(Above, left) The home page of the wholesalecrafts.com Web site. (Above, right) A sample artist profile from the site.
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Sell Wholesale from Your Studio
WHOLESALECRAFTS.COM PROVIDES BUYERS AND ARTISANS A NEW WAY TO DO BUSINESS
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(Above, left) The home page of the wholesalecrafts.com Web site. (Above, right) A sample artist profile from the site. |
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While the idea of wholesaling appeals to many craftspeople, the expense and time invested in exhibiting at major trade shows does not. Now, craft artists can sell wholesale without leaving their studios. Many are doing so through wholesalecrafts.com, a Web site dedicated to helping retailers find handmade crafts for their businesses.
Doubling sales for some
For example, Chris Campbell, has been a potter for 10 years; last year, when she decided to try to expand her business geographically without attending wholesale shows, she discovered wholesalecrafts.com and has picked up 12 new galleries since. She now sells her work to 32 galleries throughout the United States, including Hawaii. And the best part, says Campbell, "I am in my studio working while the site is selling 24 hours a day."
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
| There are about 200 artists and 1,400 retailers enrolled in wholesalecrafts.com. If you are interested in viewing wholesalecrafts.com, contact Nancy Vince by phone: (888) 427-2381 to receive a temporary ID and password; fax: (614) 436-0242; or e-mail: nancy@wholesalecrafts.com. |
Peter Green has been an artist for almost 30 years. Wholesaling on the Web comprises about 15 to 20 percent of his overall business. Since joining wholesalecrafts.com about a year ago, Green estimates he's doubled his wholesale business, selling stained glass, window ceilings, turned wood bowls, slumped glass bowls, votives, slumped glass wall sculptures, sconces, and wood and glass ornaments. He receives two to five inquiries a week on the Web, many, he says, from galleries normally outside his geographical reach.
Since Green does both wholesale and retail, his page on wholesalecrafts.com has a multi-faceted purpose. Wholesale products are marketed there, but there is a link to his retail page, Renaissance Studios (www.renaissancestudios.com), promoting his custom work like stained glass windows, ceilings and sculpture, and restoration work.
Barry and Cheryl Sirkus of Sonoma Art Works in Sonoma, Calif., sell their jewelry wholesale only. About a year ago, in an effort to expand their customer base, Barry Sirkus began looking into new ways to advertise. He joined wholesalecrafts.com, believing it was inexpensive as compared to conventional advertising and had potential beyond a one-time print advertisement. The Sirkuses have since been receiving as many as two requests a week for their catalog. Typically, he says, one out of three requests will turn into an order.
Wholesale shows still are very important to them, and wholesalecrafts.com helps facilitate business at the shows as well. They have met many retailers through wholesalecrafts.com who stop by their booth at shows to talk with them face to face. "This gives us the ability to easily start up new relationships," he says.
RESOURCES |
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Chris Campbell Chris Campbell Pottery 9417 Koupela Dr. Raleigh, NC 27615 (800) 652-1008 fax: (919) 676-2062 e-mail: CCPottery@aol.com Peter Green Barry and Cheryl Sirkus |
OTHER WHOLESALE CRAFT SITES ONLINE |
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George Little Management Web site: GLMmarketplace.com e-mail: info@glmmarketplace.com Mountain Lakes |
... But not for everyone
Nancy Vince, the site's owner and general manager, admits that not all the artists have done as well as the ones mentioned above. Because the Internet is still a new medium for craft marketing, Vince provides an "outclause" for artists who don't make any sales in their first six months. Since artists pay in six-month installments, Vince will allow the artist to get out of the contract if he or she doesn't make a single sale in the first half of the year. "It really doesn't do the site any good if the work doesn't sell," said Vince, "so we are willing to [terminate the contract] if it's not working for a particular artist."
At this point, approximately 20 percent of the original artists have chosen not to renew their contracts after either six months or one year, according to Kenn McDonald, customer service manager for the site. "But we've been promoting heavily over the last year," added Vince, "and thankfully we're seeing fewer artists take the outclause and more are staying on."
Most who are not successful, she explains, have poor slides, don't follow up on inquiries or are generally not ready for wholesale. All artists who join should have good brochures and professional-quality photography.
HOW TO GET YOUR WORK ON THE WHOLESALECRAFTS.COM SITE |
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Artists can advertise on the wholesale site for $588 per year and can opt to place an ad in the buyer's guide for $375 per year. The Internet display includes pictures of the artists' work and sometimes the artists. Enrolled artists have the freedom to describe themselves and their work. Presently, work displayed on the site is selected by an informal, in-house process; however, by the end of the year, there will be a group of retailers and artists selected from across the country who will jury items through the Internet. |
How it works
The growth and success of wholesalecrafts.com is due to a great extent to Vince's the business acumen and tenacity. She has endured two years of taking no salary for herself, putting all profits into the capitalization of the wholesale site.
The capital has funded advertising and promotion, adhering to a marketing strategy which Vince describes as aggressive. Printed buyer's guides are distributed to retailers at major shows, through industry magazines and through mailings. Ads announcing the site are placed in industry magazines targeting retailers. "Our goal is to have over 7,000 retailers by the end of next year. For every artist that signs up, we are enrolling seven retailers," says Vince. "We expect that ratio to improve, so every day should become more successful for our artists."
Once on the wholesalecrafts.com Web site, retailers can search for artists by name, business name or even the shows they attend. In addition, the search can be bookmarked in a way that allows the retailer to return to a search without starting over. This can be helpful, considering there are over 1,000 items displayed on the site.
The site also has "discussion boards" for specific groups, such as artist-to-artist, retailer-to-retailer, and artist-to-retailer, where participants can exchange ideas and resources. A credit reporting system is currently being put in place. As a part of the service, an artist will be able to check the credit information for an inquiring retailer. On the drawing board is a system that will allow the retailer to check the credit and reliability of the artist as well.
Another attribute of the two-year-old wholesale site is Vince's personal service to artists and retailers. Campbell says, "Nancy is a very good listener. She not only hears your suggestions, but follows up on them and makes changes. She makes you a partner on her team very quickly." Green suggests that Vince provides "what any new enterprise needs to succeed: vast amounts of labor and resources."
Jim Joyner is a database systems consultant.
Do you have questions about your Web site? Has your site been successful in generating sales? Are you doing something unique on your site? Share it with The Crafts Report. E-mail Jim Joyner at: jimstoy@hotcom.net.
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