Selling hand painted one-of-a-kind artist dolls is not for the first time newborner. Before you plan to sell your first doll make sure you have adequate experience and have perfected your technique. Wondering if your technique is sales worthy? Read tip number six for some helpful advice.
If you feel you are truly ready for eBay here are some helpful bits of advice...
1. Discover what people want. Let's face it, some doll faces are just more popular then others. If you don't make what people are buying then you won't sell as much. But at the same time, don't be afraid to try something new - too much of a good thing can stall sales for everyone.
2. Learn the basics about photography. Read the manual for your digital camera and learn how to get the best lighting and exposure. Buy a "Photography for Dummies" book to learn about using natural light so you don't have to invest in any fancy lighting. Position your doll in a life-like manner and show many different angles and close-up shots. Angle the doll's head slightly - real babies aren't stiff! "Animating" the doll by posing it in a life-like manner will bring it to life and give it character. See how well Danielle Zweers has animated her newborned Honey doll shown to the right above? The image looks like a live baby!
Pictures can make the difference between a sale and no sale. But remember; don't alter the pictures to show something that's not accurate. If you alter the pictures people will not be satisfied with what they receive and it will ruin your business!
3. Educate yourself - don't guess. Have you bought any books on how to be successful on eBay? Most of your success is from proper exposure: getting people to see what you have and why they should bid on it. eBay is so massive that even if your skill set is among the best, if you don't showcase and sell your doll correctly you won't get the dollars you would like.
Click here for a list of helpful books on how to be successful on eBay.
4. Give it time. If you're brand new to selling on eBay give it some time. Few people are an overnight success. You need to allow time to establish a reputation and for word to travel. Nothing gets you more customers then having satisfied customers. If you do a great job, show "true to life" pictures, are honest to deal with, and conduct yourself in a professional manner then customers will be happy to spread the word about you.
5. Build a website. Most of the successful eBay sellers have websites outside of eBay showing their dolls and listing their customer's testimonies. This will lend you credibility and make people more comfortable with purchasing from you.
You don't have to pay big bucks to build your website either. There are many website hosting companies that have extremely easy to use software that even internet novices can master!
Consider some of the following:
We recommend you don't use a free website hosting company since they will display advertisements on your website. Nothing destroys a website's credibility like advertisements displayed everywhere. The purpose of the website is to establish in your customer's mind a comfort level with who you are and what you are selling.
And last but definitely not least...
6. Be honest about your abilities. Newborning a doll is not a quick and easy way to make money. It is an art form. And not one that everyone has equal talent for. Check out pictures from our Aptil 2007 Newborning Contest and you can see for yourself the incredible range of abilities, styles and photography skills that each artist presents.
For the majority of people the first doll they newborn will not be sales-worthy. Most people have to newborn quite a few dolls, perfecting their technique each time, to get to a point where they are good enough to have a doll that may sell.
If you are not sure whether or not your doll is sales-worthy then take it out with you. Don't just submit your photos to forums asking for critical advice. Most people are hesitant to critique someone else's work - so that's not a very reliable way of testing your abilities. Next time you go grocery shopping take your doll with you! How many people, even upon close inspection, are fooled into thinking it's a real baby? If everyone who approaches can tell immediately that your doll is just a doll (or you find that no one approaches you at all because you're carting a doll around the grocery store!) then you should probably consider further training and additional practice. But if you find that many people are fooled into approaching and cooing at your baby, even when they bend down to look at the doll, you're probably ready to start selling!
If your abilities are not quite sales-worthy consider purchasing the 2nd (Painting with Genesis Paints) and 3rd (Rooting Your Reborn Baby) training DVDs in the Art of Newborning DVD collection. Both of those DVDs go into great detail on the painting and rooting of the doll. |
