Selling Upcycled Furniture~Tips from a Newbie

I am pretty new to this furniture painting business but have realized a couple of things along the way. So, since I have nothing painted to show you since life has gotten in the way and I have to deal w/ some time consuming nonsense, won't bore you w/ the details. I figured I'd share some things that over the past few weeks have helped me find my garage free of my painted furniture and in to homes that really appreciate and love them.

1)  List it on CL but don't forget about it. Just because the first time around you didn't get a response aside from the spammers who have nothing better to do w/ their time, doesn't mean it won't find a home other than your garage. Relist it every couple of weeks and eventually a buyer will come. Relist, relist and again relist, besides it's FREE.

2) I created a web site about 6 months ago. At the time it seemed like the direction to go for me. It made me feel like I was taking it to the next level instead of just a hobby. I was big into shabby chic mosaics at the time but realized the niche was way too small. But, this was a good thing for me because I took what I was doing more seriously. My opinion, if you're just starting out, go to #3. Save yourself some money.

3) Etsy.. Inexpensive at 3.5% that they take off the sale and 20 cents a listing. Way cheaper than Ebay. The exposure is fantastic especially if you're dealing w/ smaller, shippable items, night stands, entry tables, etc. I made a few sales in just a couple of weeks. Trust me, try it you have nothing to lose. Yup, boxing, preparing to ship is a big drag but at least you'll have space for your new finds.

4) Flickr...if you don't flickr, try it. It's another freebie and you can attach your web site or etsy shop to your photos of what you're selling.

5) Blog...we all do it, well most of us reading this do but it is amazing to me how many stumble across my blog by google searching something they are interested in buying. I have to do that more often, attach my web/etsy site to the pieces I am looking to sell. Note to self!

6) Lastly, tell everyone you know about what you do. Word of mouth is an excellent resource. And above all, . don't give up. We do this because it's our passion and how great is that?


                                      ****A LITTLE SIDE NOTE****3/5/2014
I recently started a small business selling knobs for your furniture makeovers. I figured I'm always looking for pretty and interesting knobs for my redos, why not have some for me and sell some too? You can find me on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/KnobEnvy

I would love to hear how you sell your upcycled furniture. Please share, we can all use some tips, thanks for taking the time to read my blah, blah, blah, blogging! Yup, I have the gift of gab. I had a woman over here today picking up a piece of furniture, must have talked her ear off for a good hour. Her daughter wound up playing video games w/ my girls while we chatted in my kitchen. Love meeting new people probably why I love this blogging thing so much.