Pure Design Blog

Thinking about selling your hand made craft and design online?

Written on March 8, 2010 – 4:24 pm | by elaine

If you are designer maker, producing ethical or environmentally friendly craft/accessories Pure Design want to hear from you!

We are looking for new designer makers to join our online store. If you are looking to sell your products online why not join our stable of award-winning designers and benefit from our experience in promoting unique, eco and ethical products online? Gain instant access to new ethically minded shoppers through our web shop. Below are a few tips from Elaine, founder of Pure Design, about selling hand made products online…

Returns & Refunds: No pain, No gain.
Returns and refunds are a legal obligation for all mail-order or online shops, with exception of bespoke/commissioned goods. Many designer makers struggle when it comes to implementing a refunds policy; especially those producing items that cost them a significant investment (time and cash) to make. Whilst you can insist that commissioned items are non-refundable, it will impair your ability to sell online. When I first set up Pure Design I had a very rigid returns policy, and was criticised by online e-commerce experts for doing so. When I opened our refund policy up, I saw immediate growth in sales. In the 18 months since, we have only had two items returned. So for us the benefits of a flexible refunds policy has certainly outweighed the negatives. There are also simple steps you can take to limit returns like including clear and plentiful images of products on your website and publishing customer reviews and feedback on products, and of course quality check your products before they go out. Anything that helps customers make a more informed purchase will help reduce returns.

How do you market handmade products that will vary slightly from what is shown on the site?
The closer a product is to what is published online the better. However, it is often the case that hand made products can vary slightly product to product – that is what makes them unique. My position on this is, as long as you are very clear that you are producing products from limited edition materials, where shoppers should expect to see some slight variation in shade or pattern, this is acceptable. Shoppers are smart and as long as you communicate this fact, they will pick up on it.

So when do products need to be listed as separate designs?
This one is down to common sense; put yourself in the shopper’s shoes, would you be happy with the product or would you feel you had been mis-sold something? A good example of a product where we have chosen to list multiple colours are Katie Chaplin’s brooches. As the brooches vary significantly in pattern, colour and style – even though they are the same product type – we thought shoppers would want to choose exactly which brooch to buy. If we feel there are significant variations in pattern, colour or style we will list products as individual items. Although this might take a little more time, it means your customer is going to be happier in the long run (and less returns for you!)

When it comes to selecting which work to sell from a designer/collection, should it be all or nothing?
Without the space restriction of a real shop floor, it is tempting to put everything you have online, but remember that people will make judgements about the price, quality and style of your brand based on everything you show them. So be sure to put an item online based on its merits, not just because you want to get everything out there (so to speak!). Many succesful online businesses only sell one product or service, so more isn’t always better. Remember online customers who like you will visit again – so by holding designs back you have something to show them next time round. At Pure Design we like to introduce new products on a rolling basis, which gives us a great excuse to mention you in our marketing materials for press, and to our customer’s, gradually building awareness and trust in your brand.

Pricing – how much will people be willing to pay?
The best and cheapest thing you can do is ask around (but NOT friends or family). Ask people if they would buy your product online, and if they would how much would it be to clinch the sale. Don’t give them a price to start with, let them tell you. Having worked in the craft sector I am familiar with the formulas some universities teach students on how to price their work. Something like….
….. X hours spent making multiplied by £X per hour (based on experience and reputation), plus £ cost of materials, plus commission etc.

I think this is a very useful formula to work out the cost of the product which you need to know in order to run your business. But it is important to remember that COST should not always equal PRICE. Sadly some products, that boast amazing credentials and craftsmanship, are just too costly to be commercially viable. You need to look at your product objectively as a commercial proposition. If you have a range of products and some are more commercially viable than others, perhaps you can opt to sell just a selection online. You might find you are able to recoup costs and make a profit on more expensive pieces in galleries, or through Open Studio events? At Pure Design our best selling items are non-wearable gifts priced under £25.00. Whilst we do sell items priced over £450.00 these sales are not as common and these products meet a very specific need.

High quality images are a must!
When products are viewed online, customers make snap judgements. Customers choose to view a product or click away to another page in seconds. So if your product image and pricing isn’t clearly displayed, you could lose the sale before you even get started. People shop with their eyes, so make sure pictures are engaging and you have lots of them. Go for a lifestyle shot and at least two cut out (white background) images if you can. Zoom functions are great as well and offer a way for shoppers to engage with your product – a bit like handling things on display in a shop. Also, journalists visit websites too, we often receive press requests after hournalists have seen something on our website. So try to make sure that you have high resolution versions of all your images that are featured on the site (or at least a good range of alternatives). High resolution images for press should be jpeg, 300 pixels per inch, minimum of 1000 x 1000 pixels in dimension (usually between 1-5MB in size).

About Pure Design
At Pure Design we are passionate about great design, people and the planet. Elaine offers a personable service to artists and designers, promoting and selling handmade products through the online store Pure Design. Having worked in the UK craft sector, Elaine understands the challenges of selling and marketing craft online, and has a found an engaging and successful way to launch new designer brands and products through www.puredesigncompany.co.uk.

Top image: Particle Article, available from Pure Design.