Selling Handmade During this Poor Economy

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, we are up to our eyeballs in a bad economy.  If the economy has not affected you, then you might be a degree or two removed from someone who has been affected by the results of bad management and greed.  Although things look pretty bad right now, it is pretty much guranteed that it will get worse.  We probably won’t hit the bottom of this freefall for a while yet.

Yes, things are pretty dire, but how dire is it for those of us who are trying to sell our handmade goods on the internet.  Well that question depends on who you ask.  There are some artisans who have more sells than they can keep up with.  There are some artisans who are having trouble getting one sale.  Depending on the market, some artisans are sitting pretty because they are truly selling something that is different or hard to come by.  The handmade jewelry market is pretty big with many talented and creative artisans selling true works of art.  In a good economy, selling handmade jewelry in online shops is a challenge because the market is huge and a buyer would typically like to handle jewelry before making a purchase.  When you think about it, when one purchases jewelry in a store, they use several senses to see if they could “live” with it.  For example, a woman would first see a pair of earrings in a store that looks interesting.  She would touch the earrings to measure weight and comfort.  She would most likely put the earrings up to her ear to see if the length is right and if the pair would go with her hairstyle, face, complexion, accessories.  There is a distinct process that goes along with the jewelry shopping experience.  If a potential fiance is smart, he would’ve gotten the hint of the type of engagment ring his girlfriend would like because she has already seen it and probably tried it on.

Now if selling handmade jewelry is a challenge during a relatively good economy, then you could imagine what it is like now.  Many artisans who are doing well have already established themselves in the market and have a customer base.  Miss Soho New York already knows where she is going to go when she needs that special choker for her art show.  Many new artisans may run into trouble because they are…new.  Should they give up?  No.  During the Great Depression, there were many ma and pa stores that persevered out of that nightmare to eventually turn a good profit.  What the handmade entreprenuer has to keep in mind is that the lean years may be longer than they originally calculated.

The artisan with an online shop should do the following to keep their efforts relevant:

1. Keep your online shop current
2. Promote your shop and goods
3. Expect periods of low or no sales
4. Expand outside the online world.  Craft shows and bazaars are great places to get a customer base outside the internet.
5. Remember to not short change your work.  If that necklace is worth $50, sell it at $50.  There is no success in cheating yourself.

When you get a sell during this poor economy, be mindful that you struck gold in a depleted mine.  Sweeten the sale with something unexpected but related to the purchase to show your gratitude because that buyer decided your $50 necklace was worth $50 and they were willing to give that money to you.  Not only will you make a customer happy, but that customer would tell their friends and…the possibilities are endless.

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