How to Sell Crochet Doilies
Crochet doilies can be sold through local stores or online. Consignment and gift shops in your area may accept your doilies for sale, but you will find a much larger customer base for handmade crochet doilies on the Internet. Several websites exist to help crafters sell their handmade items. Auction sites, such as eBay.com, allow customers to bidding on your doilies to determine the final price. Crafter sites, such as Etsy.com, allow you to set up a store, set your prices and polices, and sell doilies to customers who visit the website.
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Instructions
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Make the best doily you can. There can be no mistakes. Every stitch should be perfect. You aren't making this for a friend; you are making it for a customer who is paying you money.
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Make sure the doily is spotless. Smudges or pet hair will decrease the appeal of the item and may cause the buyer to want to return it for a refund.
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Make doilies in different designs and in different colors to appeal to a wide range of customers.
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Make doilies in a range of sizes so that you can offer items for different prices to fit customer budgets. Rule of thumb for pricing handmade items is to sell it for three times the cost of the materials.
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Calculate how much it will cost to ship the doilies if you want to sell them over the Internet.
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Purchase shipping materials for the doilies. They should be shipped flat and secured so they do not slide or wrinkle. The customer will expect a perfect doily to arrive on the doorstep.
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Sign up for a seller's account at an online venue such as Ebay.com or Etsy.com to start selling your creations through that site.
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Purchase a table at craft fairs in your area to grow a local customer base. Craft magazines and church bulletins often have listings for craft fairs in your area.
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Take custom orders from people who admire your work but don't see the exact item they want in your samples.
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Keep making more doilies so you always have supply on hand. Do not let the shelves of your online store go empty or your supply to a local shop dry up if they are selling well.
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Tips & Warnings
Word-of-mouth is a strong marketing tool. Always practice good customer service so that happy customers will recommend you to their friends.
If you gain a large customer base through a third party Internet seller, you may want to consider setting up your own e-commerce website with a shopping cart application to avoid paying the third-party listing fees. Good marketing will be necessary to bring new customers to your lesser-known website.
Consider designing your own doilies, rather than making them from someone else's pattern, and sell your patterns to craft and crochet magazines.
Check with your local town authority to see if you need a vendor license to participate in a craft show.
If you plan to turn selling doilies into a business, don't forget to file a Schedule C with your tax return.
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Comments
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How do you price your doilies?
