Despite their usually low prices, drop shipping crafts and craft supplies can prove to be a profitable business decision. These items can usually be bought wholesale for very cheap, which means that as long you sell them in reasonably high volumes, there is considerable potential for profit. To best estimate how much you can expect to make by drop shipping crafts and craft supplies, it is necessary to have a working knowledge of both retail and wholesale prices of these products.

Retail Costs of Crafts

Crafts and craft supplies is a broad a category, so the prices will vary from item to item but you can still estimate profit by comparing retail price of individual items to wholesale prices. Being somewhat of a specialty item, crafts and craft supplies are most often sold through specialty retailers such as Oriental Trading Company or Hobby Lobby. Because there are so many different types of items for sale at retailers of such nature, here is a sampling of prices on various craft products.

• 1000 glass beads - $54.95
• 12 mini drawstring bags - $5.99
• 3 craft scissors sets of 8 pieces each - $31.47

Even at retail prices, craft products tend to be low cost. While this may seem to make them a poor choice for a drop shipping business, you can still make a considerable profit if you sell enough of them.

Wholesale Drop Shipping Costs of Crafts

Because retail prices for crafts are already low, you may think that wholesale discounts on these products would be negligible. However, wholesale prices on these items are usually much lower than retail costs. This can amount to significant profit for the seller. While you should always keep in mind that wholesale prices will vary according to the specific product and drop shipping supplier, here are some sample wholesale prices of a selection of products to compare to their retail prices.

• 100 glass beads - $10.00
• 12 mini drawstring bags - $1.80
• 2 craft scissor sets of 12 pieces each - $9.60

Selling Crafts Online

While you may want to consider eBay as a venue for your online craft business, the high number of sales necessary to see a significant profit can make eBay inconvenient. This is because eBay requires you to make a new listing for each product you want to sell, which means you are also charged a listing fee.

For this reason, it is almost always best to sell your crafts and crafting supplies on a targeted web site. This lets you sell your goods in a more centralized way. It also gives you more control over how your products are organized and how your sales are conducted.