How do I sell niche items in a post-eBay world?

October 8, 2022 10:11 AM

I inherited approximately 50 vintage 80s-90s cross stitch patterns. They are in excellent shape and some are out of print now. I want to get them to people who will actually use them so how do I do that outside of eBay?

I am fed up with eBay as a seller because nothing I put up for sale ever moves and when it does sell, they take an increasingly large chunk of the proceeds. I am on Facebook Marketplace but that is iffy for niche items and Nextdoor and Craigslist are hyper local. Is there a good eBay altnerative?

posted by tafetta, darling! to Grab Bag (15 answers total)

Independent craft stores that cater to specialist crafts may take these to sell as consignment.

If there isn't one in your area, you can often advertise via the newsletter of a local craft guild or potentially in a Facebook group for people who do cross stitch.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:29 AM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

Because it is craft related, you could try Etsy. I don't know how well patterns sell there, though.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:32 AM on October 8, 2022 [13 favorites]

I was also going to suggest Etsy. I've bought something similar on there. Not sure if I'm the only one. If you don't want to deal with individual listings, you could group them into sets of 5.
posted by hydra77 at 10:54 AM on October 8, 2022

If I were looking for something like this, I too would look on Etsy.
posted by MrJM at 10:58 AM on October 8, 2022

If you’re avoiding Etsy as well, you might try RubyLane.
posted by armeowda at 11:16 AM on October 8, 2022

Maybe you can also use FB and reddit craft groups that specifically allows sales posts? Then even if you use FB marketplace or eBay you might get more motivated shoppers.
posted by cendawanita at 11:29 AM on October 8, 2022

Etsy has already been mentioned (and there's a robust market there), but Ravelry is literally designed for cross stitch, crochet, and knitting pattern sharing and sales.
posted by erst at 12:55 PM on October 8, 2022 [4 favorites]

Ravelry is yarn focused and not for cross stitch as far as I can tell. Their categories are knit, crochet, machine knitting, and loom knitting.
posted by soelo at 1:29 PM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

No, no, erst is right. Rav is for all textile arts these days but admittedly the yarny ones dominate. I did a quick search and here's one group . Regardless, you should check it out for the same purpose as joining FB groups. It still doesn't have a marketplace subsection, but you can definitely do sales in the right group.
posted by cendawanita at 1:38 PM on October 8, 2022 [3 favorites]

I am an avid cross-stitcher, and I get almost all my patterns on Etsy. Facebook groups are also a good idea but I don't know common it's to be able to sell. Its worth a look.

My assumption is that Ravelry is for knitters, etc. and I don't belong there.
posted by jeoc at 2:53 PM on October 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

Our local auction house hosts multiple consignment type listings, and buyers pay the auction premium on top of the sales price. I don't know what they take beyond that from the sellers. But perhaps check your local auction places or estate sale / consignment stores? Some of them also will allow items for shipping or local pickup.
posted by Crystalinne at 10:09 PM on October 8, 2022

I wouldn't completely give up on NextDoor. I've given away some weird items to very interesting people (My favorite was the 1930s hospital bassinet I gave to someone who had done research on the history of caring for infants in hospitals and even sent me a photo of that kind of bassinet in its glory days. I also gave some of my grandmother's 60s household items to a guy who was restoring a 1960s RV). When an item is special to me for some reason, I put in the description that I want to give it to someone who I feel would really appreciate it.

My only issue with NextDoor has been trying to get money for things - I've never been able to make that work. So if the money is important to you, it might not be a good option - though that depends on your area.
posted by FencingGal at 5:24 AM on October 9, 2022

I'd choose a site like Etsy that lets listings stay up a while. Niche items take longer to find their place.
posted by theora55 at 7:03 AM on October 9, 2022

It's only been around about a year, so I'm not sure how large the audience is yet, but Destashify feels made for this. It's craft-oriented and has a patterns section.
posted by catabananza at 2:58 PM on October 9, 2022

My wife suggests:

If you don't particularly want to SELL them, then you could donate them - which you could by start by contacting your local "Embroiders' Guild of America" chapter.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 9:18 PM on October 9, 2022