New crafts shop.....

Anglis

Hi to all.

I'm planning to open a little shop where people can sell their handmade items, what ever they might be, as long as they fit in the shop. I plan on taking some commision after the sale. Would you think 20% would be fair, because i myself do some crafts and i would not want someone to rip me off.

I was wondering is there need for this kind of shop. I think there is. At the moment the only places to sell your stuff is online or craft fair.

megaten

Where's the shop gonna be based? because depending on that 20% might not be enough. To sell stuff at that rate your going to have to have a lot of demand.

Leitrim lass

I think there is always place for these shops provided the items on sale are good value and good quality.
I would advise you to be selective about the crafts you choose to stock as you want the shop to have a certain standard.
As for 20%. i think that's very fair.

looksee

Do you have a premises and is it in a popular tourist area? If you have to rent a premises, find out how much it will cost per week, plus the cost of insurance and rates, plus the cost of making it suitable for a shop, plus electricity, heating, phone.

There's not a lot of point if you are not in a tourist area and sure of passing trade.

Then assume that your average price of an item is say €20 (leaving VAT out of the discussion for a moment) - 20% is €4. How many items will you have to sell in a day/week to cover all the other expenses, before you start to make a bit for yourself?

This also assumes you are selling 'sale or return' in other words you do not buy the items from the makers, you hold them and sell for them. That means that crafters' goods are tied up in your shop. You will find that the better craftworkers will not go for this arrangement. You are also responsible for breakages, theft and 'shop-soiled' items.

If you are happy with all the above then it might be worth a try.

TreasureBin

All very good points from Looksee.

I have a shop selling craft supplies so I sometimes sell the finished items as well (mainly on behalf of people who have bought the supplies from me in the first place, as well as my own stuff) I must warn you that it can sometimes take a while for pieces to sell, so being in a tourist area would definitely help.
People who don't do crafts themselves don't always appreciate the amount of work that goes into a handcrafted item so aren't prepared to spend the money. And these days people just don't have the money to spend on more expensive items, so you would need to sell a lot of small items to pay your rent.

You will also find things selling better at certain times of the year (wedding gifts in the summer, Christmas items from October onwards, etc) so there will other times when you may find it difficult to make any sales.

You could promote your business by attending local craft fairs, as well as the RDS show at the beginning of December - but it costs A LOT!

So have a good think about all the possible expenses, time and effort you would need to put into this before you do anything.

And if you do decide to go ahead, the best of luck to you.

asylumnut

Hi Anglis,

have you put anymore thought into your venture? I think it sounds like a good idea, especially if the location has high footfall. Personally I think some hand made products like sculptures and once off's need to be seen and touched. Posting a picture online rarely does these pieces justice.
Craft people both amateur and profesional seem to be on the increase and yet there doesn't seem to any shops with these crafts for sale.
Most crafts that I've seen cater to the tourists and are in shops located near attractions. I think it would be a good idea for a shop where you could buy a wood turned bowl for example without going to donegal!

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts!

Regards