Thread: where do you sell

I have only been making pens since just before christmas last year and so far most of my pen sales have been through SWMBO taking them to work to sell to her collegues. That market has dried up now...though she is finishing up there in couple of weeks and will be moving on to another office full of potential customers .

I have also recently tried the web in the form of the US site Etsy. Which is basically a site for anyone to sell their hand crafted goods. This so far, after a promising start(sold a pen after only a couple of days) has gone a bit quiet. But from what I have read on the ETSY forums it takes a while before things start to really move along.
this is my "shop" on etsy www.browndogwoodcraft.etsy.com

Hopefully by the end of the year I will also have enough stock (not just pens) to set up a stall at one of the craft markets that happen once a month around here aswell.


cheers
BD

I sell my pens at work and through family & friends.

There are plenty of markets around here and there are already turners selling pens and competing with each other. If you are the only turner you can make some money at markets. Talking to the locals here, they sell 4 or 5 pens if they are lucky (they also sell bowls/trinkets etc) and are lucky to show a profit, provided you don't charge for your time. It certainly isn't worth giving up your day job to sell at the markets.

Terry

I sell through a few different places and different ways, I have pens in a privately owned jewellery store, selling high end pens eg, Emperors, Statesman, Imperial and Kyoto pens in burls only. I have my work in a local cooperage that make small barrels out of American White Oak and I have an endless supply of the stuff, and make Oak pens in x-cut exclusively for them. Work is always a good place especially at Christmas and through out the year for birthdays. Have them in an up market gift shop in the centre I work in. I always have a couple of pens in my pocket and get customers to sign paper work with and get sales that way as well and also have the wood guilds annual expo which I am the only pen crafter there so sales are always good there.
Darren

G'day Terry,

I don't actually sell a lot of pens, but when I do a craft show, I bring them along with my scroll art. During the Christmas season, they sell pretty well, but not at a great price. Of course, if I were to do a "Husker" pen using a very red wood, and did segmentation on one half in the shape of the letter N, they would sell like hotcakes.


Cheers,

Rick

ok, you got me ... what is

Of course, if I were to do a "Husker" pen using a very red wood, and did segmentation on one half in the shape of the letter N, they would sell like hotcakes.

a husker pen? I know I'll probably feel very silly when you give me the answer!

JD

G'day JD,
I apologize for that. I guess I have been in Nebraska too long. Everybody here just assumes the whole world knows about the Huskers. If you were to ask any Nebraska native, the Huskers are "THE" college sports team. They have a huge history in college football and in the past three years, national titles in women's volleyball. Sometimes I think if you used crayons to draw the letter "H" on a bear dropping, it would sell.

Cheers,

Rick