Ah, crochet. A good old-fashioned art that is still quite popular! You can’t go to a craft show without seeing at least one crochet vendor. Like I tell my friends; everyone crochets!
Even though it’s not true that everyone crochets, it’s easy to feel that way when trying to sell crochet items in a world that seems to be heavily saturated with this fine fiber art. So for those of us who are truly passionate about crochet, why is it so difficult to make decent money doing what we love? Here are a few reasons why I believe we struggle to sell our crochet projects.
Reason #1: We are selling crochet
Okay, please don’t get discouraged by this heading! I promise I don’t mean it in the way you are thinking. Keep selling the items you crochet, just stop marketing it as crochet.
This mainly applies to those of us who try to sell our items online. We usually make our item titles something along the lines of “Crochet Slouchy Beanie” or “Crochet Stuffed Octopus”. I truly believe that we need to stop doing this!
Think about it like this: how many people do you think go onto an online site and searches for “crochet stuffed animals”? If they’re looking for a gift for a baby shower they would probably search something along the lines of “ocean themed baby shower gift” or “stuffed whale”. They might not know yet that the item they really want was hand-crocheted by you! If you change your SEO to be more search-friendly, I think more sales will start flowing in.
Reason #2: We Aren’t Different
Next time you go to a craft show, walk around and notice the other crochet sellers. What types of items are they selling? I’m sure at most of the booths you will find scarves and hats, right? Probably even dishcloths. Are you selling items that are similar to that? If so, how do your prices compare?
When there are multiple crochet vendors at a craft show, there’s always a chance that you will be selling similar items. When this happens (and unless one of you has better quality items) it will all come down to who is selling for cheaper. Of course we don’t want to just give our hard work away, so we want to keep our prices at a point where we make a profit. So let’s make our items stand out!
Try using different packaging techniques for your wash clothes. Add labels to your hats. Use more colorful yarn. Find some way to make your items really pop in a sea of crocheters! You will definitely see a difference when you notice that your items are treated just a little better than the other sellers’!
Reason #3: Our Prices Are Too High or Too Low
I usually see the second part of that heading more than the first; items priced too low. You might be thinking, “wouldn’t lower prices mean more sales?!”. The answer to this is…not necessarily.
People want to know they are buying quality products. When items are priced too low, they may start to question the quality of that particular item or the materials that were used to make it. They also might think that you are desperate for sales, so you’re willing to practically give your things away.
Another big reason why we as crocheters shouldn’t be underselling our items is for the value of the art itself. When too many people price their crochet items low, it could potentially cause others to lower their prices, making it impossible for crochet items to be worth making and selling for a profit.
Pricing too high is an issue too. For example, I crocheted a whale out of hand-dyed yarn. The whale itself is not large, but based on the price of the yarn and the time it took me to make, I needed to put a price of $65.00 in order to make a decent profit off of that particular item. If I had an entire booth or online store filled with $65.00 stuffed animals, I wouldn’t make many sales. Because of this, I make sure to continue to make quality items, but make smaller items with more inexpensive yarn so that I can sell them for a lower price, bringing people to my shop.
Reason #4: We Are Copying Someone Else’s Work
Yes, copyright infringement is a huge issue in the crafting community. While some of you might be thinking that it’s an innocent way to make a buck, you would be very wrong. Let’s say you crochet kids hats, and use different popular cartoon characters that just draws tons of people to your space. While you may be getting the attention of potential customers, you could also be getting the attention of the company that designed those characters in the first place.
Especially when selling online, other sellers are just searching for those of us who are breaking the rules. It’s too easy to hit the “report” button, and before you know it you have legal letters from big companies. Even in person there will always be a chance of being seen by someone who works for the company in some way, or by other crafters who do not tolerate the forgery. Let’s just stay safe and not do that, okay? There are so many crochet designers out there who would love your support, and they are more than happy to allow you to sell the items you make with their patterns!
Reason #5: We Don’t Think We’re Good Enough
I’ll admit it, I struggle with this one. I’ve never been confident in any aspect of my life, and crochet is no different. Every time I try out a new pattern, someone will tell me how cute the item is, but I almost always reply with “Really? I think it’s ugly”. We need to stop this nonsense!
Even if your items were truly awful (but I highly doubt they are!), with the right marketing you can sell it. Heck there are people selling single, oddly-shaped chips on auction sites!
If you truly believe your items could use some work, ask a friend or family member for some brutal honesty. Tell them how serious you are about perfecting your craft so that you can make real money selling it, and I’m sure they would love to help you improve.
When we don’t think we’re good enough, we tend to step back from trying to promote and sell our products. However if we were to just put ourselves out there and show the world our items, we will see that our customers are in fact out there.
Reason #6: We Are Marketing to the Wrong Crowd
This final reason is aimed more toward those of us who sell in-person, mainly at craft shows. It’s something that some of us don’t think about, but we really need to start!
Let’s say you’re doing a craft show at a local church, and you make items that aren’t so family-friendly. This might not be the right place for you to be selling your items. Even though non-church goers attend these craft shows, people who are looking for your type of item will not expect to find it in a church.
Personally, I make crochet stuffed animals. I do really well at shows that have lots of kids and young families that attend. I might not do as well in a senior living area, or at a show where people are looking for MLM (not handmade) items. Sometimes it’s harder to tell where our items don’t belong, but after doing a few shows it’s easier to get a feel for the shows that really appreciate our work!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my reasoning behind why we as crocheters tend to struggle to sell our items. While I only listed 6 reasons, there are many more out there! If you can think of some that you believe should be added to this list, leave a comment down below and share your knowledge!
Thanks so much for reading!
