Who has sold their crafts online? Where and can you make a living at it or at

I would agree Ebay would be a good place to start . For your frist couple of items that you try to sell they are free and after that they only take a very small percentage of what you sell the item for . I have never sold any crafts online but this is only because I am not a good enough craftperson but have seen many different things being sold on Ebay and crafts are among them . A digital camera would help as you would be able to show others what it is you are trying to sell , you will get a lot more interest if others can see the item you wish to sell as many won't even look at an item if there is no picture to view what they are buying , myself included . I do go to craft sales as I love craft sales . There is nothing nicer then a homemade gift even if you were not the one to make it . Somehow it just seems more personal then something you buy in a store . I have bought many crafts over the years and they have made some of the nicest gifts I have recieved and given to others . The more an item is needed the easier it will be to sell for sure but people will always buy things because of the look of it and how much they like it . If something can be presented nicely it will be much easier to sell and have others want to buy it again .

It's been quite awhile since I've sold crafts, but I sold them on consignment locally and did fair. I think the only way you could make a decent supplement to your income would be to sell to an exclusive market. People don't want to pay what an item is worth and I can understand that. It takes a lot of hours to make a quality craft, so it's really hard to charge enough to pay for your time.

I sell on Etsy. I am still waiting for my first sale. I hope the holidays will mean a lot of sales. You do need to promote, which I don't do as much as I should. But, if you put effort into promoting, and you have nice items, you should be able to do okay. EBAy is not such a good place. There people are looking for deals. They want what you are selling as cheaply as possible. Etsy, they know they are getting handmade and are willing to pay for it. Using a digital camera is not that difficult. They are mostly point and shoot. The auto focus feature is a god send. For my Etsy store, I just try to arrange the things as interestingly as I can.

i am a paper artist and have sold some stuff on ebay - have you thought of that? i was wandering past a camera store yesterday that was offering free lessons when you buy a new camera. i also will sell at shows but right now, i am making a lot of money from scrapbooking for others!

It is VERY possible to make a living selling your crafts online. Not many people do though, so I suggest just keeping it a hobby and not making it your job, it takes all of the fun out if it when you HAVE to make somethine instead of just MAKING anything, whenever you want, and getting paid for it. There are a lot of things you need to know before you even THINK about trying to make a living with your crafts. -You need to know what it is you are going to make, you need to figure out how much it will cost you to make and how much to sell it for to make profit (you have to include packaging and shipping, as well as listing fees, and the time you spent making it) -You need to figure out who your target market is too. Is your product for babies, teens, or adults? Mothers, fathers? Rich, poor? Local, Foreign? -Once you figure out WHO you are selling to, you need to figure out WHERE to find them. For example you aren't going to sell a lot of handpainted skateboards to war veterans (thats a wild example I know, but I can't think of anything better). -You also need to present your product the best way you can. Your customers (since they will be viewing your shop online) cannot feel the texture of your ceramic cups, they cannot smell how fresh and scrumptious your homemade candles or soaps are etc. So you need to WOW them with your PHOTOS & DESCRIPTIONS. -You also need to follow through with everything that you say you will do. If you say you will deliver your product within 3-5 days of recieving payment, you DO that. And if you want your customers to come back, make your own business cards, or put in a little free incentive in every order. And remember, your shop is yours to do with whatever you want! If you do really well on any of these helpful websites, be it, etsy, ebay, or anythin else, you can start your own website, and be free of the listing fees all together. It is VERY possible to make a living out of something you love and enjoy doing, you just have to be smart about it, and stick to it. It always takes time though.... So I wish you the best of luck! And if you need any camera help you can ask me, I bought myself a little canon powershot and I love love LOVE it I have a Flickr account if you would like to see a few photos of mine. Infact I have a blog post where I explained a bit of what I know about taking photographs of your products... let me know if you are interested ♥Michelle

I've not sold anything on line so I can't really offer much help here. I have learned how to use my digital camera and upload the pictures. That's not difficult. I'm sure you'll be able to learn that fairly easily. I rarely go to craft sales anymore because, since we downsized our home, I just don't have the space to store alot of stuff like that. Good luck with figuring out the best way to sell your crafts. Take care.

I think craft shows depend on the area. If you can find and get into a juried show you'll come closer to selling your crafts at a good price. In my area people who frequent craft shows seem to think "handmade" means cheap, and are not willing to pay the price I have to charge to compensate for my time. I have an Etsy shop, but my jewelry doesn't sell well. My patterns do. The reason for that is my main promotion for my Etsy shop is on a jewelery making forum. Naturally they want patterns, not jewelry. With any online business you have to promote it and it depends on how effectively you do that as to how well your shop does. I hope you find a venue to sell your crafts at a good price.