Work from Home?? - Peoria,AZ

you do not need a business license for etsy or ebay. They are NOT free to list and sell - you will need to pay listing fees and final value fees. Well, for ebay for sure, i've NEVER sold on etsy but it is an ebay subsidiary.

You need to make sure you get REALLY good photos and good descriptions of your items. My sister-in-law sold baby bibs and blankets that she made on ebay and made at least $500 a month over and above the cost to make the items and listing/final value fees.

She started out at ebay - like I said - but ALSO made the items as gifts and when these people used them - other people saw and then contacted her for items themselves...She also sold at local fairs, flea markets and community markets. She had business cards made up so people could special order the pieces she sold.

She also got in touch with people who sold Mary Kay, Avon, Pampered Chef, Creative Memories, Tupperware, etc. and did open houses as GROUPS around the year so people could buy all sorts of stuff in one stop and not feel pressured.

Vistaprints can get you business cards for $10 or $20.

Word of mouth will be your best bet at first - make sure your items have your name tag on them - my grandmother (when she could see) and my SIL had them made (http://www.personalizationmall.com/Personalized-Sewing-La...)

you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to!!

good luck!

You can do a website through vistaprint.com - it costs about $5.00/month for no-frills. They also do business cards and car magnets and all kinds of stuff like that for very reasonable prices. I don't know if you can sell through it, but it may be possible for a fee. If you sell through a website, I think it will always cost money.

Do you have friends that have received gifts, etc. from you? If they have been happy with your items, I would tell them what you'd like to do and brainstorm with them as well about ideas to "get the word out". Craft fairs cost money to get a table, but may be worth it depending on the items you sell. If your children's school has any events, that might be a place to start.

Meetup.com may be helpful. They might have a business moms group near you. Business networking groups are nice, but they take time because you are trying to build a referral based business and that's all about relationships. You would need a sitter for the time you are there. Good luck!

Go to webs.com and set up a free website. I do not recommend vistaprint ever to anyone. I bought business cards from them for years and one time my checking account was off, when I checked closely vistaprint had signed M. up for some kind of membership program and charged my card a fee each month. I caught it after the second or third month and demanded my money back.

Look around your area for flea markets and other things like that. anywhere you can set up a booth. Look into fees for some they can be quite high. Get a canopy, some comfy folding chairs, and folding tables and set up a booth. I hang some old curtains on the side of mine to help block the sun. Bring a cooler with food and lots of water, I also bring a thermos of coffee. Bring your current crochet or knitting project to work on between customers. You might also want to bring a book.

The reason to do flea markets and any festivals is EXPOSURE. Get as many business cards, brochures with your phone number and website out as possible.
You can also set up a free page on Manta.com and do a search for baby supplies, you may find websites to list on. Manta requires a physical address and since I work from home I do not want my home address on the site, so I made up an address, I used 101 No Way. It worked and I was able to set up a profile. You can also set up a facebook page.

You can make your own business cards, brouchers, flyers ect on Microsoft Office Works, make sure you get a professional software set up.

One caution for you. Do not use any copywrited or trademarked items on your merchandise. Example any cartoon character, NFL, Harley Davidson ect. If someone comes to you and says Wal-mart has Micky Mouse fabric and would like you to make a baby quilt for their new baby, say NO. The customer can buy the fabric and pay you to make it ---- but if you buy the fabric, make something and sell it it's copywrite infringement. This holds true for any company logo, any character you see in books, movies, TV games, even commercials, it's all copywrited. The fines can run into the hundrends of thousands of dollars.

http://www.etsy.com/
I don't know much about easy, however-I had a customer that makes dog sweaters and wasn't having success selling them on craigslist. I recommended Etsy to her. It worked out great-she called to thank M.-she no longer had to worry about people trying to barter with her or haggle.
Good luck!

I founds a consignment shop that is filled with 100% area crafters. You could look around for something like that in your area. You could also check with some small coffee/gift shops....sometimes they are looking for items to sell. My sister makes large tote/weekend bags and sells them at a local coffee shop. She's also done craft fairs and I've sold at a booth for her at a local hockey tournament.