Handmade Accessories

Pictures of handmade earrings

Steps

Method 1

Where to Sell

1. Create an account with a marketplace website. A marketplace website is any website where potential buyers can search through a wide range of items from many different sellers. Many marketplace websites sell a broad range of content, but those that specialize in homemade items or homemade jewelry may make it easier for you to draw the right client base to your online shop.
2. Prepare yourself for the fees involved. In order to make money, you have to spend money, first. Marketplace websites make most of their money by charging fees. Many online market places charge listing fees, which are fees you pay to post an item to the website, and renewal fees, or fees paid to renew a listing if it expires before being sold. Some websites also take a percentage of the money you make from each item you sell. Every marketplace website is different, though, so you must research the fees for each one before signing up.
3. Find out what methods of payment you must use. The majority of marketplace websites will accept the most common methods of payment, but this is not a guarantee. If you have a preferred method of payment, you should first find out which marketplace websites allow that method to be used.
4. Gauge how easy it will be to contact customer support. A marketplace website that provides a phone number as well as an email address is more likely to be able to help you if any problems arise. Better customer support will lead to a more pleasant selling experience.
5. Consider starting your own website once your business grows. When you start to develop your own customer base, you can switch over to your own website and most of your customers will follow you there. There are still fees involved with having your own website, but if you can generate a lot of sales, the fees will be much smaller than they would be if you continued selling through an online marketplace.
   • Allow your customers to pay you through a certified, third-party payment service. New customers are more likely to feel safer using a third-party payment group than they would be giving you their credit card information directly.
   • Go the extra mile to make your website look professional. Use webpage software or hire a web designer.
   • Note that you should only switch to your own website once you are able to invest a good deal of time into building your business. Otherwise, the cost of maintaining a website may not be worth it for the amount of sales you generate.