# What sells?



## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Guys, fellow LJ's, I've made just about everything you can make except the bandsaw boxes. Bowls, cuttingboards, chests, clocks, lamps, art and still I can't seem to sell anything but outdoor furniture.

Well winter is coming, I have no income, and I need ideas so I can make this business work.

I'd be happy to make 1000$ a month, 1800$ a month would make me ecstatic. 
I know I have to work up to it, and I realize opportunities come around, but I can't help feeling that I'm missing something.

I'm willing to do just about anything with wood, but how do I get the jobs?

What do you make that sells?

How do you sell it?

Is the only place left for us the lousy craft fairs?

It would seem that for us woodworkers, capitalism has failed us. The large companies, i.e. greedy bastages with more money than God, moved into our world and put all the folks that would sell our stuff out of business, thus strangling the economy for small businesses. But I can't bemoan the fantasy of the American Dream even though you have to be asleep to believe it anymore, or ready to sell out to great evil to be a part of it.

I want to be free and make my own way in the world.

I need some new ideas.

So

WHAT SELLS???


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## ClintSearl (Dec 8, 2011)

I think you're looking up a dead horse's *$$.


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## MrFid (Mar 9, 2013)

Kitchens sell. Cabinets, built-ins, etc. Get licensed. Furniture CAN sell if you have a really good private website (not Etsy) and can market well to the 1%ers, and your stuff is REALLY good (not saying yours isn't, just didn't look).

People do not go online to buy crafts en masse. They go online to buy known commodities; books, software, diapers, etc. Things with a return policy. Things they can comparison shop for.

They go to craft fairs to buy crafts. They MIGHT go to ebay to buy crafts. No one gets rich selling cutting boards and turned bowls.

Think about what people NEED that are made of wood. Cabinets, built-ins, furniture (not necessarily made from wood, but people will buy quality furniture, just not online.)

Good luck.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

In my area The cabinet business is rough as far as building them. Installing them is another story. There is always a demand for remodeler for Kitchen and baths. I don't think this helps. I get the vibe you want to work from the shop.


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## coachmancuso (Feb 10, 2013)

If you do a craft show you have to remember that not all people bring hundreds of dollars to buy furniture. You have to make items that everyone can afford key chains, pens, earrings, items such as pens a slimline pen blank cost 1.00 -2.00 and the kit is 1.69 so you have under 4.00 in it and sell them for 15.00 and up. I takes less then 30 minutes to make from start to finish. If you sell a bunch of pens key chains and earrings and you can make approx. 300.00 on half of day on sat. I have set up for Nov. and will make approx. 1200.00 - 2000.00 for the month.


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## Loco (Aug 11, 2013)

Dog beds, dog houses and computer desks. Spice racks(pull out) do pretty well with the under 28 BMI females.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Are you sure that it is what you sell, or how you sell it? Maybe you need to promote yourself in different venues. From what I have seen, your products look fine. One of the things I have done is analyze where I am selling to make sure my target customers are there. For me, craft shows will ever pay the bills.


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## DMC1903 (Jan 11, 2012)

Look into Kief boxes


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Custom casework sells. Cabinets and built solve 
real problems and custom solutions are the only
way to make somebody happy. Read Jim Tolpin's
book on going pro and do what he tells you.

Humidors were big for awhile. I never made one.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

Please don't rely on woodworking to bring in a steady income, if your selling it yourself .imho your going to be dissapointed in the short and long run best get a steady job working with a permanent wage for someone else again in my experience lots of people tried that and failed miserably every day. Sorry Alistair


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

I tend to be an optimist. I feel that if you do it wisely you can make it work. Is there plenty of stories of failure? yes. There is however success stories as well. there are plenty of LJs here that make a living at this craft. My suggestion would be to read LJ Huff's series on marketing your products. I know it has helped me with the business end of things. That is the area that most of us struggle. I wish you luck. Holler if I can help.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

IF you are looking for items to make and sell at craft fairs, like I do, you need to keep most of your items under $25 and it helps a LOT if you get set up to take credit cards. I sell a lot of cedar boxes with maple images inlayed into the lids. (People like boxes) I mass produce them so I can keep the price under $25. I also make and sell more expensive items but they are slower to sell. Credit card sales work well for these higher priced items.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

One of my biggest sellers back when I was trying the craft thing was a fairly basic box made for baseball cards. The baseball card fade is over, but you need to find the latest craze.

Jelly cabinets and pie safes were big to. I always had two or three ahead. And Like Jim, I never made one at a time.

Edit: And I should note, the best thing that ever came from the craft fairs were leads for the custom cabinets and builtin jobs like Bailey mentioned.


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## Surfside (Jun 13, 2012)

Here's a thread with some good ideas . http://lumberjocks.com/topics/40688 . You're truly talented woodworker and I can tell that you'll be able to attract audience and customers. You can start with advertising especially on internet. You may take your projects on flea markets, yards and a great place to start - etsy.com .
The point of selling woodworking is to earn money doing what you love.


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## renners (Apr 9, 2010)

IMO If you want to do the flea market circuit you'd be better off importing a container load of hand carved, slave labour trinkets and curios from Malaysia and adding a decent mark up.

It sounds like you have already got a name for outdoor furniture in your location, would it be a better idea to develop a signature range of outdoor furniture and get that ready to go for the spring?

I just think something really exceptional is probably better trying to hawk more of what's already out there, and trying to be competitive.

Bowls are great, but face it, you can get one for a Dollar in Wal-Mart.

