Trouble selling your cards ????

[Brissles]

I know the joy is the hobby of making cards, BUT when it comes to offloading them, I find they are getting harder and harder to get rid of ! Most of the craft fairs put a block on how many stalls they allocate to card makers, and on looking around, us card makers are using similar stock.

I also know that the real money to be made is through selling the equipment and accessories that make up the card, but does anyone have any other ideas as to where I can dispose of stock. I love to make them and will never make money at it, in fact I lose when I do get a stall at a craft fair. because organisers do charge a lot.

QVC are currently on to a winner with this, but the time will come, like mobile phones. when the market will be saturated, everyone interested will have bought, and then what ?

 

[Rentochops]

Hi Brissles

I sell mine at work, but craft fairs and P Offices and craft fairs are swamped!

Are you a member of craft telly.com (sister forum)? You might like to join as the guys will have some good ideas for you (and it sounds like you are an avid crafter).

 

[ERICS MUM]

A couple of large garden centres we go to have racks of handmade cards for sale and they seem to sell.

Linda

 

[Judith]

I give my cards to people to sell at charity events.
I used to send a lot to the Marie Curie appeal until my local MC shop informed me these cards do not sell well in their shop and so they sell them at 4 for £1.

 

[Brissles]

Thanks for those ideas, I will try them, - in particular there are a couple of garden centres close to where I live, so I'll start touting !!!! Its a bit galling having spent hundreds over the years to see them sell for 4 for a £, but hey ! who ever made money from crafting except 'QVC and Ideal World !!!! I wonder if Dawn Bibby is on her way to millionaire status yet ????

 

[boffy]

no matter what dawn and co say the price of the kits to get a proffessional finish will always make card making too expensive for everyday people to sell and make a profit you have m&s seling handmade cards for pennies market saturatd.

 

[Rentochops]

no matter what dawn and co say the price of the kits to get a proffessional finish will always make card making too expensive for everyday people to sell and make a profit you have m&s seling handmade cards for pennies market saturatd.

Agreed, but if you work for a big company you can make money - my lawyer clients are a great source of income! I make a good income from Wedding Cards cos they are limited in the shops, and I do live on a very small island!

 

[petpixie]

I'm not a crafter in any way, shape or form and am interested to discover that crafters sell their wares! I thought it was just a hobby and the cards were used to give for birthdays etc.! You learn something new on this forum everyday!

 

[Rentochops]

I'm not a crafter in any way, shape or form and am interested to discover that crafters sell their wares! I thought it was just a hobby and the cards were used to give for birthdays etc.! You learn something new on this forum everyday!

Well..the problem is petpixie it's also an addiction..and you have to pay for all the lovely stuff!

 

[margaret43]

Apart from the cards I send myself, all my cards go to charity. I make up variety boxes of 50 cards and then give them to local charity committees to sell in their fetes, coffee mornings etc. They sell for £1 each, or £3 for the larger ones which are boxed. I also sell to friends at work and various social clubs, and then send the proceeds to Third World charities. Sightsavers is my 2009 charity and I've already sent £150 this year. There are other handmade cards for sale locally in some shops/garages, but they're all dearer than mine. I doubt whether you could really make a lot of money out of it. For me it's just a hobby, and it stops me snacking!!

 

[petpixie]

I can understand how that could be Rentochops, and quite a costly one! One of the local shops has a small stand dedicated to handmade cards. This thread has me wondering if they possibly come from a local crafter?

 

[argeybargey]

I give my cards to people to sell at charity events.
I used to send a lot to the Marie Curie appeal until my local MC shop informed me these cards do not sell well in their shop and so they sell them at 4 for £1.

Oh dear - ouch!

 

[Rentochops]

Apart from the cards I send myself, all my cards go to charity. I make up variety boxes of 50 cards and then give them to local charity committees to sell in their fetes, coffee mornings etc. They sell for £1 each, or £3 for the larger ones which are boxed. I also sell to friends at work and various social clubs, and then send the proceeds to Third World charities. Sightsavers is my 2009 charity and I've already sent £150 this year. There are other handmade cards for sale locally in some shops/garages, but they're all dearer than mine. I doubt whether you could really make a lot of money out of it. For me it's just a hobby, and it stops me snacking!!

I made £500 last Christmas but probably spent much more than that last year! I gave some cards to Marie Curie Do-crafts - I admire you Margaret there is a real satisfaction making money for charity.

 

[petpixie]

Apart from the cards I send myself, all my cards go to charity. I make up variety boxes of 50 cards and then give them to local charity committees to sell in their fetes, coffee mornings etc. They sell for £1 each, or £3 for the larger ones which are boxed. I also sell to friends at work and various social clubs, and then send the proceeds to Third World charities. Sightsavers is my 2009 charity and I've already sent £150 this year. There are other handmade cards for sale locally in some shops/garages, but they're all dearer than mine. I doubt whether you could really make a lot of money out of it. For me it's just a hobby, and it stops me snacking!!

That's such a lovely way of giving to charity. Doing something you love to do, selling the product to people who appreciate it and are going to give it to people they love and then giving the proceeds to charity!

 

[margaret43]

I made £500 last Christmas but probably spent much more than that last year! I gave some cards to Marie Curie Do-crafts - I admire you Margaret there is a real satisfaction making money for charity.

Thanks! To be honest, the charities would benefit far more if I donated the money directly, but as I said, it's a hobby. And that's why I think it would be very difficult to actually make a profit, because my stash has cost far more than the money raised from selling the cards. It's not a cheap hobby, but per hour, it is really satisfying. I think it's somewhat misleading when Dawn and others go on about making money from a particular kit, because they don't often factor in the adhesives, finishing touches, cardstock, cello bags, etc. And if someone had to pay for a stall, then that's extra again. I agree with those of you who say that selling at work is probably the best option. I'll be taking orders for personalised Christmas cards around July, and hope to raise about £300 from those cards alone.
Another idea - I've seen cards for sale in hairdressing/beauty salons and I think that they sell quite well, because ladies have time on their hands and have a good rummage. If you've paid £40 for colour etc, then another £2 for a card doesn't seem too bad I suppose!!

 

[mitziemog]

Selling handmade cards on ebay is probably hard as well because there are so many people selling on there as well. A good thing about making cards yourself is that you can personalise with names dates etc. I did this with my brothers wedding card. I sell a lot to my nan but feel guilty taking money off her half the time so say "dont worry about paying for it". I was thinking of making some for my daughters school fete but really do not want to buy the cello bags as they are quite expensive.

 

[yazrose]

My mum has never made money from them and neither have I.

We make 'one of a kind' cards and we give them to the church to sell at fates, coffee mornings etc, it helps to keep the mums and tots going and the coffee mornings for elderly.

If we have any left over we give them to charity shops.

 

[Lucy-loo]

I've spent afortune over the years on card stuff, and half of it I will probably never use, I just make cards for myself to give, and sometimes some one will ask if I will make a card for them, and that costs me to make and then I dont like taking any money for it.
But I do enjoy it so I suppose thats whet counts, and I have always loved stationery, so this just indulges the passion

 

[auntie]

I started to give my relations , sisters , daughters daughter in law etc , packs of my cards as birthday presents , they were happy with them and it saved a trip to the shops to buy something

 

[Brissles]

Thank you for all the ideas put forward, but I will pass on the charity suggestion, as I already give quite a lot as it is to charities; but I will keep plugging away.