to e-bay or not to e-bay that's the question

[DADDIO]

i have sold a few pieces through e-bay,did ok got another small piece on there now.was wondering what success anyone else has had or not had,debating on just setting up a website but that gets rather expensive not sure how the payoff would be next to that expense. the e-bay item number is 300070432954 seller daddio630 if anyone wants to check it out and tell me what you think

[rick-in-seattle]

My opinion: That would have sold very well if it had been on a walking stick.

There are several collectors of walking sticks, but few woodspirit collectors.

If you can make your carvings appeal to more people, the sale price will reflect it.

[DADDIO]

i have several walking sticks done that i may try on there,good advice thanks

[jillsy]

Hi Daddio,

There are a few people on this site, myself included, who have sold on Ebay. Some sell really well, while others (like mine) do ok. Last summer, I sold some miniature carvings and was generally happy with the overall process. Being that I sold miniatures, there wasn't much overhead so even if a piece didn't sell well, monetarily speaking, I still made out ok. Honestly, I wasn't really selling for the money at that point (although it did help!) It was more for the experience and curiosity whether or not my Santas would sell. I haven't sold in a while, but would consider it again.

Just realize that if something doesn't sell, its not necessarily because nobody's interested. There are so many factors - what time of year you sell, what you're selling, who's looking, the price, even the pictures you post are important. Just don't let selling on Ebay be a deciding factor for you whether you feel your work is good enough. There are too many factors involved.

Once you do sell, and get your name and there, people will start noticing and you may even get a following. There's a certain thrill you get when you do sell though so be careful - it can get addicting!!

Good luck!

Jillsy

[DADDIO]

thanks for the advice,your right so much comes into play as for as how item is listed,categories it can be a challenge doing just the listing to get it where you want it that's also why i put this item on,i carve these spirit faces all the time,had a bunch of cedar branch sections and thought of an easy project to see how it would do,thanks for the encouragement,ohh and i know how addictive it can be!!! buying anyway!!!

[Carving_Celtic]

Daddio,

From my eyes this is such a huge question.

Here is My Opinion.....

My vote is to e-bay!

It has become very obvious to me that things sell better if they have a job to do. The form of your Woodspirit on EBay is nice but I think a big question we should constantly ask ourselves is what sets my wood carvings apart from all the others on the internet? HOW CAN I SET MY WOODCARVINGS APART?

For me that answer is Function must accompany Form. When I first started on ebay selling my Celtic High Crosses on EBAY things did not go as I expected. I thought everybody would love my work!!! I wanted to have my ego fed!!! I love for people to see my work, I love the reactions.
Sadly, at the end of that period of my life I was practically giving my work away. Yes, my desire to sell my work was fulfilled and my ego was fed. The problem was I was making about $3.00 an hour and I had a bitter taste in my mouth.

Anyway.... Ponder these things ....Some might seem silly and some are time tested rock solid facts. Remember, in my opinion things sell better if they are doing a job. THEY ARE EARNING THEIR KEEP!

- Could your woodspirit have a Job to do?
Tell the time? Hold something?Umbrellas perhaps? Keys?

- Type in "Woodspirit" on the search line of ebay and Click on the "Completed Listings" tab (lower left screen of ebay's page) and it will show you all of the woodspirits that have sold in the last several months; Make a study of what sold and what did not. Ask yourself why did this sell and this did not?

-What about a Hand Carved Santa That sat atop a "Days 'til Christmas" Calendar? the kind where children opened a little door for each day before Christmas.

- Think outside the blocks.

- Develop an email list. Never go to an Art & Craft Show without having a little raffle for something you carved. People love getting into Raffles. If they sign their email and home delivery address they will have a chance to win something and before you know it you will have a lot of people on your list. Email them when you have something new on ebay.
Email ten of your friends and tell them your Wood Carvings are on ebay and ask them if they would be so kind as to email some of their friends. People are always looking for unique things. Include either a link or the auction number to the carving.

I hope this helps....I'll try to add more later

Bern

[Donna_T]

Ok, you ebayers; give me some advice, too. From time to time I go to ebay to look for wood carvings that might be done by North American "home grown" woodcarvers. But I see page after page of what looks like mass-produced foreign carvings, and get impatient since I don't have time to scroll through all of them looking for one or two good carvings. I live in the boonies and have dial up internet service--so it's slow.

How do I title my search so that I can hone in of good stuff done here at home?

Donna T

[Just Carving]

Click on advanced search when you do your search. You can set a number of parameters to limit your search. For example, enter in your normal search words and then scroll down to location. Here you can set where you want to buy from. That might help some.

[jillsy]

Donna, have you tried typing, "Hand Carved Santa"? If you go under this title specifically, you'll find some, even from your fellow carvers on WCI!

Jillsy

[Donna_T]

Thanks for the help. I don't do very well in trying to figure out how definite I need to list something to search for it. I'll try your suggestion.
Donna T