Get Really Crafty: Sell Your Extras in “Craft Lots”

Right about now, and in the coming days, all the crafters out there will be finishing up hand-made gifts for the holidays. From beaded jewelry to stained glass, handmade gifts are almost always a hit (I say “almost” because of some of the things I made in my early crafting days!).

Once you tie off the fringe on your handmade scarf, or place the crowning embellishment on your scrapbook pages, you will very likely have some extra supplies. My advice to you: put them on eBay and ring in your new year with some extra cash.

There’s a big world of crafters out there. It seems like during the past few years, bead stores have sprung up everywhere. Mega-stores like Wal-Mart and Target now have scrapbook aisles; according to Wikipedia.org, one in three American households include someone involved in scrap booking. And the books on knitting! Even the Harvard College bookstore sells knitting and crocheting supplies.

The start of the year is a great time to start new hobbies; last year I began beading in January and within weeks I was buying beads and findings on eBay. I now have enough beads that I could probably open my own store.

If you have extra yarn, beads, paints and other supplies, bundle them together and sell them as a lot. Here are a few tips for encouraging bids:

1. Take pictures of everything. Sure, you can describe “8 mm turquoise round beads” but that’s not an effective sales tool. Take pictures of each item or set of items (beads, skeins of yarn) separately, and one photo of the entire lot.

2. Give details! The more words you include, the better, as many buyers will search by title and description.

3. Wrap your items with TLC. Even though these are your extras, to your buyers these are new items. Use Ziploc bags to separate items. One hint here: I love it when buyers add a tiny freebie, like a little bag of beads.

List your items on a Thursday, and set the listing for 10 days. This will give you two weekends of exposure and help you sell all your extra supplies.

You can even use the money you make to start a new hobby.