SB: ideas for unusual greetings cards

donna73

hi, i'm hoping to pick your brains!
i make and sell greetings cards in my spare time, and am trying to expand it slowly into a business that i can fit in around my kids.
i'm getting really good feedback for my cards but because so many people sell handmade cards its a competitive market.i have tried craft fairs , ebay etc but so many people are selling the same sort of thing.

my idea is to concentrate on making the types of cards that it is difficult to find elsewhere.
for instance my husband is a falconer, so i have been working on cards suitable for that pasttime. Also, have been making some inspired by my own yoga practise.My neighbour gets me to make "goth" type cards for her niece.

i need to know what sort of cards have you tried looking for, and havent been able to track down.
these could be to do with a hobby, or style of card.any ideas really

i suppose also where to try selling these specialist cards!

i have got some possible contacts to try with the yoga and falconry, but thats as far as i have got.

look forward to hearing your ideas!!

tru

Hiya Donna :hello:

I sell my cards too, so I can't help with the 'what sort of cards have you tried looking for' bit, when I want something I just make it lol. Have you tried making the card shaped? eg. instead of making a straight-edged card with a Christmas tree on it, cut the whole card into a tree shape. Ask around in independant shops, they might make a space for your cards and sell on a sale or return basis. I've had no luck with gift shops (which surprised me) but have just been asked to supply some to a specialist off-licence.

Have you thought about setting up a website?

donna73

Hi Tru,
i have thought about a website, not done much about it yet, have checked that i can use the name i want and looked at a few of the sites where you can pay so much a month to use their templates. but was worried about directing enough traffic there.

At them moment i have an ebay shop, getting hundreds of hits per month, but only a few sales a week, frustrating, cos i cant find out why so many are looking but not buying.Only set up about 2 month:) s ago, so its early days, but the fees are too high really so unless sales really pick up, i'm going to have to give up on it.

Do you just go round to the shops with samples, or phone them first, i dont think i'd be very good at promoting myself like that.

good luck with selling yours
donna

mollymoo45_2

Hi, Have you tried Garden centres/Nurseries and Florists?

i always look at the greeting cards there as they always seem to be more individual, as opposed to 'off the shelf' bog standard cards that you get in supermarkets and card shops, IMO i think thay always have the best selection.

I hope this helps you both!

Molly x

amandada

Sorry to sound harsh, but having spent today at day 1 of a 2 day craft fair selling my cards (and doing rather well thank you very much) and heard so many people saying "but it's so simple-it's only x y and z put together in such and such a way", if you're needing to ask for ideas, then you're in the wrong game.
Making the cards is the easy part, it's the coming up with the ideas which is hard, and the mark of a good designer.

kimbatty

Cards for teens can be quite hard to find so maybe for teen boys things like cards with electric guitars , wii or nintendo ds consoles etc and for teen girls things like hello kitty , pink ds , pink electric guitar etc

Also how about civil ceremony cards, naming ceremony and cards for twins and other multiple births like quads, quins etc

tru

I list a few on ebay too, I started with my old account but recently set up a new one just for cards, I've had one sale lol. I'll stick with it for a few months to see how it goes but I'm not holding my breath. Try selling packs of 5 or 10, they seem to sell better (judging by other people's sales - yes I do spy on other sellers lol) I tried walking into shops with samples but it didn't work, that's why I go to independants - invest a bit of time popping in a few times and get chatting to the owner, then be cheeky and say 'oh you know what you need - hand made cards, I make them, I can do sale or return so it costs you nothing if they don't sell'. If they're not interested, carry on popping in when you're passing, chances are they'll ask you about them again. The man at the off-licence said he'll take some and he hasn't seen any yet. Coming up with ideas is a nightmare sometimes, I'll go for ages without coming up with new designs then suddenly have loads of ideas all at once. I carry a pencil and pad of paper with me everywhere so if I think of anything, I draw it straight away.

tru

Sorry it's all squished and hard to read, the formatting won't work for me.

donna73

amandada wrote: »

Sorry to sound harsh, but having spent today at day 1 of a 2 day craft fair selling my cards (and doing rather well thank you very much) and heard so many people saying "but it's so simple-it's only x y and z put together in such and such a way", if you're needing to ask for ideas, then you're in the wrong game.
Making the cards is the easy part, it's the coming up with the ideas which is hard, and the mark of a good designer.

amandada, i'm glad you are doing well with your cards. i think maybe you misunderstood my posting!

I do well selling my general cards and produce a wide variety of designs, but
as i'm sure you realise it is a very competitive market with cards being sold in most shops etc these days. so what I am proposing to try and do is look at more niche markets. and so was asking if anybody has tried to look for particular kinds of cards, and been unable to find them.

It is not designing the actual cards that is a problem.
I am just trying to do some market research to find out what cards people would like to be able to buy, but currently have difficulty finding.

Thanks Tru, kimbatty and mollymoo45 for your suggestions.

amytightwad2

Hi, I have a gift shop in rural area and the single most popular theme is chickens. Bearing in mind your husbands job, perhaps you could incorporate some feathers?
Good luck.

Evrae

I was wondering how many here are into crafting and making greetings cards. Ive been making and selling for a while too, it is a saturated area now but I guess the ones that are just playing and after making a fast buck lol will drop off and leave the hobby and the trade alone. Good luck, the best method is word of mouth.