Selling quilts on etsy
 

I would like to start making baby quilts to sell on etsy. It seems like they are very popular there and are selling for $75-150 depending on the quilt. That seems like a lot of money to me. Twin and Queen quilts are selling for hundreds of dollars. Just wondering if anyone here sells quilts on etsy and if people are actually paying that kind of money for a quilt. Thanks for your replies. I'm going to be out for a while today, so I won't be able to respond until tonight.

My friend opened an Esty store and nothing sold. Don't know where you are finding your info and how accurate it is. I so think it is a little more professional place to sell finished quilts. The quilters who may have success might have a blog or some other prominence on the internet.

You say the quilts are selling for $X on Etsy. But that is what sellers are ASKING for them. On Etsy you have no way of knowing what they sold for, like you do on Ebay. People can ask whatever they want, doesn't mean they get that price.

If you sell on Etsy you need to put a lot of work into getting yourself known there. If you just list something and then sit back and do nothing, you will likely not get any action.

A friend of ours was selling purses/bags on Esty. They were beautiful and well made, but not many sold because people have to find them. And you are competing with people all over the US and Canada. (Actually the entire world but don't believe too many people overseas will want to pay the postage.)

Not sure where you live in Alaska but made if you contacted a local store that sells local items may be very interested. One place in Oregon used to sell quillows made by a local quilter. She had several other items made by the local person.

I was interested in selling on etsy at one time so I started tracking what actually sold -- you can look that up under the seller's profile. Most of what sells on etsy are small Quilted Items like table runners, placemats, coasters & some tiny wall art... items in the $5-25 range. Of the quilts that do sell, they're almost always $50-75 (usually $50) and some of the quilts at that price are Queen or King sized quilts. The ones that sell tend to be hand quilted and many were also hand pieced. Personally, when I added up the cost for me to make a crib sized quilt (I do all hand applique & embroidery, but FMQ by machine), I could barely cover my own costs for a small crib quilt at $50 (fabric, batting, thread, needles, electricity to run sewing machine & washer/dryer ... plus wear-and-tear on other items that eventually need maintenance/replacing like pins, rotary blades, markers, my machine) much less make any money. Even if you were able to always buy the cheapest fabrics & batting on the market at 50% off, you're still looking at a minimum of $20 just for the basic items ... probably $25+ when you add in items that need to be replaced over time. So that leaves, at most, $25 for your time. Can you really cut, piece, quilt, bind, wash, market & ship a crib quilt -- even entirely by machine -- in 2 hours or less? Because otherwise you're better off applying for a minimum wage job. And that's assuming the thing actually sells when it's competing with items that people hand quilted & are selling for the same price.

If you still want to sell on etsy, go for it. It's not as bad of an option as other large online marketplaces. I've just personally found that other options like selling it at a quilt show, working with a more local merchant who only sells quilts (and takes a smaller cut of sales than etsy), or promoting it on my own tend to be MUCH more profitable than etsy every would.

I've never been on etsy. I do sell baby/ kids quilts for $125-$175. Generally by showing them off locally, as special orders and on the ( Quilts for Sale) website. I've not seen a lot of success on etsy when I've visited the site, so really don't know how it works. Maybe you could check the ut sellers contact/ profile page & ask questions there.

That's the name of the website (quiltsforsale.com)? Thank you!

Thank you for your input, everyone. I was browsing etsy shops last night and saw quilts listed for large amounts of money, so I was curious about how well they sold on there. I figured it was too good to be true. I didn't realize you could check to see what items were sold by a certain seller...good to know. I guess I will explore my local market options.

Thank you for sharing!

Out of the past couple years when I was checking in periodically with who sold higher priced quilts on etsy, there was one person who was a multi-award winning quilter at AQS & IQF shows who sold a quilt in the hundreds of dollars. Even still, based on the quality of his work & how much hand work was involved, he still wasn't getting paid much for his time. I know $1000 sounds like a lot to get for making a crib quilt, but it really isn't when you consider it could take nearly 100 hours to make the quilt. My crib quilts average 10,000 stitches at 15 stitches per inch, all done by hand via needle turn. I've been doing needlework for over 20 years & am quite quick at it, but it still takes me 30-40 hours per quilt to cut, mark & sew all those tiny pieces. Add in cutting, piecing, pressing, custom quilting & binding -- not to mention time to design, launder, tie up in a pretty ribbon & ship -- and I'm easily at 90-100 hours ... meaning that even a $1200 price tag only gets me $11-12/hour ($22-24,000/year). So it's not the windfall that it seems when you just consider the total sales price. Even many of the best quiltmakers often don't make more than $25/hour and end up supplementing their income by writing books, teaching classes, designing patterns/fabrics/notions, or running a shop.

You might check with your local quilt guilds or LQS. Sometimes people will call up a guild or shop asking either to commission a quilt or to buy a ready-made quilt. I know our guild gets requests 3-4x/year for commissions & on occasion for ready made quilts. After a bad experience with commissions, I now only sell quilts that I've completed.

Two quick tips (because I always love when people want to enter the industry!):
1. For baby quilts, you'll sell more if you make them 100% cotton & market to grandparents.
2. Make sure you add 20% to the list price for your quilts with Quilts for Sale to cover their commission.

