# Selling Cutting Boards



## Burgels (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm having trouble getting my boards to sell on Etsy. What other ways are you guys offloading your work?

Thanks and here is my etsy shop link if you want to critique or give suggestions. I'm just getting started.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/McCormickMill

Shane


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## joew (Apr 22, 2008)

give it some time it takes awhile to get your name out there


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## Simons44 (Jan 9, 2009)

Searching for end grain cutting board on etsy gives 626 results, searching for wood cutting board give 4,851 results.

Looks like the etsy market is flooded with them, so you'll have to stand out from the crowd.

Have you thought about making smaller boards? There are only 8 listed for under $20. They are small, sandwich sized and half as thick as yours.

These smaller boards might be a way to draw more people to your larger boards.

-Jeremy


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## Cornductor (Feb 5, 2011)

Burgels,

Looks like you just signed up to sell on Esty a couple weeks ago. I've been on there a couple years and it just takes time, advertising, pushing your product and work, lots of it. Problem with cutting boards is that there just overly saturated with them on there. Try to come up with a very unique style and run with it. Maybe try ornate boards with some sort of laser design added to personalize it for the potential clients.

Sometimes it's just trial and error and find what sells and what doesn't. I've had stuff on there for months and never sold them.

Good luck to you and your new adventure.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I do not make cutting boards but I sell my boxes at local street fairs and festivals. It has worked for me well for the past 6 years.


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## Dabcan (Feb 1, 2011)

I agree with everything above. I've sold on Etsy for about 3 years, sometimes I've put a lot work into it, and other times I ignore the shop. The big problem is as said above, there are thousands of boards for sale, so what will make someone click through hundreds of pages to find yours? I realized the biggest problem with selling is getting someone to actually see your stuff. My wife runs a small bakery, I set up a display in the corner, and in the last three months, I have probably sold triple what I did on Etsy in the last three years. It has also led to several custom tems. The biggest difference is when people enter the shop, mine are the only boards available.

So how to draw more attention on Etsy? Don't know, and now that I have a place to seel them instead, I'm not putting too much thought into it.

As a side note, looking at your prices, are you covering your costs/making any money? I'd say you are undercharging.

Just my two cents.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

What glue are you guys Useing on your cutting boards. TB 2 or Tb 3.I have been using 3 was thinking maybe 2 is good .I don't like the dark glue line that shows on hard maple.


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## Madwood (Jan 17, 2010)

I've been selling on Etsy for almost 5 yrs. It was almost 2 yrs before I had my first sale. Unless your item is unique, don't expect to make a killing. I agree with Jeremy in that the cutting board market is pretty well saturated and anything you can do to make yours stand out against all the others. The summer months are difficult to make sales, but keep at it as the holiday season is approaching and that is when I make 85% of my sales. I'll list my best sellers until after Labor Day, then list a ton of other stuff too for the holidays. I'll also relist a couple times a week, more during the prime season. Hang in there!
John

Edit: I use TB3 for anything that may get wet. TB is NOT dishwasher safe and boards should be cleaned with a damp cloth and not submerged.


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## Burgels (Jun 10, 2013)

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I will stick with it.

Backbevel, I used TB2


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## BigMig (Mar 31, 2011)

Hey, man, your prices are great - definitely not too high - given the work it takes to make END GRAIN cutting boards. You might consider describing WHY end grain boards are superior to edge grain, and how your items are man-made in XYZ community, etc. You know - "sell it"


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## GerardW (May 30, 2013)

BigMig- as someone who hasn't ever made a cutting board, would you mind explaining why an end grain board is superior to an edge grain board? Or even, what specifically that means ;-)


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

Well lit, focused photos are key to selling something online. 
Also more than one view helps, such as in your Grandpa's stool sample, which you seem to be pushing towards the children. I would round the corners and sharp edges somewhat to make it look more child friendly : ) Also, you could show the colors that you offer as well as the natural look. There are way too many shades of blue and pink to choose from. Not everyone thinks of the same shade of either color : )
Back to your boards; there is no excitement in your offerings, including your descriptions.Although the boards are nice quality, they're not eyecatching, mostly due to the photography. Make a special board that highlights your best work to draw people into your site and make ppl want to see what else you have to offer. Think of it as the sign on your storefront on Main Street : )


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## Dal300 (Aug 4, 2011)

BackBevel, I use Gorilla wood glue. Dries pretty clear, easier to work with than TBII and a lot more forgiving on alignment.


