Shrink plastic business has been good. It is a side job that has kept me very busy and has given me some pocket money to spend. Not a treasure chest full, just a little extra cash and that works for me.
I have had many friends and acquaintances ask about starting an Etsy store and I tell them 'just go for it'. If you love what you are doing, you cannot go wrong. However, for many, it's more about 'what can I sell?' than 'I love to crochet, I'm going to try to sell some of the things I made'. There is a clear difference. You cannot just pick something out of thin air, decide to do it and then think you'll become an instant Rockefeller. You won't. And, you may not like what it is you are doing which means there is a good chance you'll ditch it. What is the fun in that? So my advice is, do what you love, get an online store (it does NOT have to be Etsy, it can be Amazon Handmade, Shopify, among a million others), list your items and carry on. I mean, if you love what you are doing, you cannot go wrong.
Some tips: Price your items wisely. If you make items similar to others', look at what they offer and what they charge, be competitive. Decide early on if you wish to sell wholesale. This can drastically affect your pricing. For example: If you are selling a charm bracelet for $25 online, a wholesale buyer generally expects 50% off retail price. The trade-off is that they will buy in bulk. So instead of waiting to sell 10 bracelets at $25/each in your retail store, the buyer purchases 10 bracelets at $12.50/each, then sells them elsewhere for the same price as you do in your store. The big question is, at $12.50/each are you going to make any profit? And that depends. I have an Etsy store and I do not sell wholesale because I like to cut out the middleman and offer the best price to my customers. I am not really interested in selling my items through other people's boutiques. On the flip side, I have been approached by many about buying wholesale, but truthfully, if I cut my current prices by half, I would lose my shirt. I would have to double my prices in order to make a profit.
Another thing to anticipate is fees. There are lots of fees, no matter where you go. If you sell on ebay, there is no time limit and no listing fees. Great! But, they take 10% when you sell something. Ouch! Etsy charges $0.20 listing fee every 3-4 months, they take an instant automatic $0.25 fee for each sale, then 3% from the total sale price (including your shipping charges), and then the credit card company (paypal etsypay outside credit cards), takes another 3%. Ouch! The part here that I most hate is taking 3% from shipping fees, but I know why they do it. This is a made-up example for explanation purposes: It started when a person sold something for $8.00, but then charged $12.00 for shipping (while shipping only really cost $3.00). The seller would make $9.00 on the shipping without incurring any Etsy fees (the 3%), thus creating profit without paying the Piper. Etsy handled it by taking a straight 3% from the sale price and the shipping, so now everybody pays. Boo hoo.
That's it for my online sales tips for the day. No onto my gorgeous shrink plastic! 😸😸😸
In the past year I've really gotten into resin work. It's time-consuming and meticulous (as you can mess it up pretty bad and there is no fixing it). However, when all goes well, the results are amazing!
There are many types of resin. I've watched a million videos. My favorite resin is the ArtResin. You can buy it on Amazon in different size containers depending on how much you use. And remember, the hardener can yellow with age, so don't buy too big of a supply if you aren't going to use it fairly quickly. The ArtResin is low odor, crystal clear, and very forgiving. Watch some videos and give it a whirl.
Now onto some of my recent resin-coated treasures!
See? The shine is simply amazing and I could not be happier!
I have a long love affair with shrink plastic and I don't see it ending any time soon. If you would like to see more of my work or are even interested in purchasing a piece, you can find it here:
www.fauxshowart.etsy.com
