4 Reasons Your Handmade Products Aren’t Selling

Who doesn’t want to sell more handmade products? Of course, that’s what every handmade business owner is after. But there’s a common misconception when it comes to sales.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from business owners when wondering why they don’t sell more handmade products:

People love my work, but they’re not buying!

I’ve said the words myself.

The problem is; you can’t go by what people say, you have to go by what people buy.

It’s easy for someone to say “that’s really nice”. We all do it and probably say or think it a hundred times when we’re shopping at a craft show or the mall.

But when it comes time to put our money where our mouth is, although an item may be “nice”, we may not be willing to let go of our hard-earned cash for it.

There are millions of nice things in this world that we could spend our money on but we all have limited funds.

Compliments don’t pay the bills so let’s find out why people are saying they love your work but not actually buying it. Here’s how you can sell more handmade products.

 

BEFORE WE BEGIN, FIRST CHECK…

Are you attracting enough shoppers?

If you don’t have enough shoppers to generate the sales you want to achieve, the tips in this article won’t help.

So what’s considered “enough shoppers”? The average eCommerce conversion rate is 1 – 2%.

That means, a social media post, on average, must drive 100 people to an online shop to make one sale.

Once you’ve worked on your marketing and have enough traffic coming to your sales channel, work on the following points in this article to convert more of those shoppers into customers.

 

4 Reasons Shoppers Aren’t Buying REN’T BUYING

If your sales channels (e.g. website, Etsy shop, craft show booth, etc.) are attracting lots of shoppers, but those shoppers aren’t buying, it may be because of one or more of the following reasons:

 

#1 – People are just being nice

If you’re hearing “I love your work!” but have no sales, is it possible that people are just being kind?

There hasn’t been one product or service I’ve offered in my 15+ years of being an entrepreneur that didn’t require me to swallow my pride, go back to the drawing board, and change what I thought I got right.

Of course, my first reaction when questioning if I might actually have a bad product or service was to get defensive. 

But, if no one is buying, how good could my product/service really be?

I had to decide; did I want to be right (in my own mind) or did I want to sell more?

Once I accepted that my business might not be as amazing as I thought it was, I was able to look at it with a critical eye and make the necessary changes.

 

How to know if shoppers are just being nice

Craft Shows
      • shoppers look from a distance
      • shoppers don’t pick anything up
      • shoppers don’t ask any questions
      • shoppers don’t stay long at your craft show table
Online
      • lots of likes and comments but no views/clicks
      • not many likes or views
      • low website traffic and product inquiries

How to fix it

You’ve realized that maybe people don’t like your product as much as they say they do.

Don’t get discouraged. This can be the fun part.

You get to go back to the drawing board and be creative. You can brainstorm new ideas, test new handmade products, and shake things up a little.

But you’ll need to be strategic if you’re going to make changes to your handmade products. Don’t guess what needs to change and which features might make your products better. Do your research.

Check out:

 

 

#2 – You’re targeting the wrong market

Although your handmade products are unique, they’re still competing with thousands of other businesses.

To stand out and take some sales away from your competitors, you must offer something that’s better suited for their customers.

Many small business owners don’t want to get too specific when it comes to who they’re targeting because they think it will mean fewer sales. But it’s actually the opposite that’s true.

There are thousands, maybe even millions of jewelry, soap, art, crochet, etc. businesses selling products that vary only slightly from each other.

So when a business creates jewelry for women, or soap for men and women, or art for homeowners, etc., it’s competing for the crumbs of a very big pie.

Instead, a small business must target a more specific market of people and alter their products, marketing, website, selling techniques, etc. to appear to that market.

How to know if you’re targeting the wrong market

Some of these situations may indicate there’s an issue with who you’re targeting:

Craft Shows
      • You get a wide variety of people stopping at your craft show booth (as opposed to: everyone who stops is a mom, or is a camper, or is getting married, etc.)
      • People you think should stop, just keep walking
      • No one is crazy for your items; they’re sort of ho-hum about them
      • You’re unable to create connections with your shoppers / you can’t find anything in common with them
Online
      • You don’t have organic traffic (i.e. you must pay for ads to get traffic) because your content doesn’t speak to anyone specific
      • When you do pay for ads, you don’t know who to target and the ads are ineffective
      • You have a wide variety of social media followers or not very many followers
      • You don’t know where to find customers

How to fix it

If you’ve defined your target market or ideal customer based on demographics alone (e.g. gender, age, marital status, etc.), it’s likely that you haven’t gotten specific enough about your target market.

