What do you guys think?

For the past couple of months I've been considering starting a business selling handmade cat toys. Crocheted, sewn, and knitted probably- that's how I make most of my toys. I'm slightly hesitant to get started, as there are SO many people out there selling cat toys (I know some of you on here do it!), and I wonder how anyone would find out about my toys. As a start I was thinking maybe Etsy, but I know they charge a fee for their services, and I don't know how easy it is for people to find your items on there. I know Kailie sells earrings on Etsy, if I'm not mistaken. If you read this thread I would love some Etsy hints! :lol3:

So, fellow cat people, do you think that anyone would be able to find me? I think if I started a business it should be soon, while people are still Christmas shopping. :lol3: I'd also love some advice from those of you that are already successfully selling handmade products online! Thank you!

Good luck with your new endeavor !! I have seen some of your crocheted cat toys and think they are great and would buy one

Feralvr said:

Good luck with your new endeavor !! I have seen some of your crocheted cat toys and think they are great and would buy one

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Thank you! So far I've made quite a few different varieties. I have tried making little balls, but the ends just keep coming out slightly pointy, and not smooth. I invented a mouse toy pattern, but I don't have it exact. Each one is different! :lol3: I'll try to post some pics of the different kinds I have been making.

Hopefully this time around more people will have some advice! I'm back with the promised photographs!

This is toy is around 4 inches long. The strings are great fun!



These are a couple of ball toys I made.



Now for the mouse! I made up this pattern completely, but it's not set in stone. Each mouse I make is a little different from the last.

The mouse is so cute! 

I love those adorable kitty toys. Especially the balls and the mice . I would think that many others would agree. How much would you ask for them? I think my cat's would love a few of those toys

These are awesome!! I'm not sure about where you live, but I know where I'm from there are a lot of craft fairs that happen (especially during the holiday season, but a few happen throughout the year as well). Also  there are a couple of weekly farmers/flee markets where people have crafts. I actually just bought a handful of homemade cat toys a couple of weeks ago from a craft fair and love them! I don't know anything about online selling, so I can't help there! Good luck with this I can imagine there are a lot of us on here who would love some!! 

You can become a store on Ebay. When I got married I got a lot of things from Ebay including my invites and my flowers (silk). They were very profession and in those instances they were made to my specifications, but they also sold pre-made items as well. I'm not sure what the requirements are to become a "store" or if there are any additional fees, but from what I know from talking to people the stores have more traffic that individuals selling their crafts. It may be worth checking out.

BTW, those toys are GREAT!! And, truthfully, I haven't seen many crocheted cat toys around online. A lot of hand sewn toys but these are different. My kitties would be more than happy to work in your quality control dept! lol

I tried to sell my line on ebay and quit doing it. People on ebay only want bargains and you can't make enough from the toys to make it worth your while. Ebay takes a portion of every sale, and when you use paypal, they takes a chunk of the sale. I'm about to start an Etsy store so can't offer feedback on that yet. I also tried consignment sales but those weren't worth the bother (I had 1 person who claimed my toys were stolen and she wouldn't reimburse me). I do my best business with cat shows, craft fairs, larger online retailers, and selling to the local mom and pop pet stores. Been doing this for 8 years now and the business does ebb and flow with the general economy. When times are tough, cat products are much harder to sell than dog products. People still spend far more on their dogs than cats.

I sell on etsy and I find it to be a great place to sell.  I shop on etsy, I know other etsy sellers, I know people that work at etsy.  The way it works is there is a $0.20 listing fee per item, and they take a small percentage of each sale in fees.  It's more than fair, and I'm able to get a fair amount of business doing zero advertising.  Just by being listed on their site.  I also have done a lot of business off etsy for people that have found me on etsy. 

Success on etsy is all about having GREAT photos of your items and making sure your store branding fits with the etsy look- cute, crafy, modern, indie- and working on your item titles, descriptions and keywords so that people can find your items.  If you want to shoot me a pm I can give you more tips and also give you feedback on wording your listings, improving photography, and branding your shop so that it has the right image to do well with the type of people that shop there.

Not sure if this is a no-no, but my shop is http://evakatharina.etsy.com so you can take a peek if you want.  I don't sell cat products, but you can at least get an idea of what's been working for me.

Thank you everyone for the help!
Evakatharina- The things you sell on etsy are beautiful! The flowers you use in your pictures really add to it.
Feralvr- Finally decided on how much I would charge for them. Posting it below:

Ball toys: Minimum order would be a pack of 5. Cotton stuffed costs $5.00, and catnip stuffed costs $6.00. Any additional balls cost $1.00 a piece.
Mouse toys: Minimum order is a pack of 5. Cotton stuffed costs $7.50, and catnip stuffed costs $8.50. Any additional mice cost $1.50 a piece.
Tube toy with fringe: Minimum order is a pack of 2. Cotton stuffed costs $6.00, catnip/cotton mix costs $6.75. Any additional tubes cost $3.00 a piece. If you want stripes, $2.00 will be added to the original price.
Flat ball toy: Minimum order is a pack of 2. Cotton stuffed cost $6.00, and catnip stuffed costs $7.00. Any additional toys will be $3.00 a piece. If you want it two toned, $1.00 will be added to the original price.

Toy colors would be selected by me.

Cute toys!  Don't worry about them looking different or slightly misshapen- that's the beauty of handmade!

I just think they are adorable, so cute and very well made and I think my cat's would love them. Can you mix and match the minimum order of a pack of five? What if you want let's say a couple of one type and a couple of another type? Just think about this - because people might ask and not want five all the same. Have a mix and match package too. Just a suggestion. I really like the toys and am thinking of ordering some for my cat's for Christmas

Feralvr said:

I just think they are adorable, so cute and very well made and I think my cat's would love them. Can you mix and match the minimum order of a pack of five? What if you want let's say a couple of one type and a couple of another type? Just think about this - because people might ask and not want five all the same. Have a mix and match package too. Just a suggestion. I really like the toys and am thinking of ordering some for my cat's for Christmas

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Oh yeah, I think that would be possible. Let me know in a PM if you want any.