Is it worth it?

[HalbertMusik]

Greetings_

Maybe I am crazy but... Recently I stiched a small bookmark of my own design - geometric in nature and nothing groundbreaking, gut still good looking (IMHO). Would it be worth it to put a design together in kit form and list it on Ebay? As I have been stitching for a few years now, I think that I have a feel for the practical part of 'kiting out' a design. And as this will be something I do at home with no other buisness needs - completely homegrown - it seems that overhead will be minimal.

Of course I have no dreams of grandeur about this - I just figured that if I could sell a few kits now and then, I could finance this hobby to some degree.

Can anyone give me a cupfull of advice? Am I barking up the wrong tree?

William David

[Mabel Figworthy]

hi William, as long as you don't count on it to provide you with a full-blown pension I'd say go for it. A few things to bear in mind:

- be very clear about what is and what isn't in the kit. If you provide a chart, fabric and thread only, say in the description that the buyer will need to provide their own needle, and that it doesn't come with instructions. (Of course you may choose to provide both needle and instructions, in which case emphasise that it is a really complete kit!)

- Fabric and thread are not your only costs. Don't forget to factor in the cost of printing, especially if some of it is in colour, and the cost of whatever you pack the kit in. Buying in bulk will keep the costs down, but you may not wish to do that until you know whether there is a demand for your kits.

- Personally I think it helps to have a picture of a stitched model on the front of the kit; I really dislike it when I get a chart but no indication of what it will look like stitched (however, some people don't mind -- most HAED stitchers never see a stitched model before buying the chart)

Just a few ideas, I hope they'll be useful -- and good luck with your venture!

PS I don't know what the design is, but do make sure that it is completely your own work before selling it; if it consists of small designs by other people which you have put together in a new way, you would still need their permission.

[geekishly]

Echoing what Mabel said. You might consider just selling the pattern in either printed or PDF format as the costs will be lower. Also selling on etsy might be the better option than selling it on ebay as more people looking for crafts are apt to see it and a listing there lasts 4 months instead of a matter of days.

[CrossStitchHappy]

You can also sign up at Craftsy.com. It's free to sell there, and I have 4 of my patterns up (2 of my biscornu and my original digital art of a Night Fae, the other is a quilting pattern) - as PDF downloads. All you need to do is to provide the PDF file, upload that to Craftsy and that's it. You'll also need to include your PayPal email address so that people can pay for the pattern.

Craftsy will ask if you own the copyright to each design - in the case of my digital art one, I have multiple sources of proof that it *is* my original design.

To be honest, I've sold the one free biscornu pattern, and that's it, but it's also only been 10 days since I've put the patterns up.

[HalbertMusik]

Thank you all for your suggestions!

There just seems to be something more viceral about a kit as opposed to just a chart...

I looked at Etsy and I like the site, it just is that I live in Southern Germany and I am not sure about working with Etsy from here.

I understand your concerns about Ebay - my wife and I do a small bit of selling there already and I think that in principal you are correct - it is just a matter of available venues.

By the way, I am at the moment listening to the Beethoven Choral Fantasy - from the Schleswig-Holstein music festival - the Finale. Exquisite - and to think that the participants are high school age kids just starting out...

William David

[LastingAllure]

You can also sign up at Craftsy.com. It's free to sell there, and I have 4 of my patterns up (2 of my biscornu and my original digital art of a Night Fae, the other is a quilting pattern) - as PDF downloads. All you need to do is to provide the PDF file, upload that to Craftsy and that's it. You'll also need to include your PayPal email address so that people can pay for the pattern.

Craftsy will ask if you own the copyright to each design - in the case of my digital art one, I have multiple sources of proof that it *is* my original design.

To be honest, I've sold the one free biscornu pattern, and that's it, but it's also only been 10 days since I've put the patterns up.

OMG I love you! I love this site thanks for pointing it out I can't believe I never heard about it before!

Personally I sell on Etsy and cross stitch patterns don't do that well unless you're selling copyrighted patterns (which isn't allowed but Etsy won't do anything unless Disney makes a complaint which is stupid...)

Etsy also doesn't offer the right away download, the seller has to e-mail which is slow and time consuming. So I am excited about Craftsy and fingers crossed this works and I can get rid of my Etsy account...

[roo_bear]

Greetings_

Maybe I am crazy but... Recently I stiched a small bookmark of my own design - geometric in nature and nothing groundbreaking, gut still good looking (IMHO). Would it be worth it to put a design together in kit form and list it on Ebay? As I have been stitching for a few years now, I think that I have a feel for the practical part of 'kiting out' a design. And as this will be something I do at home with no other buisness needs - completely homegrown - it seems that overhead will be minimal.

Of course I have no dreams of grandeur about this - I just figured that if I could sell a few kits now and then, I could finance this hobby to some degree.

Can anyone give me a cupfull of advice? Am I barking up the wrong tree?

William David

I think that is a really good idea, especially if they sell well and you put more up, you could even make a small business out of it.