who on here sells their quilt to people after they make them? I would rather give them away but trying to make a little extra money. (for some home repairs) I am getting frustrated because no one seems interested. do you who sell yours find this to be the case many times? or is it just me? i am on ebay and yardsellr but it seems that these sites are just not working. are there any places that you guys think work really well?

I sometimes buy quilts on ebay and etsy, and I've purchased some lovely quilts from this board. What do you have up for sale?

two baby quilts and one wall hanging/ table topper. i was wondering if etsy was a good place to try also. I have them shown on here under my topics if you were wanting to see them.

Do you have any consignment shops near you? Or other places that sell? :D:D:D

we have places that you can rent space but I am trying not to spend money to sell my stuff. Most places around here are you donate it like goodwill or you rent space like a flee market. unfortunate no real good place to sell quilts.

I think this is a really hard thing to do unless you have a name that is well known. I am trying to sell my patterns and there is so much competition out there. I do know that ebay isn't the answer unless you have antique quilts or want to give them away. I am not sure Etsy is the answer either. Maybe try a boutique around the holidays. I have had pretty good luck with them if you don't price too high.

try craigslist.com - it's free so if no response you're not out anything.

Craigslist can be a good idea, but make sure to educate yourself on how NOT to be scammed before you put something up for sale! Best rule of thumb is local and CASH. You don't *have* to stick with that but it's usually safest.

craigslist worries me a lot. have put stuff up there and it is a pain in the toosh having to tell all the scammers local pick up only. I will have to try that also.

quilts for sale is a good site to use- very reasonable policies/costs-

mine are pretty much word of mouth- i get requests/orders too often to be able to keep up- but it takes time to build up customers- ive been making quilts and selling them for gosh- about 10 years now....the quilts for sale web site helps with finding customers.
check with local shops- we have a couple that will allow you to hang your quilts in their shop (especially if you used a pattern they sell) i've used that way a few times- just hung with (if interested in this quilt contact...)
there may even be a consignment shop you could use- before i moved there was an interior decorator who had a nice shop selling home decor- she welcomed some of my quilts/runners ect - charging a consignment fee.

do you have a small shop near you that sells things like candy, small items hand made. I know we have one and you can ask if they would display the items you made and they would sell and you give them a portion. Sort of like consignment. Also some furniture stores, (not large companies) display some items that other people have made for sale.
Otherwise, when there are craft shows, a county fair, anything such as this.
I think etsy is not such a good place.
The problem mostly is that people don't quite understand how much work and hours into what we do

I would find it more trouble than it's worth. I give mine away to my kids, grands, great grands, friend and family.

For quilts I wouldn't recommend Ebay. I don't think a lot of quilts sell well on ebay and if you are trying to make a profit you probably won't get it from Ebay. Etsy is a good option but you really need to know how to market yourself to get your shop seen on Etsy. You may want to see if there are other quilting boards, craft boards, etc. where you can market and post your etsy shop so you can more eyes on your shop and gain some popularity.

Selling hand made items takes time, so don't give up to quickly :) Once you get yourself out there it will be easier. Also it really depends on your style of quilting on whether it will sell.

Search around for other people selling quilts and if you find a place where people have similar styles and are selling well look into those options.

The internet is a big place and its easy to get looked over so you have to make sure you have something that is going to stand out.

I'd also suggest becoming a regular member here (if you aren't already) and posting them for sale here at the very least.

If you post them for sale here you are pretty much limited to the cost of materials.

I second what everyone said about ebay being not so good, etsy might be a better choice.

Are there any farmers markets in your area? They usually allow crafts.

We have a couple of second-hand stores that will take hand made items on consignment. An antique shop may also be interested, especially if your quilts look 'vintage.'

Make nice quilts for a local cause in exchange for free advertising. Hang your quilts in a local furniture store (they'll want a cut of course). Do a local raffle quilt for a local cause... all these will get your name and your work known locally.

If you want to sell online, setup a professional website and learn to market it.

Amish auctions will sell quilts from from the public as long as they are quilted by hand (no machine quilting allowed). There is one near Clare, Michigan. They keep a small commission of the selling price. However, the down side is that you have no control of what it sells for. If no one bids on it, it can go for a low price. Sometimes I sit there and think "that didn't even sell for the cost of the fabric." And others sell for $1,000 to $1,500 or more. You are at the mercy of the crowd that is bidding.

I know someone who is a stay-at-home dad, whose home based business is selling stuff on ebay. His take-home is around $40K a year, after overhead and taxes. Not a lot of money but it lets him stay home while his wife works, which is what they both want. He had a few tips.

