Craft making?

Question

How likely is it to create a cheaply made craft and sell it for much, much more?

Answer 1

I was telling someone else on here. I have been making crafts for years and selling them at the fall craft shows. My hottest items are decorated and/or lighted miniature Christmas trees and decorated fake pine Christmas wreaths. Every year I can't make enough of them. No one around me will be selling anything and I sell out every year. Go for it.

PS I buy the trees, wreaths and decorations at garage sales and on sale in the stores at the end of the season when they are reduced. I make a great profit on them.

Answer 2

An actual craft is not likely to be cheaply made to begin with. While the materials may be inexpensive, the object in question must still be well made (this is the very definition of craft). Some craft fields have a higher rate of return than others, but it is still unlikely to make an exceptionally high profit (such as spending five dollars on it and selling it for $500), as the amount of time spent creating it cuts into any profit considerably, as well as what people are willing to pay for craft items. If you can manage to tread the fine line between craft and art and sell some of your work as art (which, in the craft fields is much more difficult) it is possible to reap large profits, but much more infrequently. If you're serious about craft and want to make money doing it, your best bet is to come up with some production pieces (simple but cool designs that you can reproduce with relative ease) and sell those. A good example would be a potter selling thrown mugs.
Please note that craft is not those kitschy things you find at so-called holiday "craft" fairs--it is not decorated Christmas trees, styrofoam snowmen, or scrapbooking. To imply so is to insult every crasftperson alive today, and the many more who preceded them. In the future, you may want to word your questions a little more precisely.

Answer 3

It really depends on the craft, and how well it is made.
I crochet and knit and make things like ponchos and baby blankets - to sell or gift.
Depending on the yarn (and price of the yarn) I can make something rather inexpensively and get a lot in return.
Recently I made a baby blanket for less than $10 and sold it for $35. Not bad.
You can make silk floral arrangements that make quite a bit in return.

Another thing to consider is where you will be selling the items? Do you have a market for your craft?

Answer 4

Rather unlikely.
If there is big money in it, many people will do it.
If the materials are cheap but there is a lot of work in it, you might make a lot of profit, not counting your time, but you will get less than when you were flipping burgers.

If you can convince people that what you are selling is art you might get a better price, but even there most people sell for little over the cost of the materials, as there are many artists, but few of them are good.

Your best bet is getting the newest trend before it hits your area and be the first to sell it at the local market, but picking up trends is difficult, it might not reach you, or you might be a little later than someone else who is established already.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Gourds are a very cheap craft to work with. And if you have any tallent at painting or carving they can sell for boo coo bucks. I know artists that sell thiers into the thousands each.