Hello! You asked, we listened! One of the things you requested in our community survey was more support with having a destash sale! So we’re kicking off a new series called How to Have a Successful Destash! We’ll be breaking a destash down into its most basic steps from planning to shipping. This week, we’re focusing on what needs to happen before you get started. It’s all about successful planning!
Here are 5 Important Questions to Ask Yourself When Planning a Destash Sale:
- What is my goal?
- How do I plan to ship?
- Where will I photograph my fabric?
- Do I know the name of my fabric’s brand/designer/line/print?
- How often am I willing to go to the post office?
What is My End Goal?
Knowing your goal is essential to your success in the destash process. If your goal is to recoup some of the costs that you spent purchasing fabric, you will price your fabric differently than if your goal is to get the fabric out of your space as quickly as possible. Knowing what you want to accomplish with a destash sale will help you to make decisions in all other parts of the destash process.
How Do I Plan to Ship?
This is a biggie. Not knowing the best way to ship your fabric will either prevent you from getting started or trip you up once you’ve made a sale. At FeelGood Fibers, sellers include the cost of shipping in with the price of their fabric. Most sellers that don’t have a stamps.com account (or some other way to ship directly from their house) choose to estimate the cost of shipping using USPS flat rate packaging. Since shipping can get expensive, in order to make fabric prices competitive, it makes sense to list fabrics as bundles or large quantities of yardage. All of these factor into your pricing and listings, so it’s important to think about it ahead of time. Planning is essential.
Alternatively, you may choose to have a destash sale over social media. The upside to destashing over social is that you can invoice a buyer for the exact cost of shipping once your item has been sent. The downside is that your fabric has been sent, but you have not yet been paid. At FeelGood Fibers, your money is collected at the time of the transaction, so you know that you will always be paid for your sale.
Check out our cheat sheet of the averages weights of different cuts of fabric.
Where Will I Photograph My Fabric?
It’s a fact that good photographs sell fabric. If your photos are taken in a poorly lit environment against a cluttered or dark background, chances are high that your fabric won’t sell. And if it does sell, it might sit longer, or you might have to lower your price to make the sale happen. Setting up a time and space to photograph your fabric in a well-lit spot (by a window filled with natural light is preferable) on a clean, light background (white poster board works great for this), with limited shadows will ensure that your fabric is showcased in the best manner possible. Planning for where and when you will photograph your fabrics will set you up for success.
7 Tips for Taking Fabric Photos That Sell
Do I Know the Name of My Fabric’s Brand/Designer/Line/Print?
All of this information will be needed to list your fabric for destash at FeelGood Fibers. Not only does this information make it easier for buyers to search for your fabric, but it also ensures that quilt shop quality fabrics are being sold. As you pull fabric for destash, make a note on a post-it with all of these details and stick it to the fabric so that you have the information readily available for listing. It’s a good idea to measure your fabric now, too, so that listing is a piece of cake!
How Often am I Willing to Go to the Post Office?
Know thyself. If you are not likely to want to head to the post office very often, list fabrics in larger bundles. Less listings = less times that you will have to head to the post office to ship.
We hope that these help you in getting started with the destash process! Stay tuned for next week, when we teach you how to set up your account and destash shop! Have a specific question for us? Leave it in the comments below!
