This is part 23 of our series: 31 DAYS of Setting Up Shop! You can find the entire list of days, in order, on our Setting Up Shop Index Page. I'll add each new entry to this list as it is published.
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{what to sell}
Deciding what to carry in your shop, online store or flea market booth is a very personal decision.
It helps if you give yourself guidelines, or already have a brand in mind.
For Gathered: a vintage marketplace, I'm selling what I love. We have narrowed down our inventory to anything that has a vintage/rustic feel, but that still encompasses quite a bit! So before deciding to put a certain product in the shop, I asked myself a series of questions.
Do I love it?
Would I use it or put it in my home?
Do I love it enough to give it as a gift?
Can I offer it for a reasonable price?
Can I make it well?
Is it too time consuming?
Will it meld with the rest of the inventory?
These are all things to think about when adding to your inventory. When I am considering my handmade items, I think: Does this thing that I make require the use of special materials, special skills, or a production trick? I like to make things that are not easily reproduced. For example:
My sweater wreaths require 12-14 wool sweaters each, and a special cutting tool for the thick frame wire. (It would be more expensive to make one than to buy one from me.)
My button jar tags are made with a stamp that I carved myself.
These zippy pouches are made with found fabrics and salvaged vintage zippers.
I want to make something that makes the customer say, "I want that" and not "I could make that myself." It's a fine line in the handmade industry, and it's a little tricky to find the right products that balance on that line.
For vintage finds, the questions are similar. I am selling things that stop me in my tracks when I see them during a treasure-hunting trip...the kinds of things that make me gasp and look around to see if someone else is running up to grab it away from me. It's a gut feeling.
In order to chose products for your inventory that stand out as your individual style, you have to actually know what you like. It's okay to know what is on trend at the moment, but trying to please everyone will make your shop look disheveled and disjointed.
Know your style, and sell what you love. Because you're the one who's going to be stuck with it if it doesn't sell.