Selling Our Work

[RAIN MAN]

I Would Like Any Suggestions On Selling My Work. I Just Did A Show And I Did Ok But Nothing Great. The Trouble Is That I Hate Doing Shows. What Other Ways Do You Folks Use To Sell Your Products. I Have A Lot To Sell And I'm Very Discouraged. I Love Scrolling But I'm Wondering Why Do It Anymore. Anyway, Any Suggestions Would Be Appreciated. Tks, Rain Man

[Daryl185]

around here in Bradenton FL we have giant flea markets where you can rent booths tables ect..... daily or weekly thats how I intend on selling once I get my stock up, you could also try Church craft bazzars if they have those near you?

[Rolf]

Rain man,

You could also try and find a consignment store. They sell your wares for you with a and take a percentage. We also have a few stores around here that will rent you a shelf.
I scroll for fun as soon as it becomes a job I wont do it anymore.

[Greenfield_Bob]

Rolf, I'm like you I scroll for fun.
I use to make fishing baits and had a guy that sold them for me, he sold a lot of baits for me. He sold so many that my wife and I were working late at night to keep up with him. Then it wasn't fun, so I stopped making them. I won't let that happen to my scrolling. Sometimes I'll sell something here and there and that is fun for me.

Bob

[Minnesota scroller]

I also scroll for fun but if I didn't have an outlet, I'd have to find another hobby too. I do not like shows either. Like Bob, I used to make a lot of fishing tackle. At 1 time I had close to 100 bait shops buying from me. I even tried a few shows. I hated them. Too many annoying people. That consignment idea is probably the best for you. A small restaurant just opened up in a tiny town a few miles away and they allowed me to display some of my portraits. They are only asking $5 commission for each one they sell and any special orders that come my way via the restaurant, they get nothing. Instead, once I complete the order, I will drop it off at the restaurant and let the customer know it's ready to be picked up. This way, the customer has to come back to the cafe. They'll more than likely get something to eat at the same time. It's a win win for all of us. The cafe also liked the idea that they didn't have to spend more money decorating. I also put a few dog portraits at the dog groomers shop. I'll also give her $5 commission. Not only that, one of the workers in the cafe ordered a couple from me right away and so did the lady that cuts my dog's hair. I also leave business cards at each location with a website they can go to to view all the products I have scrolled. I use photobucket.com. This is a free photo hosting site. If I don't generate enough orders from these locations, I'll speak to the owner of the religious book store in town and see about putting some of my religious portraits in there.

I believe that if a person is resourceful enough, he can find plenty of ways to market their work. If you are doing this for enjoyment, like I am, and just need a way to move your work, then don't price it too high. It won't move very fast and you'll get frustrated and lose interest. If you need it as an extra income, that is a different story. I just delivered a scroll sawed pheasant this morning to a gal who ordered it for her husband for Christmas. I admit, I priced it too low but boy, was she happy. She's going to give it to him for his birthday instead. She said, she can't hang onto it that long. She's too anxious too see his reaction when he gets it. She quickly showed it to a couple co workers and they thought it was great. So, I left a few business cards with the gal in case anyone was interested. Just this customer's reaction was worth only making $5 per hour on it.

Here is one other idea for you. Approach your church or some other organization with ideas for a fundraiser. My church loved my products but had already committed themselves to something else. However, they did put the info in their files for future fundraisers.

There's a few ideas and I'm sure there are plenty others I haven't thought of.

Good luck and keep scrolling.

[PeteB]

Consignments are going to get you the best prices. There's a guy in my town who sells imported pottery at a few locations, and does quite well with it.

The problem with flea markets is that they are full of bargain hunters. I wouldn't go to them unless I had some stuff to UNLOAD, just a step up from tossing it.

Another thing you could try is posting tear-off ads wherever they are allowed, such as drugstores, grocery stores, banks, etc. The ad should have an attractive photo on it as an example of your work, and give prices. I would think this would be especially good for portraits of people or pets.

Pete

[Minnesota scroller]

Originally Posted by PeteB

Another thing you could try is posting tear-off ads wherever they are allowed, such as drugstores, grocery stores, banks, etc. The ad should have an attractive photo on it as an example of your work, and give prices. I would think this would be especially good for portraits of people or pets.

Pete

Good idea Pete. Thanks.