Don't Do This to Make Extra Money

There are a lot of ways to make some extra income in your spare time. Tons. Answering surveys online, tutoring, babysitting, selling things on eBay, offering services on Fiverr or TakeLessons, heck people even make money blogging!

But I have one piece of advice on something you should NOT do to make extra money. Brace yourselves for this.

Don’t make crafts and sell them on Etsy.

Now, this is a popular addition to blog posts and articles about making extra money, because you can make money from making things and selling them on Etsy. However, a major reason I tell people to not do this is because you don’t do it right.

As someone who does sell on Etsy, and elsewhere, it is very difficult to actually make money from it. Why? Because of folks out there who think to themselves, “Hey, I like to make _______, I should make a bunch and sell them!”

But, I can hear you saying, you just said that you sell on Etsy and elsewhere. Aren’t you one of those people who makes stuff and tries to sell it?

Yes, yes I am. But I treat it like a business. What do I mean by that? Well let me start off by saying why I don’t like the fly by night crafters who are just trying to make a quick buck.

•      They use the cheapest material they can.
•      They don’t time themselves and charge a living hourly wage based on skill level, cost of materials, and overhead (gas, postage, packaging, etc.)
•       They are amateurs- meaning they haven’t worked professionally in the field, or they don’t take classes to learn or improve skills, and they just kind of do it when they want to.
•      They price to sell, not to live

All of these things undermine those of us who are trying to actually ‘ do it right’. I can’t compete with a lady using $2 WalMart yarn to make hats, that take her four hours to make each,  and sell them for $5 a pop.  It’s just not possible.

Not only that, but that becomes the expectation on sites like Etsy and at craft markets and fairs. Customers can no longer identify quality over price.

As an example, if I were to make a hat using yarn that I would buy and use for myself, the yarn alone would cost $20. If I’m careful with it I might get two hats out of it. So, $10 in materials only. Then there’s the whole 4 hours to actually make the hat. Charging a fair wage based on my experience (10 years of knitting, professional seamstress for three years, and university educated in costume design, and continually attending workshops and classes to learn new skills and improve my current skill set) and performing what would be considered “Skilled Labor” (think what you pay your mechanic or doctor), I would expect about $15 an hour. You also need to factor in the time it took to go to the store, buy the yarn, the mileage to and from the store and post office, plus the time it took to package and mail your hat to you. Don’t forget postage. I’m in to one hat almost $100.

People look at your $5 acrylic Walmart hat, and my $100 handmade wool hat and only see the dollar signs.

There are people out there who rely on platforms like Etsy and craft fairs as their sole income. If they can’t sell because there are amateurs to compete with on price, then their families starve.  They lose their house because they can’t make the mortgage payment.

All because you think you can make a quick buck by producing a craft product cheaply and selling it.

So, if that is your plan I ask you to PLEASE DON’T DO IT. 

How to Sell Your Stuff on Facebook: A Buyer's Perspective

 I’ve been a member of a Facebook Yard Sale group for about a year now, and in that year I have both bought and sold items in this group. (Mostly bought.) If you are like me, you may be on Pinterest a lot… and you may have run into pins that lead to blog posts on how to sell your stuff on these Facebook type groups, as well as Craigslist and Ebay.

What bothers me about these posts, is they all seem to have some type of “learn from a seasoned seller” or “learn from my mistakes as a seller” aspect to them. Which isn’t necessarily bad, but in my experience and education I’ve learned that it is more important to know what the buyer thinks. Great you know how to sell because you are a seller. But do you know how to sell because you are a buyer?

Here’s one buyer’s advice on how to sell me you stuff!

              

  Pricing

I hate it when a post for an item that I may want says “Message for prices”.  I don’t even click on these ones.

Just as bad are the ones that are listed as “Free” or “$1” in the header, then in the post there is a price listed that is not “free” or “$1”

Finally, don’t tell me how much you paid, that you’re just ‘trying to get your money back’, or how much it’s “worth”. I don’t care. I care about getting a good deal. Just give me the price.

             

   Pictures

If the picture is blurry…

If it has bad lighting…

If the item is not clearly shown/only partially shown…

If the room it is in is cluttered…

I WILL not click for more info.

                Sizes

While the others are also pet peeves, this one is by far the most annoying. Why? If I get to the point where I want to see the info on the item, such as what the size is, this means I have already seen the price and pictures and am willing to seriously consider buying.

If there isn’t a size on the items (clothes and shoes are the items that need sizes stated) then I will pass. You honestly could have had a sale, if you had just said “Boots Size 6” instead of “Women’s Boots”

                Grammar and Spelling

I am averse to doing business with someone who cannot correctly spell what it is that they are trying to sell. Or someone who uses bad grammar. For example they "Want 2 sale baby cloths". (Want to sell baby clothes.)

To me this is a red flag that the person either doesn’t know the worth of what they are selling and will not negotiate down on their prices, or they are trying to scam me.

Yes. One group I belong to has notorious scammers. As in, posted an item, took payment, never delivered. Most recently it was posted and item, sold, delivered, then cut off communication with the buyer when they discover cockroaches in the item. Even blocked the buyer from contacting them claiming harassment.

                Not Negotiating

If you are selling on Facebook, it is the same as selling on Craigslist, or even doing a yard sale. People are looking for a deal and will haggle over the price. You have to be willing to work with them if you want to sell. Remember, you are selling to make more room in your house or to get some quick cash. If you want a specific price on an item, price higher so the buyer can negotiate down and still feel like they got a good deal. Or find another avenue to sell on where negotiation is not as common.

Writing in the post that the “price is firm” or “non-negotiable” will lead me to pass.

                Bonus Tip: First to Contact

In groups like this, it sells on a First Comment, First Serve basis. Then a queue is formed and if the first person passes or flakes out it moves to the next person. Last week I was first to comment on an item that we really need. I was ready to buy on the spot. I commented less than 10 minutes after the post went up.

I was told it was sold already. And I. Was. Mad. If you sell an item, or it’s PPU (pending pick up), put that on the posting the SECOND IT HAPPENS. I actually complained to the moderator of the group, yet again because this has happened several times to me from several different sellers, at least one of them is now blocked from the group.

If the item is cross-posted, say so. This item was not listed as cross posted but for it have already sold it HAD to have been. I wouldn’t have been so angry if the seller had stated it was cross posted, or had put in the listing that it was PPU. Here, over a week later and that post still does not say it was sold, and when I followed up to buy, the seller did not return my inquiry. A simple, “It’s sold.” Would suffice.

Happy Selling! 

And there you have it. 5 tips to sell on Facebook from someone who actually buys! While these may be the same as someone who sells wrote, I hopefully gave you a different perspective on the why behind these tips.

Happy Selling!