Need your opinions

[NicoleLJ]

I am blessed to be a stay at home mom. And I love it. But sometimes I get the urge to want to earn some money. Don't get me wrong, hubby makes a good income but I would like to contribute at times. Hubby says I don't have to, but I want to. Anyway I was thinking of using some of my hobbies to earn some extra money. Here are some examples of the pillows I have made:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/NicoleLJ_2003/tmpphpuHoUFo.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/NicoleLJ_2003/tmpphpsvOTF2.jpg

I usually make these and give them away as gifts. Though I have sold some as well. I was thinking of setting up an ebay acount and selling them on there. When I told hubby this he said I should do the same with the stuff I paint. Personally I never thought what I painted was good enough to sell, hubby says differently. But then I never thought my pillows were good enough to sell or give away either but people seem to really like them. Here is an example of my painting:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/NicoleLJ_2003/tmpphpERmfBD.jpg

This one I just finished tonight. I like to buy the premade ones from craft stores and then paint them myself. What do you guys think? Is my crafts good enough to sell on ebay? Or are just the pillows? or niether?
Nicole

[Flatcoatluver]

WOW. I love both. I think it would be even better making you own website. I know a lot of people that would buy from websites instead of ebay. I personally would never buy from ebay, but I would with a website. :D Nice job!

[ramanth]

Very nice! I say sell them both. :D

[krazyaboutkatz]

I like both items.:) I bet that if you made some cat and dog pillows that you could sell them here. You would just need to start a thread with the info in the marketplace section. Good luck.:)

[crow_noir]

I didn't vote, but i will reply. Wow, those pillows are wonderful!

The painted ceramics are nice too. S.O.'s Grandmother use to paint them... and she did a WONDERFUL job. The corner store would sell similar, but whoever did them wasn't that great. ...and they still sold! You do a pretty good job. I think yours would sell.

I agree with krazyaboutkatz that you should post them on the market place here.

Personally i'm not a fan of eBay. I'd suggest some place like Domestic Sale or iOffer. (*sniffle* Bargan and Haggle no longer exists.)

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks everyone. I decided to try it and put some test items on ebay. So I listed the puppy and kitten sculpture and 3 of my pillows. I listed them for 7 days. If they sell then great. If they don't I will just keep making them and sell them at spring, summer and Christmas fairs. Hubby suggested the fair idea. And our town puts on several a year. These 4 objects will give me an idea of whether they are worth listing on Ebay or not. I didn't realize there was a place on this forum to sell things. I defiantely might post some of the things I have dpending on what happens with Ebay.

It is amazing to me that something I do just for enjoyment, that I never thought I would have a talent in, might be something I could do to bring in a little bit of extra cash. Has anyone else discovered that about themselves?
Nicole

[BC_MoM]

What's the link to your account? ;)

Hey -- taking requests? MAKE SOME BORDER COLLIE PILLOWS. :D

[Catty1]

This might work too -sell your works, and say you'll donate a percentage to your local animal charity(whatever you might choose).

That way, you get some money, and help the critters as well... :)

[NicoleLJ]

What's the link to your account? ;)

Hey -- taking requests? MAKE SOME BORDER COLLIE PILLOWS. :D


If I can find some border collie material I will certianly take requests. Since I don't have the material on hand though I can't say how long it would be to get them made and sent. But you can pm me if you want to request some.

Just to give you an idea on the prices I am thinking about. The Egyptian style pillows you see in my first post I would sell for about 25 dollars. The material is more expensive and the tassels are too. And they take a lot more work. I made 6 of them for my Nieces Egyptian b-day party. Each girl there got to take one home.

The large pillows like this one I would sell for about 20 dollars:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/NicoleLJ_2003/tmpphpxlVWsb.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/NicoleLJ_2003/tmpphph0zJWE.jpg

These ones hadn't been made yet so it is just a picture of the material. I have since made them and given them away. I find they made great gifts. The smaller throw pillows I would sell for about 15 dollars. Plus all of them would have shipping added on. This is an example of the smaller ones I do:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h264/NicoleLJ_2003/tmpphpyz5lvS.jpg

I have seen similar pillows going for about 35-40 at craft fairs and Christmas fairs. I don't want to charge too much but I do have to cover at least the costs and shipping. Do these prices sound realistic?
Nicole

[elizabethann]

I chose only sell pillows (on ebay). It will be cheaper to ship them than if you sold those doggy items. The pillows are much lighter. I just started selling stuff on ebay this year. So far I've made about $40. My goal is make $2,000 this year from ebay. But I'm selling stuff I have or found at the dump (not crafts). I just sold some books my sister found at the dump. Apparently, they're very popular on ebay (who would have thunk). And I'm now selling a tree skirt on ebay. No bids on that yet.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck in your venture. I love the pillows. They're very pretty.

[BC_MoM]

Not only does weight matter, though.. so does size.