Sell your craft items to Tourists Gift Shops |
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by S. Pimental There is a science to selling hand made items to busy tourist spots. The trick is how to go about it. Once you have found the right place where the traffic is, plan on keeping busy stocking the stores shelves with your items. The tourists visiting these shops will be looking for that special hand crafted item reminding them of their vacation. Have the right little hand made gift for these type of customers and you have it made! To achieve this type of selling success here are a few important steps you must do: First step: have your handcrafted item(s) ready to go. In other words have inventory ready once and place in these tourists shops. You will need, inventory, a sales sheet with pricing for the shop owner and a way to get paid once the order has been delivered. Find small tourist gift shops and you discover a whole new world of selling your craft products. Look for busy shopping areas by visiting these interesting sites yourself. Shop these establishments. See what they are selling and what they lack as in terms of local items such as handcrafted souvenirs. If your product is unique then you have an advantage to look outside your local area and sell across the country. Search Google maps and find gift shops. Pick a tourist spot and Google the area for gift shops. If you pick a place where there are boats and light houses, you can create light house gifts for an example. You can produce boat ornaments or research which type of birds or animals are in the area. Make the animals as magnet type souvenirs. Write the state or city or town on the magnet you make with a Sharpie pen. Plymouth Plantations in Massachusetts is a great example. Make pilgrim gifts for gift shops. Keep in mind that once you land your “account” you will be shipping your product via post office or Fed Ex or UPS. You could also travel once in awhile and personally deliver your order to the shop and write it off if you are claiming your business on your taxes. I once had an account in the White Mountains. Once a month I would pack up my car and load up the shelves at the store and then spend the rest of the weekend at a hotel and enjoying my stay. I learned that sticking close to home was not the answer to selling my crafts. You have to go where the tourists go! Look for where there is lots of foot traffic and tourists. If you do not like to travel, you can always send your items through a shipping service such a UPS or the Postal Service. If you find a good place for your items to sell you must make that first contact in person. It’s always good to know the area and the clientele that frequent the shops in your new chosen area. Several of the shops I sold to took take care when my wood gifts would arrive at their store. They would put up the merchandise and I would get a printout of my sold inventory with a check every month. Of course my rent would be deducted, but I had sufficient funds left over to enjoy. Once I got the report and my check this was the incentive I need to begin the cycle again of making, packing and shipping my wood gift items for sale. Where to find unique craft patterns of your own...
Here are a few fun tips to get your creative juices flowing;
I found the best craft pattern ever that I created. I found it on a tissue Kleenex box! Tissue boxes are amazing for having pretty patterns. The image I found was a dolphin jumping in the ocean. I scanned the box flat on my scanner and saved the dolphin image to my computer. I have a fish outline shape and the painting outline guide to go with it. I now had a newly created scroll saw pattern for my nautical coat rack. If you don’t have a scanner you can purchase an fairly inexpensive one. They hookup just like a printer. A scanner as well as a printer are a must if you are going to make your own craft saw patterns. You can also take a picture with a digital camera or your phone. For more ideas look at advertisements in print that have an appealing shape! Once I spotted a dog treat ad where the pet was getting a treat and the position of the animal was j for something I wanted. The dog image made a perfect silhouette pattern for my new dog leash holder I made with pegs. Another resource is to look at any type of children’s coloring books, they can be a great source for patterns & craft ideas. |
 
 
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