To Sell Patterns or not???

[Former_Member]

Hope I can ask this here.....

For years I have been crocheting and quite often get asked about the pattern. So I finally decided to start writing up some of my patterns and added a couple to my shop.

The question is How do you price them??? Are pattern good sellers? Ekk not sure if I'm making the right decision.....

[weekendjewelry1]

Kylie, if you can write and give clear instructions, I'd say go for it! As for pricing - I have no idea, since I don't crochet and don't buy the patterns. But it's something you can research. I'd do a search here for other crochet patterns, and see how they're marketed and how the pricing goes.

Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I would agree with Jen. If you can do simple and concise patterns I would say it's a great idea! Checking what other Etsy sellers price their patterns would probably be a good plan....
Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I have bought crochet patterns on Etsy and have come across shops that have sold thousands of patterns.

Search for "crochet patterns" on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/search?q=crochet%20pattern&ref=auto2&explicit_scope=1) and you will see over 98,000 patterns listed. The largest shop I know of has sold over 26,000 crochet patterns (shop name: bonitapatterns) . Look through the patterns from different shops to get an idea of pricing.

[Former_Member]

Oh wow Thank-you girls xxx

I think I will just jump in and give it a go, if I don't sell any thats ok!

[Former_Member]

I was thinking $5 seems to be the average price.....

[Former_Member]

Selling your crochet patterns can be extremely profitable. BUT before you decide to sell your patterns I would strongly suggest that you know what the industry standards are and put some testing into place.

Most patterns in America are written to conform to the Yarn Council Standards
http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/standards.html
These are the guidelines that magazines expect all patterns to follow.

When I'm transcribing a pattern that I'm going to sell, I'll first make sure that I have every detail written down in a legible format. Its amazing how many of those 'scratch notes' really don't make any sense to anyone but yourself.

Then I'll hand the copy off to at least three different people for testing. The purpose of this is to be sure that the pattern makes sense and is easy to understand by someone other than myself.

I generally will provide the yarns and will pay my testers for their time.

The price I charge will depend on the complexity of the pattern.

Selling patterns can be very rewarding but there is a lot of time and effort required before the finished product is consumer ready.

[AttentionGetting]

Selling your patterns as digital downloads is a smart move. Some of the top sellers on Etsy right now are selling digital downloads of patterns. The price is usually in the range of $5.95 to 12.95 US. You make once and sell endless times. After Etsy and PayPal fees, it is essentially pure profit.

[Former_Member]

Thank-you soo much Crochetgal, your wonderful feedback means a lot. I have written up 2 patterns and I got a tester today to read and try just to double check it all makes sense :)

[BeadsNtrinkets]

Look at similar prices for selling patterns on Etsy and price accordingly.

[SageNThymeDesigns]

I think that making something once and selling it a bazillion times is a great business strategy! I'm on the Sewing Patterns team and that's a good place to get testers and answers to these types of questions. I just did a search for Teams around "crochet patterns", there's a ton of teams- check 'em out.

The best thing about Etsy is that it's SO easy to do market research. You can see not only what people are selling, for how much $ and how/when they've sold. Do some digging in other shops 'sales' to see what people are actually buying. I see lots of people who sell handmade and patterns. The patterns are a nice, no effort, way to increase income, once you've perfected your pattern.

good luck!

[Former_Member]

Thanks Lynnette!

[Former_Member]

Oh wow Awesome Thank-you Joanna.

I will go and check out some teams!

xxx

[Former_Member]

I have been asked a few times to sell my patterns, but I'm afraid of my patterns being used to sell the very items I am selling. Any thoughts on this?

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

@Melly, I've come across people stating in their patterns (both the listing and the actual download) that you can resell the item. Other people don't say a thing.

I had that fear, but that's always the risk you take. I put in mine you can't resell the item. Hopefully the people are honest about it.

[Former_Member]

@nikki thanks for your input! Do you also sell your patterns on ravelry? Is that acceptable by etsy, even?

[Former_Member]

Thanks girls xxx

[Former_Member]

I was reading some of the suggestions s I am myself thinking of selling patterns online as I knit. I am sure you have heard of Ravelry, well they have a group that tests patterns. Here is the link:-) Just a suggestion as it will keep your costs down as it's all done for free, they get to try the pattern and you get the help.

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/free-pattern-testers

[Former_Member]

Oh wow Thank-you so much for that
xxx

[MountainGoth]

Don't forget to post your patterns on Ravelry as well. Like Etsy they have the instant download, no stress delivery and the site is totally focused on the knitting and crochet community.

[Former_Member]

Thank-you for that Suzanne

I will, I just added a patter to their tester page :)

[Former_Member]

Hey, I just wanted to point out that you don't have any legal standing as to what is done with a finished product made from your pattern. So once you put a pattern out there, there is a chance that someone could make it and sell it. So you'll want to consider that.

That said, I'm eventually going to sell patterns myself. It just makes sense. Even if they start selling things based on the patterns that I make (which won't be an issue for me) my thinking is that if they like the pattern, they'll come back and buy another. Plus, once a pattern is hammered out, it is profit beyond the fees associated with the sale. You can't beat that! :)

[Former_Member]

Thanks for that hun xxx