I personally have no interest in anything other than furniture, but I see exceptionally talented workmanship on Lumberjocks - the likes of Britboxmaker, Trifern etc, I'd love to know if they have any difficulty selling their work (if it's for sale) and if it's worthwhile for them to put the work into it.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Don't give up on all art & craft shows. Which shows are you doing? Like everything else you get out what you put into it. Concerning shows, you need to do the higher end shows. Yes, they do cost more money to enter and attend but if you want to win big, you have to play big. Most of my shows cost 300 - 500 for a single 10×10 booth. I get a double booth at every show that I can. And yes, I do make the money to make a profit from those shows. I have many friends not just in wood that do well at these shows as well. My opinion is that if you don't make sales at a show, you are at the wrong show. Also yes to the other question. I have done many shows that I did not make money at but I learned not to go there.

You can make money with woodworking. I do. You have to find the right market for your products. That is harder than woodworking. It's not easy at all. I have night courses in learning to sell and market. I subscribe to several blogs about selling and marketing. I subscribe to magazines about selling and marketing. You need to determine who your customer is. What is their income level. What kind of house do they own or rent. Where do these people live. What is a show within 10 - 20 miles of them. What kind of show is it. Do people buy or window shop at the show. Do you have professional looking handout materials for them. Does it have your website and phone. Can they purchase from your website. Can you ship. What is your selling technique. How do you explain yourself and products. Do you talk with all people in your booth. Do you talk to people walking by your booth.

Marketing and selling are harder than woodworking.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Business rule: Sell a few items that are in demand and have a high cost and profit margin, or sell a large number of items that are in demand and have a small cost and small profit margin.

I've owned both types of businesses and achieved my goals with them but never with woodworking.

People can bring home something that looks just fine to them from Ikea or walmart. Unless you live in Beverly Hills, I haven't really found a large clientele of affluent people who want to pay for custom made furniture. Not enough to make a living at it that is. It would be nice but the big guys import stuff for a song and sell it at a good profit but still for a low price. Like main street America, a lot of industries go by the wayside because of the times. A sad fact of the times. The upside to this is that a young couple can satisfactorily outfit a new home without breaking the bank.


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## Acelectric (Mar 17, 2013)

Check out this blog series.

http://lumberjocks.com/huff/blog/36598


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Pretty much anything that's not available at the stores will sell if marketed properly. I can't give much advice here since I've mostly learned on the fly what I need for my own little niche.

Custom cabinetry is certainly a good route to go after profits but you need a well-equipped shop and some connections to get the big jobs. That market is struggling a little but since many cabinet shops have closed down in the past few years it seems the ones that survived still do good business. The point with cabinetry is to make them look really good on the outside but build the boxes as cheaply as possible. Nobody cares about the box. I also buy my doors and drawers from a supplier.

Puzzleman is correct about the marketing aspect of the business. I've run some numbers and have determined that if work just came in the door by itself in perfect timing my shop (two woodworkers) has enough productive capacity to do $200,000 of sales in a year. The reality is that we spend half our time drawing in new customers instead of actually doing work.

So far the biggest profits I've seen have come from commercial cabinetry jobs. The lowest profits come from making pews.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

I should add how I sell.

My first step was to partner with someone who knows half the people in the area. The second step was to buy a good camera and iPad then build a cheap photo studio. We also picked up a couple spiffy suits. Last but not least I put together a quality website with good, clear photography displayed.

After doing that we basically just try to hang out in places our customers are likely to be and bend over backwards to please whichever people decide to hire us. The word gets around sooner or later.

The above strategy seems to work pretty well but there is one catch. It's exceedingly time-consuming.


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## uffitze (Apr 23, 2010)

What do you want to sell? Get good at making it. Market.

From what I can tell, the one thing that you make that you can sell is Adirondack chairs. Bowls, cutting boards … meh, a dime a dozen, and low margins.

If you want to make furniture, get better at designing and/or better at making your designs.

Get a good website.

Work at selling your stuff.

(And, stop asking us to do your job for you.)


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

Build bed side night stands with a hidden spring loaded drawer that will hold a Glock.
Those will sell.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

unbob, I think you may be on to something there.

I got to thinking that with all the maple and pecan I have, I should make some high end hall and entryway tables. I could turn the legs. Might be fun and profitable if I can get a local furniture store to carry it.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

uffitze, The adirondack chairs sell fine in season, but I don't really need to worry about an inventory or even a better design, I can make a couple of them a day with out a problem.

Every woodworker needs a few bowls and cutting boards. You have all kinds of occasions to give them away. And it seems that if you give one away, you sell two.

I have some hardwoods, so I think I may just do some formal tables for entryways and halls and see if I can get a furniture store to sell them on commish.


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

I have made a couple of dozen of those.
Make them nice and expensive. They will pay, and as always target the paranoid wealthy.
Be careful on the springs so as the drawer only partially opens. Don't want hidden object flying across room!!
Also, a table lamp with a hidden sprung door is good selling item for the living room.
Leave a few photos, and a card at a sports shop or two.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

" I should make some high end hall and entryway tables."

" I think I may just do some formal tables for entryways and halls and see if I can get a furniture store to sell them on commish."

Depending on your definition of 'high end', you could be stepping into a whole new world. One that can be even more difficult to live in. You need a good combination of unique, well designed and well built,(and you don't crank out high end furniture) otherwise your just another guy. 
As for the commission, I would look into that before you get too carried away. Most places that are willing to take commissions, or specifically take commissions take a LARGE percentage.

Just my experience


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