There are several ways you can sell your custom baby gifts! In this post I will provide helpful hints and tips I have learned over the years.
WHERE TO SELL YOUR GIFTS
Craft Fairs & Shows - Usually craft fairs and shows are spread out throughout the year, so you only need to make a large supply in spurts. You can also take orders to fill after each show, which could keep you busy and paid for a while. The bigger shows draw A LOT of people, so use this to your advantage! Keep your eyes open for local craft shows & fairs by reading the newspaper and browsing online .
Craft Malls - Craft malls can be a hit or miss, depending on the traffic the store gets. I never had huge luck selling in craft malls, but I also didn't have many options in my area. Talk to the employees or manager about their sales and see if that venue is right for you.
Ebay - Ebay can make you VERY busy if you do it right. (I elaborate on this more below) This outlet gives you the most traffic (the entire world), but also the most competition.
Online Store - You can sell your gifts on a website or online store. To make this successful you would need to heavily advertise and network. This may be something that would work better after you've grown up your business a little.
Word of Mouth - You will be surprised how many people have never seen a diaper cake before, so when they see YOURS, they will start talking. You will also be surprised how many orders you'll get by bringing one to a friend's baby shower.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY
Budget - Make your gifts as cheaply as possible WITHOUT losing quality or appeal. One way to do this is to buy baby supplies, diapers, ribbon, etc. in large packs or bulk. (but only do this if you plan on using ALL the items in the pack) Remember, sometimes buying in bulk ISN'T the way to go, so always calculate each unit and compare it to the individual prices. I offer more information on where to buy items in the Supply Notes post.
Pricing - Know how to price your gifts. A standard rule in business is to mark up your product by 30%. Sometimes this works and sometimes not. A good way to set your prices is to research what other diaper cakes are selling for by looking at online stores or closed eBay auctions. Once you DO determine a price, you can tie down a firm budget for your costs.
Payment - Deciding which forms of payment to receive depends on your type of sale. For example, if you are selling at a craft fair or mall, checks and cash are perfectly acceptable. Ebay and other online stores, on the other hand, mostly use Paypal, a quick, safe, online way to send and receive money from your checking, savings or credit card. Paypal protects you from bad transactions, which happens in everyone's eBay career. I do not recommend receiving cash or check payments through the mail. Not only does this slow the transaction process WAY down, but it can get you in trouble if the check is fake or the cash gets stolen. On my eBay auctions, I only accept Paypal.
MORE ON EBAY
Learn about eBay - I already knew my way around eBay before I started making baby gifts, so that gave me a HUGE advantage. If you are new to eBay or to an eBay business, then I suggest you read the following books:
Of course there are more (like TONS more) books out there on eBay, but really, you just need to know the basics at first and these books are really easy to follow. I will be opening a forum soon that will help you with eBay listings, sales and technical issues. If you are new to eBay, it will be very overwhelming at first, so take it slow. The last thing you want to do is jump in unprepared and then get zero response from your sales.(this will discourage you as well)
Set Yourself Apart - There is a ton of competition on eBay. New sellers come and go all the time. I suggest sifting through the closed eBay auctions (use advanced search) and see which auctions sold, for how much, and why. This will REALLY help you. Also, create a listing that is pleasing to the eye-the more professional the listing, the more serious buyers will take you. Try to think of ways that your auctions can stand out from the others.(I will be sharing with you my listing template as an example) Be creative and offer something new.
Research, research, research - I can't stress this enough. Not only should you take the time to really know eBay, but study the sales trends and pricing of auctions like yours. If you do this, you will have a HUGE advantage over other sellers.
Good luck in your selling endeavour! Selling custom baby gifts is a lot of fun and I wish you the best! There is a lot of trial and error, but that is how we will learn! Like I mentioned earlier, I will be writing more on this in the future and even opening a forum to discuss this with you in more detail. You can also email me anytime at sbagifts@gmail.com!
