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at best prices. You should have a budget established already and do your best to stick to it. Serious research on all your supplies is absolutely essential. Don't buy cheap supplies, buy quality materials but get them at the best prices you can. After a while you'll get a good feel for what's the best deal, but the only way you will do that is by thoroughly researching.

Don't sell yourself short on the prices you will charge. Establish a value for your time, add in your supplies cost for the piece you are making, and mark it up 200% if you will be selling wholesale and 300% if you will be selling retail. Many people who sell handmade crafts especially on eBay devalue their product pricing to such a point that they are not making any profit after fees, material costs and labor. There is no point in devaluing your hard work just to say you sold something so inexpensively ~ especially when you didn't make any profit.

If you buy your supplies wisely, you'll be able to know piece prices for each component used, or you'll be able to do a reasonable round estimate. That is your material cost. Figure a reasonable hourly rate for yourself. Watch the clock the first couple of times you create something. If it takes you less than an hour, divide your hourly rate by the amount of time it took to make the item. That is your labor rate. Take the material cost plus labor rate, and multiply that accordingly as indicated above to get your item cost. That's what you sell it for on your website.

Another thing to think about is your description of the item. Besides good pictures you need a detailed description. Remember your website customers can't meet your item and touch it as they would in a brick and mortar shop, hence the need for great photos and a detailed description. The description is also very useful for the search engines when they spider your site as your description will be carrying quite a few of your keywords by which people will find you. So write your description with care.

Let's discuss competition, which we know is fierce especially in the handcrafted area. It's always a good idea to single out one or two other artists out there whose work is similar to your own. Keep a casual eye on them until you are confident enough of your own work and your pricing that you feel you can take off alone. Your competition can be your unsung mentors in many areas, if you are smart. There's a great deal you can learn from your competition.

And finally, success will come and you'll have one last thing to always keep uppermost in your mind besides your impeccable craftsmanship that you have achieved and your very reasonable pricing ~ excellent customer service. Stand by your handcrafted product 110% and you will establish not only a good crafty e-commerce business but you'll establish an excellent reputation for yourself as an artist that stands out from the rest.

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