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Learning How To Sell

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Auction or Classified - Which option yields the biggest profit?

This varies depending on the demand of the item itself. Items with a small niche market and only a small demand typically fetch higher profits if they are listed in a classified ad. On the other hand, the highest profits come from high demand items, such as exotic sports cars, listed in an online auction. For those high-demand items, it's important to start the auctions with a low minimum bid, and allow the items to work its way up the ladder. Giving the item time to be seen allows for a larger pool of interested buyers, and hopefully, will lead to a profitable bidding war towards the end of the auction.

Auction or Classified - Which is faster?

Online classifieds are often much faster than auctions. On many popular sites if the price is set low and the demand is high, an item will typically exchange hands within one or two days. If the demand is high enough, a classified listing can sell an item in the same hour it's listed! The most common length of time that an item is listed on an auction site is 7 days. Most auction sites also allow for shorter and longer time frames. Typically, auctions can be as short as 24 hours and as long as 30 days (usually reserved for homes).

Auction or Classified - Which costs less?

This depends on where the item is listed. Craigslist(dot)org offers free classified ads to sellers, while most auction sites charge some kind of fee. If you have set a high price for your item and would like to sell it in an auction, then you may need to list it two or three times before it nets the ideal profit. Most auction sites are aware that it takes more than one attempt for an item to sell, and in turn, they will not charge an additional fee for re-listing and trying again. Classified ads, on the other hand, typically incur cost each time that the item is listed.

What's the best way to sell specialized items?

One of the greatest facets of the Internet is its ability to connect buyers with specific needs to the proper sellers. This is particularly true when it comes to specialized items and the rising popularity of eBay alternatives.

For your specialized item, search the Internet and seek out your buyers. If they are already using a specialized marketplace, then that's the perfect place to list your item. Also consider creating multiple listings to achieve the largest amount of online exposure and test the success of both auctions and classifieds to see which selling avenue will work best for you.

Learning How To Sell

Do people tell you that you should be selling your handmade jewelry? Are you interested, but don't know how to start? There are lots of free resources on the internet that can bring you up to speed on what you need to know. Here are my top 7 great resources for learning how to sell handmade artisan jewelry.

1.The Jewelry Sweet Spot (http://www.thejewelrysweetspot.com)

A great site is dedicated entirely to jewelry designers and artisans. It offers free marketing E-Lessons to teach you how to grow your business more quickly, articles about dozens of ways to promote your business, sell more, and work more efficiently and effectively, and alerts and reviews about new products, tools, and books that can help you in your business.

2.The Jewelry Sweet Spot Blog (http://www.thejewelrysweetspot.com/wordpress)

Lots of articles here. There is a regular featured jewelry artist (I think about 2 a month). This is a great place to learn about others who have successful jewelry design businesses and see what others are making. There are also free jewelry making How-To's and tutorials, and articles about selling at shows and online.

3.Home Jewelry Business Success Tips (http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/)

Rena Klingenberg, Author, Publisher, and Jewelry Designer has a great site with lots of articles, tips and shortcuts about selling artisan jewelry. There are over 400 articles listed on this site. Don't miss her interview with Eni Oken. In this interview, Eni Oken explains what she calls, "the twist", easily the best and most concise design advice I've ever read.

4.Eni Oken's Jewelry: http://www.enioken.com/

Eni Oken offers a number of great resources and tips for jewelry designers including free and pay tutorials that you are free to use in your own "for sale" jewelry. So refreshing to see a designer that is willing to share her designs instead of jealously guarding them. All she asks is that you help her promote her site as well. Pretty smart marketing really. Well worth checking out.

5.Jewelry Making at About.com (http://jewelrymaking.about.com/)

This site, maintained by Tammy Powley, offers tons of information about making and selling jewelry. It is a pretty broad site aimed at anyone and everyone, hobbyists, beginners, and jewelry designers alike. I find it a little difficult to wade through all the ads but there is a lot of information here, especially of the beginner variety.

6.Art Jewelry Magazine (http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/)

There is a great forum site here where you can interact with other designers, ask and answer questions about business, and share pictures of your work.

7.Etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com)

This has been a great business starting point for many. Etsy is an online selling site devoted to handmade items of all kinds and is a very inexpensive way to get started in selling your jewelry. There is a very active online forum where you can ask for website critiques, read about selling tips of all kinds (although mostly Etsy related), and make connections with others. The only caveat is that Etsy is quite saturated with jewelry. If your jewelry is common, it may get lost in the sea of jewelry, but if you make very distinctive, appealing jewelry, and do a lot of outside promotion through craft shows and home jewelry parties, you can do quite well on Etsy.

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Both Jerry Work & Christine Gierer are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Jerry Work has sinced written about articles on various topics from Blogging, Home and Internet Marketing. is the ultimate destination for those looking for eBay alternatives. The site features. Jerry Work's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.

Christine Gierer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Appliances, Jewelry and Online Business. Christine Gierer is a self-taught jewelry designer, crafter, and Work-at-Home-Mom who enjoys reading, writing, and making handmade jewelry. Jewelry for the Un. Christine Gierer's top article generates over 1000 views. to your Favourites.

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