I am thinking of trying to sell some of my quilts. Do quilts sell? Has anyone ever sold quilts and been successful? Are the web sites "Quilts for Sale" a good place to sell personal quilts? Or is placing them in small boutiques the way to go?
Anyone with good advice
New to this site.

In a short answer, it all depends where you live. I am in a small town and my quilts don't sell here. I send them to a friend in NYC and she sells every single one very quick.

Maria

I haven't had much luck unless it is a special order. I've tried ETSY and craft fairs. People don't understand the time and effort that go into them. They just don't want to pay that much around here. I've done smaller stuff instead. Easier on the pocketbooks.

They seem to sell best in touristy areas or in upscale art/gift shops. I have sold quite a few on ebay, but I don't try to make a lot of money from those. Usually, they are class samples (and I already made a profit from teaching the class) or I make them entirely from my scraps stash. I sew very fast, too. If you have to buy new materials or if you sew slowly, you will rarely recoup your expenses.

I do a lot of special orders now. Many of my private clients first purchased quilts or garments from my on ebay, so I regard ebay as advertising. I have sold a couple things on etsy. If you want to do etsy, you need to continue listing new things regularly.

You don't want to sell cheap. Not only does it undermine the value of what the rest of us do, but people don't like cheap things. I have found that I get more business when I present myself as "valuable" rather than "affordable."

On the other hand, I do a lot of sewing "for free" for friends and relatives. They appreciate it, and they are good word-of-mouth advertising. They are very well-trained. When they mention me or give out my card to potential clients, they always say, "But she's really expensive." :lol:

i've had success when i started selling art quilts instead of utility quilts. in my area people are willing to pay a considerable amount of money for art but not really for utility quilts.

i average $50-100 a square foot for art quits, depending on extent of the project, but i could never get that price for a utility quilt.

Would that be a market where they don't sell beer???

if you live in an area with upscale neighborhoods you have an upscale market.

then you have to figure out a way to get your name known in this market. look to see if they have art festivals, craft fairs, boutique shops, main street festivals, etc.

i started by working with local boutiques and the local art festival. then i donated a few quilts for charity auctions at 3 local country clubs.

once my name got out there i was able to switch over to mainly commissioned worked.

then last year i won an art competition which open a lot of doors for me - it was an invitational art festival and only 2 fiber artists won.

when i started i figure out what i thought people would be willing to pay out at an art festival and i created works that i would be willing to sell at that price.

when i'm working a festival i keep my piece in the range of $50-$450 - in my area i know i can move this product.

the bigger more expensive pieces are done by commission and i typically have 3 meetings with the client before i begin and i require 50% payment up front and 50% on delivery.

Maria, how does your friend sell these quilts? On consignment in her shop, on eBay or some other method?

I agree, touristy areas are where you can get more for your quilts. People have to be in a spending mode to actually PAY for a quilt! :lol: