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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2011 4:12:03 GMT -5
So I came across Storenvy.com and decided to start my own webstore, because I would really like to make some extra money off of selling things that I like to create.
But, it suddenly occured to me, that maybe the things I like to create are not the things people want to buy?
So here I am, asking you guys: If you went to an online store that was selling home made things, what would you be most interested in buying?
Clothes?
Accessories?
Toys (eg. stuffed animals etc.)?
Artwork?
Other things...?
And if the store had the option for you to request custom made items, would you use it?
I don't have a set 'audience' in terms of age. I figure I'd be making stuff for babies, kids, teens and adults.
So, let me know what you think. General ideas and tips are much welcome =)
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Post by Pacmanite on Jul 27, 2011 8:27:25 GMT -5
I'm not very much into buying my clothes online, but if I saw a cute accessory I might be tempted to get one of them. =D Toys... well, I don't play with stuffed toys anymore nor do I own a collection. So that part wouldn't interest me. As for artwork, would you sell the physical object like a canvas panel or prints, or do a commission? If I really liked the concept, and if I had an empty wall that was screaming for artwork, I could consider buying a print from an online store. (But at present I don't own my own house and all my walls are already covered in art.) I might consider commissioning an artwork if slots were open and I could think of a good subject for the artist to do.
The main barrier that would prevent me buying from any particular online store would be the shipping cost and waiting time - living in Australia means that stuff from anywhere in the world takes forever to reach here, and the postal system is pretty bad. So, although the Australian dollar is incredibly strong, I tend to only buy stuff online that really grabs me and is a sort of must-have item (like Lackadaisy, Volume 1, because I love Lackadaisy comics so much and the book is so awesome). And if I can get a similar product by walking down my street, then I'd rather do that and get to enjoy it instantly.
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Post by Crystal on Jul 27, 2011 18:29:52 GMT -5
I'm not too interested in clothes either, although it may be interesting if people could submit a picture and you could print it on clothing for them. That would require equipment you don't have, though.
At the moment, I'm into household knickknacks, so you might try things like posters, cute vases, tapestries, beaded curtains (which are quite hard to find), and so on. Since people do prefer to buy things after looking at them physically, which puts you at a disadvantage, you may find it better to cater to 'specialty' audiences, like geek jokes on T-shirts or mousepads, cute clocks, baby clothes with funny sayings on them, etc, that is hard to find where you are and absolutely adorable. You can put those into pretty much anything you make with only a little more effort, and it's both cute and unique. Think thinkgeek, for babies, or something. Flashing lights in shoes made the absolute rounds where I lived for awhile.
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Post by Killix on Jul 27, 2011 18:50:29 GMT -5
Clothes never interest me unless they're really unique like those awesome hats that look like animals and cosplay sweaters like these. So yeah: T-shirts = boring. Fun clothes = awesome. Mugs, mousepads, buttons and stickers are popular things for online stores to sell... but they also don't grab hold of my interest. Toys are the things I'd be most interested in. Stuffed animals, figurines/statues, scultpures keychain figures, etc.  I'd definitely be interested in custom crazyhats and custom toys. |
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Post by insanepurpleone on Jul 27, 2011 19:04:28 GMT -5
The only clothing I'm usually interested in getting online are t-shirts from webcomics and stuff like that.  Basically unique things that I couldn't find if I just went into a store, since buying clothes online without being able to try them on makes me nervous. I think custom orders for things tend to appeal to people for some of the same reasons. I guess I don't really buy a lot online, but the things that usually tempt me the most are buttons (I love buttons), interesting prints, and accessories (I agree on the animal hats being awesome front). I think there's someone out there who's interested in anything you could make.. the key is to make something unique that they feel they could only get from YOU, not something they could just as easily pick up in the store down the street. Though I'm sure you're more than capable of that!  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 1:19:18 GMT -5
Alright. I see a general thing in what you're saying: Make something that is unique that people wouldn't be able to find in a store around the corner, so to speak. Something funny and eye chatching.
Gotcha. I actually have some knitting designs for those kinds of hats xD
Alright. I think I have a good idea about what to make.
My next question is then: Pricing. I mean, obviously I'm doing this to make some moolah xD So it'd kinda defeat the purpose if I put up prices that only covers the cost of the materials.
But if we take one of those hats as an example. How much would you pay for a crazy hat? Or a plush toy?
