Looking for a new venue of selling my handmade items and some free publicity, I tried
Tophatter
at the decretion of a viable blog.
Tophatter was described as a great addition to sell on along with Etsy. What they didn't note that I would not get top dollar for the sold item. I guess this item had set in my shop long enough but $5.00 for an $80.00 item wasn't what I had in mind.
This item took many hours to make and four balls of yarn (28 oz). I didn't recoup the price of the yarn in this auction. Hand crocheted in a basket weave stitch, soft and suptle. Beautiful red color and hangs well. Considering the time it took to produce this item I have not done another one, so you see, it was a OOAK.
What I learned was that Tophatter isn't an option for a lot of artistians unless you just need to rid yourself of some stock. If you decide to try the site pick something that you won't lose a lot of money, recoup your materials and some of your time and hopefully some of the postage. It's going to cost me the price of the sell for postage.
Even though some advice we get and read are from reputable sellers, please people take the time to investigate, start small and not lose a lot in the learning process.
I know this may sound bitter, but I'm more disappointed than anything else, disappointed in myself for not taking the time to see if there was any money to be made on large scale OOAK items. I like anyone else enjoy a good deal but not at the expense of the artisian.
Look closely before jumping, test the waters once again on small items. We're in this business to make money not to give away the cost of labor and materials. I save the cost for charities.
I'm not saying I won't try Tophatter again, but it will be with a less expensive piece. Something that didn't involve a lot of my time and money
