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Selling stuff or Slings online rant (Read 684 times)
Sarosh
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Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Nov 5th, 2022 at 4:12am
 
This is a rant but for some it could be useful information.
So I make and mail a sling, the process takes 6hours maybe more. When I sell through Etsy I ask Etsy to charge 39+7= 46
I sold a couple of slings and Etsy charges the customer more than that, because of vat/sales tax and extra taxes. The final price could be 50 or 55euro maybe more for some countries. Of course etsy has it’s own fees so it returns to me 32+7(shipping).
I spend 6hours+ to make 32eur (before tax and material cost) and the buyer is charged 55 euro.
Making it a business may lower some charges and help with some tax returns but there will be a 200-400 euro per month to operate the business. People tell me you want a 15k revenue(per year) to survive as a business, because there are also more taxes than the 200-400 eur to operate, my revenue could be 1-2k/year so no.
I know that a 6h sling at that price is not sustainable plan at all. So why not make an easier faster design at a lower price? I haven’t tried that but you can’t go far below 30 eur per sling because of standard fees, unless they are digital art.
A solution: selling through direct communication or e-mail is the only sustainable way you can avoid middlemen, the only middlemen then are paypal or banks.
I promised myself to keep etsy up until I sell all the LP-4 sling materials, then I will have a better picture of the situation and where it goes.

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Morphy
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #1 - Nov 5th, 2022 at 6:40am
 
You have a good amount of subscribers on youtube. It could help in starting your own website. By boosting your social media presence you could make it work though I know thats easier said than done.
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Sarosh
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #2 - Nov 5th, 2022 at 6:44am
 
@
Morphy

once I open a website, which as you guessed is not that easy, I will be viewed as a business by the law so I will have to pay those 200-400 euro per month no matter my revenue.
P.S. I'm on youtube since 2018, youtube until today has made me 96euro with endless hours spent on it. but I can't deny it is fun.
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JudoP
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #3 - Nov 5th, 2022 at 7:18am
 
I think there's a difficult point that selling handcrafted slings is simply not going to compete with regular 'work'. Furthermore the most financially viable slings are probably not our first choice of slings to make, and will likely lean towards faster production of cheap slings than labouring for hours over something high quality.

I've sold a few slings on an ad hoc basis and never thought as it as any more than a little extra cash to subsidise the hobby and opportunity to get my slings out there in the world (as I have far more than I could use). However, if I were to require a fair price for labour a lot of my slings would be prohibitively expensive, or I would be forced to lower quality and drastically improve speed of construction.
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Teg
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #4 - Nov 5th, 2022 at 8:49am
 
Handcrafted stuff I only sell on commission or if I'd like to get rid of pieces or material I no longer want to keep. Because in these cases, the price matters much less, to the buyer as well as for me.
In the second case I usually look that I'm not making a loss (including some allowance for post and bank charges, wrapping material, and my trip to the post office), and that's about it.

Regarding selling slings, you have two options: high end products at high prices and small volume, or low end products for low prices and large volume. Note that you'd like to have the same profit margin in both cases... I guess the second option might be more lucrative. And then we're talking about mass production, with a stamped leather/paracord item being the obvious product.
Which is also what you mostly see on amazon and etsy and the like. Probably not by chance  Grin
But then, where's the fun in just cranking out such slings...

Starting from a aimed retail price of 30$:
Profit margin: 25% (very pessimistic) -> 22.5$
Materials (includes package materials): 5$ -> 17.5$
Fees, charges and further expenses -> 10$ -> 7.5$
Minimal wage: 7$  -> 1 h working time (includes making, selling, and shipping of the sling).

Yeah, I can think of more rewarding and more profitable side hustles  Cheesy
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IronGoober
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #5 - Nov 6th, 2022 at 2:50am
 
I think having 2 sling designs, one low end, high volume and a high quality, high cost option, low volume is probably your best bet.   But I agree with you that direct communication is probably the best way to go for profit, rather than through etsy or others.
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #6 - Nov 6th, 2022 at 8:45am
 
Well, there are not many slingers in the world, many if them make their own slings.
So right from the start it's a very small market and already very well served.

Noocs probably gone about it in the most businesslike manner.
He makes pretty decent slings, set up his own website (pretty simple, and really cheap as long as you don't go down the popular platforms)
I believe he also made cutting dies, for hud sling pouches.

If I'm making a batch if leather pouched, I'll use my laser cutter, for cutting and engraving the pouches and finger loops.
All this kind of thing cuts down on time and effort involved.

At the end of the day Sarosh, you've just got a leather pouched para cord sling.
I think you said it took you 4 years to develop.
I've got nearly 40 years sling making and experimentation experience, and every now and then I'll still change something minor.
4 years is just starting out Smiley

So yeah, making and selling slings is always going to be a 'hobby'.
There's just too many people doing it, and no actual 'need' for any more.

Being self employed might look like a good idea, but I wouldn't recommend it.
If you can get a proper job, then get a 'proper' job Smiley
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Do All things with Honour and Generosity: Regret Nothing, Envy None, Apologise Seldom and Bow your head to No One  - works for me Smiley
 
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Sarosh
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #7 - Nov 6th, 2022 at 1:01pm
 
@
Curious Aardvark
I know it's a hobby I don't expect to become a millionaire. The rant is about me and someone else want to have some fun selling and buying slings, to help me pay for the hobby and here comes some government and some platform that take A large part of what that someone pays without moving a finger.

At the end of the day this is just a rant I don't expect platforms or governments to change. I thought that it might help others who think about selling on etsy or selling stuff online get an idea. That's why I put numbers.
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Rat Man
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #8 - Nov 8th, 2022 at 7:34am
 
   Selling handcrafted sings just wouldn't work for me.  I'd be working for next to nothing per hour.  The only way to make a good profit is to mass produce them.  But the demand would never justify the cost of machining up to do this.  So I make slings just for fun.
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #9 - Nov 15th, 2022 at 9:14am
 
@sarosh - ebay take a lot less than etsy.

And also create your own basic website and sell direct.
You'll need some way to take money online - paypal is my favourite for that.
I use square for taking card payments on an everyday basis. They charge 1.75% - which is pretty good as there are no other fees.
And square will also let you take online paymen ts as well. 
There are always cheaper ways to do things - it just takes a little more research and effort.

With etsy and amazon, you are paying for their infrastructure and sheer ease of use and convenience.

It's  all a choice Smiley
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Do All things with Honour and Generosity: Regret Nothing, Envy None, Apologise Seldom and Bow your head to No One  - works for me Smiley
 
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NooneOfConsequence
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Re: Selling stuff or Slings online rant
Reply #10 - Nov 23rd, 2022 at 7:56am
 
@sarosh, the best way to do it is to figure out what you need to pay to keep your e-commerce platform alive for a year.  Some platforms are easier than others, but at the end of the day that doesn’t matter.  Pick what works for you and be willing to lose that money if sales don’t work out.  At the end of a year, look at the money.  Did you make enough to pay for another year?  If so, do it again and try to grow your sales.  Simple, but definitely not easy.
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“My final hour is at hand. We face an enemy more numerous and cunning than the world has yet seen. Remember your training, and do not fear the hordes of Judas. I, without sin, shall cast the first stone. That will be your sign to attack! But you shall not fight this unholy enemy with stones. No! RAZOR GLANDES!  Aim for the eyes! May the Lord have mercy, for we shall show none!“  -Jesus the Noodler
 
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