I was actually thinking of slapping a 10-25% of the material cost to the price to get a 10-25% profit. But I dunnow if that works in general. 'Cause I don't want to be rediculously pricy either. I want people to be tempted, y'know? xD
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Post by commissarburn on Jul 28, 2011 1:37:22 GMT -5
Oooh, this is going to be interesting.
When you say T-Shirts, do you mean the kind you might get at other, comparable online stores like zazzle and the like? Or are you quite literally thinking about making t-shirts?
As for accessories, I could see there being a decent market for knitted hats and little necklaces and scarves and things. You might take a look at what other people are selling to see what might be good to sell yourself.
Toys I haven't really seen. There are some places that do, say, figurines for display, but I haven't really seen too much that do plushies and the like. Then again, maybe I just haven't looked for those sorts of things.
As for artwork, I'm always open to it if the artists are good. Heck, I've actually got some from Char on my wall, and I've gone out of my way to get some of it professionally framed. Digital art I've haven't quite done the same, but I've been looking at digital picture frames for displaying some of that. I think that would be one of the more easy things, since I know you've also got a dA account you could probably use to solicit commission requests.
Pricing needs to cover what you spend. This isn't just materials, but also the labor you put into it (which is two-fold. Since you yourself would be both the factors of labor and entrepreneurship) as well as any marketing you plan to do (maybe time spent looking at who you plan to really sell and develop products for, taking out banner ads somewhere) and all the other costs associated (shipping comes to mind, unless you plan on only selling domestically). I don't think the materials for fabric would be all that much, so then you have to tack on what you feel you spent on in making your good (maybe materials cost you ten bucks, and you spent five hours, so you tack on another five?). Total is 15 bucks, and you wind up with a net profit of 15.
One thing that concerns me is how you plan on making these. Do you plan on making these beforehand and shipping them as orders come in, replenishing stock as needed? Or do you plan to make them to order? I'm also kinda wary when you say "I don't have a set 'audience' in terms of age." You really need to start with a target market before you go making random things to sell on the internet. Know who you're making it for before you make it, especially if you plan on making some beforehand, before you have the orders, because inventory can be a major cost to business.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 1:56:14 GMT -5
I see what you're saying there, Burn.
I think I'll start out with making kids' stuff (easy and quick to make). Then I'll leave the option for requests there, and customers can have custom made things.
I was planning on making a few things at first and see what sells the most and go from there.
And as for T-shirts. Yes. I plan on actually -making- the T-shirt xD Of course, if the shirt needs a print I'd have to have a professional to do the printing on a manufactured shirt, which doesn't really cost all that much over here.
And I plan on shipping internationally. I was gonna set the shipping price at around $7 for the first item and then $5 for each additional item for international shipping outside Europe. Does that sound fair, or?
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Post by M is for Morphine on Jul 28, 2011 3:58:18 GMT -5
And as for T-shirts. Yes. I plan on actually -making- the T-shirt xD Of course, if the shirt needs a print I'd have to have a professional to do the printing on a manufactured shirt, which doesn't really cost all that much over here. I'm not sure that making your own T-shirts would be a great idea. The first thing is that tees are dirt common, while your strength seems like it's going to be your uniqueness and imagination. The other thing is that unless I'm buying a tee for the print on it (and you already said that prints would be done commercially), the main things I look for are cheapness, strength, and comfort. Unless you have a cover stitching machine (and maybe you do!), which are somewhat pricey, a commercial outfit is going to have the advantage on strength and they'll beat you on price 9 times out of 10. To put it in perspective, I can buy a fairly utilitarian Fruit of the Loom blank for under $4. I'm not trying to disparage your sewing skills in any way. I'm just trying to look at it the way a customer might. :x Maybe you have a plan or a price point that would make this all moot, but I'm really having a hard time picturing a situation where t-shirts would be worth the time and effort for you to make at home. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 4:44:01 GMT -5
Yes, you are right, Teow. Making the shirts is probably a bad idea xD I do have a pretty advanced sewing machine. It cannot do the extreme 'prints', but it can definitely do more than your average stiching. So I guess that getting a cheap Tee and work from there is the way to go?
At least for kids, the options are endless: Get a blank Tee and modify it completely to look like it was made from scratch. And since kids are pretty uni-size in terms of body shape, it's easy to create from standard measurements.
