selling your jewelry

[Tibetan Empress]

Everyone on the site creates amazing pieces of jewelry and art. So, the question is where do you sell it?
I think that one popular and easy way is online. I know that both ebay and etsy.com are popular sites to sell jewelry. I prefer etsy to me it seems easy to use, friendly and quite active.
But, are there any other online sites that are just as friendly, active and popular as etsy.com?
Thanks for the help,
Cara

[amoro]

Aside from ebay and etsi i also sell my products on auction site. Try to check google, there are a lot of auction site nowadays. I also recommend http://www.online-auctions.net/

[kcamel09]

There's so many auction sites now a days. However, eBay and etsy are really the two that I rely most on.

[alex10]

etsy

[kaycee]

If E.bay and ETSY are 2 options then I would the latter one for many reasons: Etsy is available for any country while Ebay serves only specific countries. You can put even your smallest product on Etsy and it is not Auction driven.

[AutumnDesigns]

I would say trying as many different sites as you can.  Even try http://www.deviantart.com/ and post pics of what you have.

~~Autumn   


I am putting the finishing touches on a new idea about handcrafted earrings. Please let me know your #1 questions because I don't want to leave anything out!

http://members.flycatchergenerator.com/takesurvey.php?nid=830 

[priolo]

Also, try an amozon store...it's fairly simple to set up your own store. There are some fees to go with it. But hey, if your selling, than it's worth it!

[treasury]

I suppose it is really expensive selling handmade goods to places far away. I wondered if there's a kind of in-between operating company which sends collective packages in order to keep costs as low as possible. Haven't found one yet, though.

[MegansBeadedDesigns]

I thought handmade wasn't allowed on Amazon, am I wrong about that?

[Lisbon]

I sell my jewelery exclusively on Ebay .... initially tried to trade on the various auctions, however, in practice, the demand for a product like it small

[Luann Udell]

There are so many sites now to sell our stuff online.  I had some success with Amazon's handmade website 1000 Markets, but they sold it off to Bonanza a year or so after I joined.  I now have a shop on Etsy and Bonanza (although I'm embarrassed how long it's been since I've updated either one.)   

However, I don't think it matters--much--which site you use as long as you start by SELLING TO YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS. 

It's almost impossible for a newbie to attract the attention at any of the well-established marketplaces.  One site says there are almost 300,000 shops on Etsy--and the post is dated February 2011!  You can spend an arm and a leg doing ads and marketing, and still not rise above the tide--especially if your products are ho-hum and your images are not enticing.

Still, I always say, start where you are and do better as you learn how.  And you can always market to the customers who are already fans of your work.  They know you, they know your work, they've already bought from you, and an online shop let's them shop even when you're in another state or when they can't catch you at a show.

There are ways to do it that won't conk out your sales at shows--I wrote an article about that on this art marketing blog http://faso.com/fineartviews/36678/questions-you-dont-have-to-answer-do-you-have-a-website.

hth,
Luann

[Russ Nobbs]

Good suggestions and a great article, Luann.  Thanks for sharing your experience so freely!

I really like your line: “Every item I make is so unique, and they sell so quickly, by the time people get there to find that exact piece they loved, it’s often already gone.”

I know a number of artists who have a printed card with their show circuit. This violates your suggestion but works for people who already have a following of regular customers who want to see what's new or who like to buy a new piece each time s/he shows. Dee (my partner) had customers like that in the Seattle area when she did craft shows with her one of a kind work.

[MegansBeadedDesigns]

I suppose it is really expensive selling handmade goods to places far away. I wondered if there's a kind of in-between operating company which sends collective packages in order to keep costs as low as possible. Haven't found one yet, though.

I ship all over the world from my Etsy shop. In fact, I think that about half of my customers are international, many being in Australia or the UK. Because I sell smaller items (and most of us do), jewelry and accessories, the cost really isn't that much more than in the U.S. to ship first class USPS. Typically just a dollar more or so.

I highly recommend selling internationally if you are selling online. You will be missing out on a big market if you don't.