New to selling... Advice needed!

[donnalynn2]

I made my hubby a poncho earlier this year and it's finally gotten to where it's cold enough for him to wear it. It's actually way too big (my first attempt you know!) but he loves it anyway. I made it with Wool-Ease and he says it's the warmest thing he owns...

Anyway, he said that he's been getting compliments about it everytime he wears it. He said that one of his co-workers was wearing a scarf she made and someone bought it right off her neck. He said he would love to "model" things for me, you know, wear them to work and if someone wants to buy one, he can take an order for it...

First of all, I'm not sure what I should make for him to "wear" to work and pricing on things is also a bit tricky... He works in a huge place so there are tons of people there... It may work... Heck, I've gotten several cake orders from his co-workers in the past...

Any help or a steer in the right direction would be appreciated! (I won't be doing anything for this til after the first of the year, right now I'm just trying to get some ideas!)

[CraftyShannon]

This is just my opinion, but I think you might really hinder your sales if you rely solely on him modeling your stuff. There really is a limit on crocheted stuff for men, and sometimes an even bigger problem in that a lot of men see crochet as a feminine look. Unless the women in his office are going by the quality of your workmanship alone, it may be harder for them to buy stuff because unless you've got a really brave husband, I doubt he's going to be wearing some pink lacy poncho or scarf to work to gear to what is probably what would be your target market. Just from my own experience, that's women who either buy for themselves or for other women or young children.

I think people buy things better when they don't have to wait for an order and they can see what they are actually buying. My dad sometimes takes in a box of my stuff to his (small) office. The women pass the box around and then go to his office to pay. I do keep very good records, but thankfully the women are very honest so no one has cheated me.

If you don't want to put in time, effort, or cash into something that might not sell, you can make a catalog. Just get a small photo album and take some good quality photos (a solid color background and zooming in to show the item well looks nice) along with a possible yarn/fabric sample and a short description. My aunt and uncle used to have a small craft business where they sold things exclusively this way. He'd leave their catalog in the break room at his workplace along with some order forms. I don't know if all workplaces would allow you to do that, but he could just pass the catalog around on his own too. Just be sure to tell the buyer how long it will take your to make it and do your best to stick to the timeline and that should help other people trust you in future orders.

Good luck on your upcoming business venture!

[antara]

I've never actually sold any of my crochet, but scarves seem to be huge this year. A guy in one of my social work classes wears a scarf one of his friends crocheted him, and seems to like it a lot. It's nothing super fancy, but it looks good. That's awesome that your hubby is willing to do that for you. Good luck!