The information you use to define your target market must help you find your customers.

Your customers are out there forming in groups. It’s much easier and more effective to market to groups so you’re not selling one-by-one.

You must choose an existing group to target, determine what the people in that group have in common, and then use that information to alter your business so it’s more appealing to that group of people.

There’s one trick to choosing the right target market for your business. If you don’t know who your business targets, or are targeting a very broad market (e.g. women in their 30’s), check out:

 

#3 – Your products aren’t priced right

When people land on your website or visit your craft show booth, your prices may be throwing sales off.

Too High

In most cases, handmade vendors underprice their work. But if you’re starting out and using the common pricing formula: materials + time = cost, cost x 2 = wholesale price, wholesale price x 2 = retail price (or something similar), it may just be that your material and time costs are too high, which will drive up your prices.

>> The Right Way to Price a Handmade Product (Step-by-Step Formula)

If the amount of time you put into a handmade product is pushing the price higher than people are willing to pay, you don’t have a sustainable business.

Shoppers are always comparing your business and products to your competitors’. For them to buy from you, they must be able to justify paying more for your product and see the value in paying more.

Too Low

Shoppers assume low prices mean low quality or that they’re making some other type of sacrifice (e.g. poor labour standards, materials are bad for the environment, etc.).

A handmade business can also lose a bit of its credibility when prices are too low.

When I come across a pair of earrings priced at $5 and another pair priced at $30, I automatically think the vendor selling the $30 earrings has more experience and knowledge in jewelry making. They seem more authentic and are confident enough to charge that price because they know the value of their work.

It’s easy to think: the price is so low, why wouldn’t someone buy it? Everyone can afford it. 

But that’s not always the case.

Price alone can lead shoppers to make assumptions about your products, which may not necessarily be true. Make sure your prices reflect the value you’re providing.

 

How to know if your prices are too high or low

Some of these situations may indicate there’s an issue with your pricing:

Craft Shows
      • If people at a craft show stop at your table after something catches their eye, but they don’t end up buying
      • If they spend a lot of time in your booth but don’t buy
      • If they put items down after learning the price
Online
      • If views are high but sales are low
      • If lots of people make it to your shopping cart page but don’t buy (they may have had second thoughts based on the price)
      • If your bounce rate is high (people follow a link to your product, learn the price, then leave without visiting other pages or learning more)
      • If the average time spent on your website is low (something changed their mind quickly)

 

How to fix it

Too High

If your work is priced higher than average for a reason, you must clearly explain that reason to help shoppers understand your prices.

If you want to sell more, you also must be sure every aspect of your business says your handmade products are worth their price.

What surrounds your products (e.g. website design, craft show props, customer service, etc.) will either raise the perceived value of your products or lower it.

If you feel your sales would benefit from lowering the prices of your handmade products, you must first lower your costs. Otherwise, you’re eating into your profits, and you have to sell more to make the same amount of money. Check out:

Too low

If you believe your handmade products are priced too low, simply start raising your prices. Many handmade vendors are skeptical about making a price increase and believe it may harm their sales. But if you’re currently unhappy with how much handmade product you sell, what’s the harm in bumping the price up and seeing where it gets you?

Many handmade business owners have reported that they sell more product when they raise their prices.

Again, be sure the elements that surround your handmade products support your price point. If your photos, descriptions, packaging, etc. are lacklustre, the higher price point may not help communicate higher value, and you still won’t sell more.

If you need help increasing the perceived value of your handmade products at a craft show and creating a display that supports your prices, check out:

 

#4 – Ineffective selling techniques

I know, you likely don’t enjoy selling but if you want to sell more, it’s necessary. You definitely can get away with less selling at a craft show if every other aspect of your display is on point, but even then, you need to give the shopper a little attention.

When it comes to selling online, the same applies. Your description is your sales pitch, and all other elements (your product title, photos, bio, policies, etc.) need to play a supporting role and tell shoppers: you can trust me and you’ll be making a good decision if you buy from me.

Not many products sell themselves and most shoppers need help picturing a product in their lives.

If you want to sell more handmade, don’t assume your shoppers know everything you know about your products or the materials/ingredients/techniques you use, and the benefits of them.