Does $20+shipping sound too expensive for a custom Tee?
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Post by Killix on Jul 28, 2011 5:00:00 GMT -5
But if we take one of those hats as an example. How much would you pay for a crazy hat? Or a plush toy? Well, I was a regular on a plush-artists forum for a long time, so I do know the answer to that question. ^_^ Prices on custom plushies are just like prices on any artwork, it depends on the artist. The minimum price is always the price of the materials. The rest is for time/labour/shipping and whatever else. Obviously, if your plushies are really really awesome, you can charge more. XD Some plush artists that take commissions let the buyers choose the type of materials, which will effect the price. The price differences for labour depend on what exactly it is that you're making. A small, simple stuffed smiley-face ball plushie for example would be very easy and quick to make, so the price would be lower than for something large with a more complicated pattern, like say a big posable dragon or something. If you're selling plushies marketed for children, make certain that the stitching is strong and the plushie contains no small beads or buttons/eyes/whatever that might come off and become a choking hazard. If you do sell plushies containing that, make sure to have a warning on the listing so that someone doesn't give it to their young child (or if they do, you can't be held responsible). ^^ |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 5:07:49 GMT -5
Thanks for that, Mowf. I'll definitely be making plush toys.
Though, would it be illegal to make plush toys of copyrighted characters? I know Nintendo doesn't mind, so I could make Mario mushroom plushes or the like. But what about... if I were to make... say... a Transformers Plushie *cough* xD No seriously! Would I get in trouble for selling that?
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Post by Killix on Jul 28, 2011 5:49:58 GMT -5
Thanks for that, Mowf. I'll definitely be making plush toys. Though, would it be illegal to make plush toys of copyrighted characters? I know Nintendo doesn't mind, so I could make Mario mushroom plushes or the like. But what about... if I were to make... say... a Transformers Plushie *cough* xD No seriously! Would I get in trouble for selling that? Plushies are basically 3-D art, and selling-of-fanart-plushies have always been this weird gray area. From what I've seen (in plushmaker communities) you probably won't get into any trouble taking one-time commissions like that. As long as you're not bootlegging. That is - mass producing merchandise. XD So no making an army of Pikachus to sell. but if someone commissions you for a custom one-of-a-kind Pikachu doll (from what I've seen) it should be okay. A lot of people sell plushies/hats of copyrighted characters across different sites including etsy, DeviantArt and eBay. These sites are allowing them to go through, so... Either these companies don't know (which would be hard to miss by now XD) or don't care. EDIT: If you're too worried about legality, you can always design your own original plushies to sell, or take commissions for original things only. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 5:58:30 GMT -5
Yeah, I've been Googling legal issues like that, and there seems to be a lot of opinions and gray areas. Even with fan art...
But yeah. I'll stock up with original things, and allow 1-time commissions on other characters. Seems like the way to go.
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Post by commissarburn on Jul 28, 2011 10:28:39 GMT -5
I see what you're saying there, Burn. I think I'll start out with making kids' stuff (easy and quick to make). Then I'll leave the option for requests there, and customers can have custom made things. I was planning on making a few things at first and see what sells the most and go from there. And as for T-shirts. Yes. I plan on actually -making- the T-shirt xD Of course, if the shirt needs a print I'd have to have a professional to do the printing on a manufactured shirt, which doesn't really cost all that much over here. And I plan on shipping internationally. I was gonna set the shipping price at around $7 for the first item and then $5 for each additional item for international shipping outside Europe. Does that sound fair, or? You may want to double check your shipping prices internationally. Having sold things on ebay, 7USD is NOT going to get a package out of a country. I've shipped a camera to Russia (It was a 66USD sell, and the guy willingly paid 55USD shipping for it), and I've shipped books to a friend in Canada (that ran me almost 30USD in itself). Unless I'm missing some thing 'cause I was small time and going through the post office, you might really want to do your homework on how you plan to ship and everything. Stuff like that can be real expensive. I'm with the others on the t-shirt idea. Unless you can really do something fancy with one, there really won't be a market for them; they're already dirt cheap as it is, so trying to get a profit out of it probably won't be easy. |
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Basically unique things that I couldn't find if I just went into a store, since buying clothes online without being able to try them on makes me nervous. I think custom orders for things tend to appeal to people for some of the same reasons.
