Fangs for resin to the challenge

October 17, 2018 3:45 PM

Every year I make awesome "spooky" art things to send to people. This year I've outdone myself with resin fangs and pumpkins like these. Now I'm trying to figure out how to offset the shipping cost.

I really enjoy this Halloween tradition since I love Halloween and making things and connecting with people across the miles. And I think the fangs and pumpkins are badass, plus I've already made more than enough. But times are lean and I need to figure out how to mail these bad boys (all within the US) without stealing my own lunch money.

Are there any small shops in the US that might be interested in selling these? Like fun goth or arty or even vampire shops? I don't mind approaching stores, sending a sample, etc, but it's hard to know where to start. Not interested in chain stores. Please give specific names of stores.

I'm trying to sell some online but don't have high hopes. I have some listed on Etsy and have been promoting on social media, but that can get tedious really fast. A local store here had been selling my things but had to downsize, and I haven't been able to get in yet with other gift shops. (I live in Blacksburg, VA, and will accept local recs if anyone knows.) We have a couple mass sort of costume shops, but not much at all in the way of anything dark/occult/gothy. There aren't any pop-up art events that I know of. I would be happy to go up to Roanoke and try my luck there, but I don't know what options are.

I have plenty of other things to sell; these are just sort of time-sensitive because of the holiday. I was hoping just to sell them as is, but I could turn them into other things too.

I've thought about trying to find a way that isn't terribly tacky to have a tip jar option. I don't want people to have to pay for gifts, though, and I don't want anybody wondering about if they should chip in or how much. I have no idea if a small crowd-funding option would be an option. I don't really need a ton of money, but I don't have a credit card and have to be careful.

Fang you, pumpkins.

posted by mermaidcafe to Work & Money (2 answers total)

It really depends on how much work you want to put into this. It could just be a matter of finding the right keywords/tags in Etsy. Look at the following terms in Etsy: visual kei, pastel goth, goth, clubkid, rockabilly, psychobilly. Depending on how you see it, any of these could possibly work for your product.
You could market B2B on Etsy, because lots of crafters buy resin stuff from other crafters. Usually the people in the above subcultures.
You could glue these onto barrettes or hair bows or pinbacks, and tack on another $5-10 for the price.

Also a quick google maps search of “metaphysical shop” in Blacksburg turns up a few hits. I don’t know how reasonable it would be to drive to these shops because I really don’t know the area.

I think before you do any of this though, take some really nice photos of your items, preferably in a dark background, that will really show your work in the best light.

You may also have luck with FB Marketplace, FB groups, or Instagram.
posted by shalom at 5:27 PM on October 17, 2018

It's a shame--a bunch of them could fit into one flat-rate mailer. You should only befriend people that all live in the same big apartment block! Seriously, though, are your friends trustworthy enough that you could enclose a bunch of then along with a bunch of filled-in address labels and a letter that says something like "Happy Halloween from Shalom! Pick your favorite and pick a label and reship this today to the next of my friends! Thanks!"?

That doesn't help you make actual money, but if it worked it would reduce costs. Unfortunately, it only takes one flake-out to break a given chain.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 8:31 AM on October 20, 2018