Ok, people, I need your feedback. As I'm sure most of you are aware, I do a lot of crocheting. I used to sell patterns that I designed, but I stopped because it got to be too much of a hassle. People expected me to be their personal tech support and crochet teacher. So I ended up spending more time in the "customer service" end then I did actually creating and selling. Not fun. A while ago I thought I would make and sell baby hats, but then I started reading up on all the laws regarding items made for children and decided that it was too much to keep track of and too much extra money I'd have to spend. But, I've been reading into them some more. Basically they say that any item intended for children under the age of 13 has to be tested for lead. Way expensive. As well, each item has to have a "tracking label" which is basically a tag telling where the item is made and what it's made of along with some kind of tracking info like a website. However, there appears to be items that are exempt from the lead testing, natural materials like cotton don't require testing unless it contains something metallic (like sparkles). So, that leaves just tracking labels that I'd have to worry about. Much more doable. But, here's the real problem: would anyone actually buy the stuff at the cost I'd have to charge? Take for example this hat:
Isn't she cute? Well, the cost in yarn (cotton, which is what I'd have to use to be exempt from lead testing. Well, I could use wool but cotton is washable) would only be about $3-5 depending on the size of hat. But I'd have to take into account the cost of labels, Etsy fees (which are crazy) and Paypal fees (which are rather high if you have a business account) and packaging material. Not to mention some profit to make it worth my while. So, basically I'd have to charge $20-25 plus shipping per hat. Of course I also have to consider the competition. There are tons of baby hats available on Etsy (over 3,ooo listings of owl hats for example), and I'd have to compete with people who don't care (or don't know) about the laws and make their items out of acrylic yarn and therefore can sell them much cheaper. So, what do you think? Worth it or no?
3 comments:
That is a tough one! It seems to me that it would ideal for you because you could do it from home. I know people would pay that much for those hats, especially because they are all natural. But it might be a good idea to be a little diversified and include a couple of other products that would have a bigger payout for less investment, like things for adults. I see so many people using the crocheted flowers on things, from scarves to handbags to hats. Those would be quick and cheep (I assume!) and might keep you going if the initial sales of baby things is slow. Whatever you end up doing you know I will advertise it on my blog!
I know nothing about this stuff. The hats are so cute! What about craft fairs?
I guess it couldn't hurt to just try it out and see if it is worth it or not! :)
I don't know much about it, but there is also Mom4Life-a site that sells mom products. Ask Angela Gifford about it.
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