I sell quite a lot. Most of my quilts are for sale. It has brought money into the home when we needed it the most and at times it has saved us from an ugly situation, but it is not an income that would support my family and provide the things we need that can not be purchase at the store like health insurance. I could not do it calmly knowing that if the piece don't sell I may not have $ to feed my kids. At this moment I am very careful about making quilts that people order unless they provide the fabrics and pattern, or unless they tell me the theme and leave the rest up to me. In those cases I require 50% deposit and I don't accept returns unless I did something wrong. Is very difficult to make money (is another story if you are a long armer tending to other quilters that understand what you are doing and that you have an equipment and a skill that they don't). When you make a quilt because you like it and want to sell it, you take the chance that people may not think is worth what you are asking for, because they compare it to the one they can get at JC Penney for a fraction of the price. They don't know better. When you make a wallhanging just to try a technique, love a particular color combination or whatever other reason, again, some people will love it but may not think is worth that much, or worse, don't have the extra money to get it.
A lot have to do with the area of the country where you are and the economy.
In the US we still give more value to other arts and even though there is more acceptance to textile arts, we still have a long road to follow and is up to us to push it. I have a collection right now of at least 60 quilts I would like to sell and I am looking for a gallery in NYC that would display them for me. Once I say is fabric they don't seem as interested. Mind you, this are the same galleries that while they say no to my fabric art, they are displaying God knows what made out of garbage or a huge 3D art piece made out of toilet paper rolls(I don't get it). I am sure if I keep pushing it I may find one willing and they idea may change, but I know is not an easy battle.
I am not trying to discourage anyone from trying. I am not discouraged myself. The more of us push and try the sooner quilting will be seen as an art form to the regular people. I am not talking about the big venues that display huge exhibitions. Those are helping a lot. In NYC we will have 3 quilt exhibits going on at the same time the last weekend in March: The Armory, Quilt show at FIT and the Folk Art Museum. I will have 2 quilts in exhibit at FIT and I am hoping that those 3 shows may open a door to me to sell at other places.
My suggestion is to keep pushing, be proud of the work you do and don't be shy about selling. While I was in upstate NY I went to a local Cafe and asked if I could display my quilts for sale on their wall. They said yes, charged me $100 for 4 months of display, I sold many quilts there. I learned what people wanted. I did a lot of ethnic quilts that sold like hot cakes Wallhanging displaying people were my best sellers. This idea open the mind of the owner of the cafe to rent his walls to other artists and now is a very sought place by all artist to display their arts. My leftover quilts smelled like coffee when I picked them up, but a little sun took care of it.
My best suggestion is to be venturous and try. You may sell more than you think.