Best wishes with finding a great partner to sell your quilts!
Bree

I sell about 95% of my quilts on Etsy and to US buyers. They are in the 100-150$ baby quilt range. I'm making bright and modern quilt, with designer cotton fabric. But I must say it took me about a year to start selling on a regular basis. You need to work a lot on your pics, your listing. You need to learn how the search algorithm are working to put the right words in your titles and in the right order. These algorithm changes from time to time, so it`s never a done thing, you have to keep well informed. You need to have about 25 items listed for your shop to appears in the search (so I have some potholders and small items in my shop). Also, it helps to be ready to do custom quilt. Buyers see a quilt in your shop, they like it, so they ask you if you can do it in another size or color. For me, it`s worth it for many reasons. I have three little one so going to craft show is not really an option. I see quilting as an art and I'm happy to get any occasion to develop my skills. Sellling on Etsy helps me to pay for my supplies and my time (I have a small longarm and I'm making a baby quilt with a simple design so it doesn't take me that much time). I see custom order as an occasion to try something new or different, so I like it. I think Etsy is not for anyone, it depends what kind of quilt you make, how much time you want to spend on your laptop, etc. It doesn't hurt to try it, starting a shop cost nothing and the listing only 0.20$. But you can't set up your shop and do nothing; you must be prepared also to have to work for a few months before starting selling anything.

Thank you, Bree. I definitely underestimated the amount of time that is put into making a quilt. I was basically figuring the cost of fabric and batting and adding a profit to that. I always make my quilts from 100% cotton, and marketing to grandparents is a great idea. I did notice the 20% commission at Quilts for Sale and was surprised because it seems kinda high. I think I will pursue my local options and check with shops and guilds. Word of mouth from friends and family may be productive too. I appreciate the time it took you to respond. :-)

Thank you, profannie. That's some very good information and advice. I do have the time and am willing to put in the effort. I also realize it will take time to acquire a good customer base. You have given me a lot to think about. I like your idea of selling smaller items such as potholders and table runners. I guess it can't hurt to try and see what happens. I can also explore my local options at the same time. Thanks again!

Thank you for sharing this website.

I wish you good luck in your endeavors.

Etsy takes 20 cents per listing and about 4% of the final sale price. Good luck finding a local merchant who will take less than that!!! Most want at least one-third of the selling price. Some want 50%!!

Wow! I had no idea! That's crazy!

I did personally find one that takes 2.5-3.5%, but she only takes quilts that she can sell for at least $700 & is very much no-frills. Depending on the seller, I definitely don't think that 30-40% is unreasonable & if they have good clients, you just build the cost of their commission into the price. I realize I diluted my real argument against etsy by mentioning I struck gold with a lower commission-- I just don't find that very many bed quilts sell through their service and those that do almost always sell for much less than what I could afford to sell at. I love doing intricate handwork -- even that first dreadful quilt (my avatar) is all done with hand buttonhole stitching around the felt applique -- but for me, selling on etsy would mean working quite quickly for about $0.25/hour.

If it is a great resource, I have no problem with paying fees. For example, right now I'm in the process of completing my application for the 2017 One of a Kind Chicago show where booth fees start at $1900 for a 10x10' space (the smallest they offer). Because this show attracts more sophisticated art buyers & art there -- including quilts -- generally sells for $1000+, it's well worth the fees to me. What really matters to me is the net profit & pretty much anything I'd sell at cheaper shows ($150-500) would have to sell for no more than $35. But what works for me is not appropriate for everyone. Each proprietor needs to decide for herself what kinds of quilts she loves to make, who her target market is, where her targeted customers shop & how much she is willing to pay to obtain new customers.

Shop around. There are many, many options out there both in the local market in some instances & online. Here are a few other places online you might try if you find your target market doesn't live within 20 miles of your home:
https://snarkyquilter.wordpress.com/...l-your-quilts/
https://www.quiltbroker.com/quilts.html (with Design Plus -- quiltbroker.com -- you name how much you want to get paid when it sells & then they add on however much more they think they can get & count that as their commission)

This is a very interesting conversation. You ladies did give me some great pointers. I do agree that Etsy does not move very much products. I have tried to sell on there and took it down because I was just paying a lot of posting fees. Thank you all.
Catheleen

I've been thinking about this myself and when researching, if you google "the truth about Etsy", you'll learn some interesting things.

When selling anything our main goal is to make a profit, but you also have to consider yourself. How much time do you really have to make quilts? How much time do you have to spend on marketing? How much of your own money are you willing to put up front before your business takes off? How much time are you willing to wait - or would you stop or keep going - if after 6 or 9 months your sales are low?

I've factored in all that and decided that when I'm ready, I'm going to start local. Make a quilt and donate it to my town library for a raffle, and include business cards. Maybe donate a couple to the elementary school nurses office or fire dept for them to keep on hand, and to give them away in a situation where a child would benefit. I figure just getting my name out there will be a good start, and if it takes off slow, then great. It's no more money out of pocket than the cost of a few quilts and they would be going to a good cause.

In my mind that seems reasonable, but in real life, who knows? But it is the start of a plan.