Selling my pens

[marshall1225]

Pen turning is a new hobby for me and I find it really relaxing and enjoyable. Just finished my 1st pen last week and took it into work and now everyone wants one. I have turned a few more and have given them to close friends and family and they have people asking how they can get one. I will be gifting some for Christmas and was hoping to have a website set up so when I gift or sell a pen I can include a small piece of paper with the web site to purchase one (or two or three...). I also do other wood work such as shelving, primitive items and some carvings that I would like to show. Could anyone give me some direction on how to build and set up a website to do this?

Thanks in Advance

I spend way too much time on this website reading and learning about pen turning. So I would like to thank everyone who has replied to my threads weather it was positive or negative it is this forum that has gotten me to where I am today in pen turning.

Thanks

 

[Dan Masshardt]

I created a free site through weekly and bought a $10/ domain name. I have my items listed on etsy and the simple website links to etsy.

Vista print is a good option for nice but inexpensive business cards.

 

[Sandsini]

Instead of a webpage I setup a Facebook fan page which links to my Etsy site. I agree with Dan on Vista Print as well.

 

[StuartCovey]

I personally don't think it is worth the work to set up your own website. I sell through Etsy. They do all the advertising and setup for you, just list your item and your pretty much good to go.

I also agree that Vistaprint is the way to go with cards. If you can catch them at the right time they have pretty good sales. And surprisingly good quality.

 

[Dan Masshardt]

Instead of a webpage I setup a Facebook fan page which links to my Etsy site. I agree with Dan on Vista Print as well.

Definitely the Facebook page too.

Did that first.

I feel pretty strongly that if you expect people to go to your website it needs to be. Www.-------.com. No backslash or long address.

 

[zig613]

Wix is a good website to use to build your own site. They have a good variety of templates and easy to use tools to build a site.

Wade

 

[Quality Pen]

If you wanted a full functioning site where someone could buy from you within the week, it's hard to come up with anything other than setting up an Etsy page and then directing your own .com to it.

I don't sell via Etsy, but lots of people use it and quite a number of turners. It seems like a nice site that's easy to get around for the consumer. The biggest downside that I see is that someone is simply 1 click away from leaving "your" page from within your "own" page.

It's probably the cheapest time and money investment as well.

 

[jfoh]

I have thirteen retail locations, all on a consignment basis. A few were odd for pen sales but turned out to be good locations. One of the best was an upscale hair salon which ended up being all high dollar pen sales. You could not give away a slimline there but pens retailing for eighty to a hundred bucks sell very well. I have been thinking about making pen and bangle set after seeing such a combo here, on this board.

The internet is a nice option but I am old fashion in that I like people to hold my pens in their hands. Just something about that that makes the sale easier. Perhaps if I were ten years younger or ten time the photographer that I am I would use the net more.

 

[butchf18a]

Everyone should just give away pens to those who don't have them so everyone can have one or more.

 

[Jerryz]

Especially at first.

 

[plano_harry]

Marshall, your experience may vary, but in my experience if you give something away, it reduces the value. Giving away a pen and hoping they will buy one or two more is not likely to happen. There is much more opinion on marketing, pricing, websites here that you can find with the search function. If someone wants a pen, they will pay almost anything for it. My first 75 sales were mostly to co-workers. It is not my job to cheap pens to everyone. Good luck with your new enterprise!