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## jimmyb (Mar 21, 2013)

With Etsy, it seems you need many items to start selling. Three items will not cut it. More like 10 to 30 is needed to give people choices. Keep adding and keep at it. Eventually you will get your first sale.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Thanks ,For the reply Dallas,I was thinking about trying gorilla glue on cutting board was worred about my customers eating little pieces of polyurathane i do think its great for gates and out door stuff .
I think a cutting board should always be end grain.The edge of the knive will slip down between the fibers.Better for the knive and wood.Function before form.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

Burgels, You need to create something with your cutting boards that make them unique and or special. With that many competitors in your field, you have to be able to stand out or you will be lost. I can't tell you what would work (I keep struggling with that in my field) but keep brain storming until you hit upon it. Some of the tactics that I use to spark the brain cells are: looking at what others do and don't do, talk to people who own my product and my competitors products about what they like and don't like, what do customer really use them for (is is decorative, cheese tray, serving tray or a cutting board), combine two ideas into one and this is the easiest one - just don't think about it and an idea will come.


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## BigMig (Mar 31, 2011)

To Gerard W - end grain boards resist looking cut up - because your knife cuts "with" teh grain of teh endgrain. In an edge grain board, you're severing teh long grain and the board will show this much more quickly.

This is also why end-grain boards allow kitchen knives to keep their edge better/longer. the downside, of course, is that it adds another step of cutting, aligning, gluing, flattening.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

I never knew why end grain cutting boards were superior. I do not think that I have seen the above explanation on any of the vendors on Etsy selling end grain cutting boards.

One of the things that I learned when marketing is that, if I know something there are a lot more people who don't know it. Talk to those people and you can teach them why you are worth more money. Most of the time they will buy.


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

Shane,

I visited your site on Etsy and looks like you make nice boards, but I'm sure glad I'm not in the market for a cutting board and trying to decide on one to buy one on-line!

Etsy search for cutting boards resulted in over 10,000 results. I realize if you search for end-grain cutting boards it drops it to less then 5,000, but how may customers knows the difference?

I looked at the first 500 boards or so and will have to admit, maybe 5 boards (about 1 %) caught my eye, and all of the ones that got my attention were around $200.00 or more (a couple of the boards looked somewhat like yours).

Way too many around the $25 - $50 range; and for me, I didn't see any of those that jumped out to me.

If you want to compete in that price range; you will definitely need to have the best possible pictures taken of your work. Lighting and background will be critical to make your boards stand out to truly show their beauty.

As others have stated; have a great description of each of your boards and definitely take the time to explain the advantage of having an end grain cutting board.

Right now you simply blend with all the others.

Like Jim (Puzzleman) suggested; give the customer more options then simply "cutting board" for its use.

Set your image above the others. Market, describe, display and price your work that sets your image above the others. Don't try to compete with the 9,000 or so cutting boards on Etsy that are in the $30-50 dollar range, that's like trying to compete with Wal-Mart.

Most customers shop price; but the biggest mistake most woodworkers make is thinking everybody is looking for the "lowest" price. Not true; there's a lot of customers that buy because of the perception price relate to quality, (you get what you pay for), so they would rather spend more just to feel better.

Find as many ways as possible to get your work displayed in front of the buying public.

Dabcan (post #5) made a good point about finding a place to display your boards with no other competition.

Good luck


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

Shane,

I forgot to mention; if you're looking for ideas for marketing, I did a blog on marketing and selling a few weeks ago. It may give you a few ideas.
http://lumberjocks.com/huff/blog/36598


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