 

How to tell if you need to improve your sales techniques

Craft Shows
      • shoppers spend a lot of time in your booth but don’t buy
      • they ask a lot of questions but don’t buy
      • they’re interested in your products but start to back off when your sales pitch starts
      • they walk away but come back later to buy – they had to convince themselves; your pitch didn’t quite do it.
Online
      • people spend a lot of time on your product pages but don’t purchase
      • you receive a lot of emails asking questions about your products
      • your description is one sentence
      • you only have one photo of your product

 

How to fix it

Selling doesn’t have to be complicated or hard. You just need to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. What do they care about when shopping for handmade products like yours? Which features are they looking for? What are their concerns?

First, switch from the mindset of a maker to one of a shopper. We’re often so close to our work, we talk to shoppers as though they’re our colleagues, with the same knowledge of products, materials, techniques, terms, etc. as us.

For example, someone who sells soap may label their bars as “cold-processed”. Other soap vendors may know what that means and the benefits of cold-process soap. But I personally have no idea…..and I buy a lot of handmade soap.

Online

If you need help with your online descriptions, please check out:

Your product photos should also tell a story and help shoppers imagine your products in their lives.

Use photos to put your products into perspective.

Check out:

Offline

If your in-person selling at craft shows needs a little help, these articles may be helpful:

When your craft show display is on-point, it can do most of the selling for you. Be sure to check out the free email challenge:

 

4 Reasons your Handmade Products Aren't Selling SAVE

12 Comments

  1. Cassandra says:

    I sell my ‘sort of over the top’ jewelry at art shows. I often have people tell me they love a piece but don’t go anywhere they can wear it. I enthusiastically tell them how I wear my pieces to the post office, the grocery store, the airport, etc. and how often, as a result, I have the most interesting conversations with people who notice the piece.

    Sometimes, if someone seems hesitant, I will admit my pieces are not for shy people who don’t want to be noticed. This usually invokes a laugh and can also make them see themselves as confident to wear it. If they remain unsure, I will show them something a little more sedate but they will, quite often, go back to the original one.

    Reply
  2. Made Urban says:

    Hi Cassandra! Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂 That sounds like a great sales technique. It may even help to photograph some of your “over the top” pieces being worn with casual outfits in casual settings (jeans and tee at a coffee shop?) to help shoppers see how great they look with any outfit.
    ~Erin

    Reply

  3. I have run into the most bizarre thing at the shows that I go to. I sell crochet items, mostly ‘nerd’ things (batman toques, Harry Potter scarves, things like that). When I just plain gave up engaging people, and just sat there, crocheting another item, making no eye contact, and not talking to anyone until they spoke to me first, my sales went up. Way up. Like, from 0 sales from an entire show, to entirely selling out my stock of scarves at one.
    I have no idea why.

    Reply
    1. Made Urban says:

      It could be that your typical customer prefers to shop in silence. Understanding who your ideal customer is and their preferred shopping method will definitely help too 🙂

      Reply
  4. Diane Reed says:

    I loved this article!!!!! Though if we could bottle and sell the secret we would stop being makers and be marketing wizards!
    I have a different story. In my 30s, after having my last baby I did my first art show at the age she is now (31!) I did art shows up the yin yang and never once considered any one of them a dud! Because each one taught me different things are merited new friends, new suppliers, (such as my wood guy who’d make me anything I had in my head! Loved him!) Anywaay, I finally settle in with an art show that was a fit for me and rarely did others, because they did (and still do) about 7 or 8 shows a year. Which is great for me because it is just enough time for me to replenish my stock each in-between shows.
    My main product are whimsical greeting cards and I also have a line of whimsical dolls that kind of match my cards. The dolls were my very first line and then later I began making cards which have evolved and come full fold. I look back at some of my items that an old customer has shown me recently and cringe. But oddly enough most of it sold.
    I think quality control is everything! I think your lines have to be cohesive and make sense. Like you can’t really sell fine jewelry and boho or dolls and a make up line, etc… It needs to make sense to gain a customer base that begins to follow you. And after all of these years, I think that is the secret.
    You start to get a following… You make pick up a few or several at each show but you slowly start to build the ones that keep coming back, the ones that actually seek you out and find you! Whether at a show or now, days, on line.
    When we moved out of the area, I still drove 4 hours to do that one show a few times a year. Though the profit was not as great when I lived locally, I still couldn’t find another show that was as well marketed or attended. I only stopped when we opened our own little gift shop. Which with all of my background at the shows, it did very well. I’d learned a lot at gift shows and just what customers bought and we made a profit the first year. Though sadly in 2003 after 3 years of being very spoiled by regular local customers and tourists that kept coming back an earthquake hit out little town and wiped out out little neighborhood of merchants. And so I had to go re-invent me and go get a “real” job. From my experience as an artist and doing shows… I was blessed to fall under an amazing bosse’s wing and learned the art of event coordinating and did that for over a decade. (convincing myself that I didn’t miss retail or the art world.) Though I did get to design and was put in charge of the gift shop where I worked, so I got my retail fix! When the hotel I worked for was SOLD, I took that opportunity to try to get back into the art world and start my business again. Though I maintained my card line, I needed to create a new side-line of dolls that weren’t dated… and THAT is where I have landed today! Still trying to figure out HOW TO FIT IN! And why I love your articles! I definitely do not have the customer base I used to! (I could sell a $1000 worth of cards at one show when my cards were $1.50 each. NOW… It’s a little harder when social media reminds you of an occassion and allows you to send wishes to that person all within the click of a key! 🙁 Lol. My motto is… “Tell someone how much you care and put a stamp on it!” Card giving has become a lost art! And the dolls, well, when I started making them… I had a line of mop dolls! So you know that definitely is dated… though I bet they will come back around again eventually.. 🙂
    My daughter (also tried her hand at art shows while becoming an actress!) did quite well with her little paper clay sculptors and got high dollar for them on Etsy but some of the higher end shows…. thinks that I don’t charge enough. She’s constantly telling me to double my prices! And she actually got her price for what she made! So who knows. I do know that I spend a lot of time and material on a lot of my work and I watch people gather in my booth, and buy, I watch them just pass by, I watch them come back again and again. I wish I knew!
    I do know that we use booth location, as an excuse a lot, which can be an issue… I mean if you are placed at the entrance of a show, I used to think that was the BEST spot ever! After doing shows forever… it’s definitely not! Because people want to feel as if they are seeing everything before they decide on a purchase. So though you might feel lost in the middle of a show… I feel if you have stuff that people want, if you are in the middle, most customers have that subconscious purchasing release by then. LOL! And that is my only factual theory in the 30 years I have done shows, stopped doing shows and come back! And definitely I am here to tell you that when I left my customer base behind to open up my shop, I was at the top of my game. & I thought that I could just slip right back in where I left off…. It’s not happening! And why I’ve landed here! Hoping you could share the secrets of success in this crazy world of making!
    Thanks for your insights! They are sooo appreciated!

    Reply
  5. Gwen Gladieux says:

    I have gone to many craft shows trying to sell my handmade jewelry. The last show was a total failure as most folks were more interested in eating and buying overly expensive drinks. I did my best to invite them over to my booth, but nobody seemed interested. Could it have been because it was a food related show and not an arts and crafts show?

    Reply
    1. Sharon Young says:

      I have no problem selling my craft at “Craft “shows but I learned from experience that music venues,car shows and the like isn’t a good venue for crafts no matter how much attendance..

      Reply
  6. Gaila Palo says:

    What is a good rate of visitors vs sales at a craft show? I recently did a show that was absolutely a ghost town, but still sold 6 items. I *think* that was a good average, but i’m still learning how to gauge what success looks like at a low attendance show. A post about what to do when no one is coming to your show would be really helpful, especially in the middle of this pandemic craziness. Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Allen Maddox says:

    I’m new to all this. I’m making “friendship bracelets”, but not like what you normally see. The kids I show these to are mostly 10 y/o and up through high school. I’ve been giving some away to kids who help me come up with new ideas and those who have a lot of social media followers. They say they like the bracelets. I see them wearing them all the time. But, I still don’t get any traffic to my website. As a result I have no sales.
    After reading this article I’m thinking I have to look t my marketing again and figure that out first before I do anything else. Thanks for helping me figure out where I need to start.

    Reply
  8. Melinda Gerhart says:

    I’m one those shoppers who says You do good work but don’t buy because I can’t afford the items for sale. Down where I live we have an art’s festival that has thousands of vendors and more thousands of attendees. I can’t afford the entry fee. I sell my stuff at the Tractor supply company but the last time I was there I was the only vendor. So no sales. I need to raise my prices.

    Reply
  9. Melinda Gerhart says:

    I am also changing my display items. Recently I went to a Craft Market and there was no foot traffic. They are working on getting people to come shop. I’m slowly changing my target market to crochet with cotton yarn.

    Reply
  10. Cherilyn Barber says:

    I am in Victoria Australia. I find that I feel like asking people to fill out a survey of what they would really like to find at a Craft Market .Like others that have commented ,it seems most just turn up for Lunch and a Drink .The Craft Stands to them , just happen to be there . Odd but ,I have done a lot of people watching .Not a lot of profit making .

    Reply

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