First, you have to build your reputation on ebay via their feedback system. Start by selling a lot of low cost items. Make sure that your response times are lightning fast, your packaging is more than adequate to protect the item and that you leave each buyer with a good impression.

Second, he said that higher quality stuff often doesn't sell well because the seller sets the minimum bid too *low*. It's counter-intuitive but his theory is that when the opening bid is low, potential buyers assume the item is of low quality. Set that minimum bid at the point where you are being fairly compensated for the materials and your time; if it doesn't sell the first time, wait a few weeks and re-list it for a higher price.

Third, make sure your photos are high quality and show the item from different angles and distances (close ups and distance shots). Check the background! Anything junky or messy in the background gives a bad impression. He said plan on taking 50+ photos of each item in the beginning in order to get 5 that are worth putting in your ad. As your photography skills improve, you will be able to take fewer shots but you will always need to take more shots than you actually show.

Fourth, make sure that your description tells the seller why the item is worth more than the minimum bid. He sells a lot of vintage postcards from the 1920s through the 1960s. He always includes a little history relevant to the time or place of the postcard so that potential bidders can place that vintage item in context (and we both felt old when he mentioned that for a lot of bidders, 1960 and 1970 and even 1980 are before they were born! LOL).

He said it is important to show potential bidders how your item is different from something they could buy at Wal-Mart. If you try to attract Wal-Mart customers, then you won't make a profit unless you operate at high volume with low to mediocre quality and low prices (which is not exactly feasible characteristics of a home based business!). You need to have a boutique mentality rather than a big-box store mentality.

I think for a quilt, a good description would include an estimate of the number of hours that went into cutting, piecing and quilting it. Along with the quality of the fabrics and how some of the design decisions were made (closely quilted for extra strength, cotton batting so that it can be machine washed, etc).

Hope this helps!

I've sold some of mine at a quilt show before. That might be an option.

I have a huge family and all of my quilts are sold to them for them to give as gifts to others. especially baby quilts, i always have some extra on hand for that last minute baby shower.

Ebay has a free "Classified" section now. I would try that too.

There are other places to sell your quilts online:
Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/ ;
Quilts for Sale - http://www.quiltsforsale.ca/

if that's any help.

What a perfect market for your work! That's great!

By all means, go to quiltsforsale. I think the prices are too high but, someone will buy them. Sure makes me feel better about my own work. I think all of the methods listed so far just about covers it. Other than maybe advertising in a quilt mag. I cannot think of anything else myself.

I sell my baby quilts. I live on a busy highway and have a sign in my front yard "Baby Quilts for Sale" It goes in streaks, some weeks I will sell three or four and others none. Use to go to craft sales, but that costs money too and they keep going up with there space prices. This way I do not have to content with the outside elements. I have repeat customers so am very satisfied with my results.

I have tried ebay, but the results were less than thrilling. People are so accustomed to walking into Walmart and buying cheap quilts with matching pillow shams and skirts which were made in another country ~ which will also wear out in the washing machine in no time ~ they don't want to pay more for a hand-quilted or machine-quilted one from right here at home. Those of us who make them for the sheer joy of sewing or creating something cannot hope to make much profit from them. I have tried craft shows and consignment shops also, but it does not seem worth the effort. I just make them and save them to give as gifts.

I'm going to a craft sale soon, and hoping to sell the ones I maked---but those who don't do crafting - don't get it-
how much money and time you have put into it

I checked this site out............http://www.quiltsforsale.ca/ their fees are way to high for me!!

I sold one on Craigslist, but be careful. Never have strangers come to your home, and never meet someone alone. Always use the buddy system, like in swimming.

P.S. - I meant the "perfect way" for PamB8s who sells to her family. :-)

I think we feel that some quilt prices are too high because we don't value our work enough - the time and effort we put into our quilts - and what we deserve to get for one, if/when possible. Just think how much you'd charge if you figured out the hours we spent on one quilt and multiply that by even minimum wage, then add in the cost of materials!

You know, that does work! When I lived up in NH I had a little clothesline in my front yard. The quilts I hung on it sold very nicely!
Some places, I might worry about theft...I don't know, these days.
Your sign sounds like a great idea! Jeannie

try to find a 'niche' - sell a specific theme type quilt.

I told the man that called, that due to the accident I no longer quilt (this was RIGHT after the accident), but the reason he was calling was because he saw a basenji themed quilt I donated to our national show, and he wanted to buy one.

Since then, I don't 'sell' and am lucky I don't have to. Though since then I've made a basenji themed wallhanging, and am half considering finding the guy and just making him one as a gift. Sort of a thank you for making me think maybe I could still do this.

I suggest trying to think of a specific theme that's not too common.