebook pages - and you don't get the fees charged on ebay!