Your customers love things that are $10 or less. Some people just shop this way; the price alone will determine whether they buy or not. My advice: give them lots of $10 options!
The trick for you is that you can’t spend too long making these $10 products. If you can make it in less than 20 minutes, you can charge $30/hour for your labor, which is my personal standard. Any longer than that and you start to become less compensated for your precious, limited time.
Lots of crocheted things take way longer than 20 minutes to make. Most of the conventional things you think of crocheting, like hats and scarves, take HOURS. And the truth is most people who approach you at a market won’t be ready to pay you a living wage for making that big project. They’re just too accustomed to Target prices.
So here is a list of things that you CAN make and charge fairly for, while also keeping the price point at $10 or less. I always display all of these at my markets, most of them on a little rack to the side of my table or in wire baskets on my table.
^my greeting cards in a wire basket, right out in front
These $10 items usually account for the majority of my sales. I’m even designing an entire Fruits and Veggies plushy collection based on this price point because it works so well (patterns coming soon!).
Here are 5 things you can crochet and sell for $10 or less:
- Keychains – just about anything can be turned into a keychain. I have a pattern for a wrist strap keychain that I consistently sell for $18, but recently I have been sticking key rings onto my fruit and veggie plushies and testing them at the $10 price point.
- Greeting cards – these might be my favorite things to make. People FREAK OUT when they see them. I charge $8 per card or I sell a set of 5 for $35. Here is my free pattern so you can get started making them!
- Mini plushies – we’re talking MINI. Like, stitch count is under 250 sc sts. Most people like tiny things anyway, so give your customers what they want!
- Earrings and charms – little tiny crocheted applique-style charms can be turned into lots of products, including earrings and charms. Get yourself some jump rings and get creative!
- Tiny tote bags – kids love to fill bags with things. They can never have enough bags. I used to make larger tote bags, and then I realized I didn’t need to make them so large. The small ones are cuter, and quicker to make!
If you already have a product line you love, and you don’t want to start making a bunch of random things to set out, you can consider modifying your current items to reduce the stitch count if you are trying to lower your pricing. I have a friend who crochets GORGEOUS pokemon plushies. They are generally pretty large, and if he were to make miniature versions that look exactly the same but smaller and stick them on keychains, I bet he’d make a killing.
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