If you are a maker looking to add a new revenue stream to their business, and you like to make faux fur poms- this is for you!
If you don’t know how to make poms, you can find my step by step guide on how to make faux fur poms post here.
In this post we will cover:
- Where to Sell Poms
- How to price your poms
- How to ship your poms
- All shipping materials needed
- Should you do made-to-order or Ready to Ship?
Where to Sell Poms
You can sell poms online via Etsy, Shopify, or your own website. If you are just starting out, I would highly suggest going with Etsy.
If you already have a customer base, you can add your poms to your existing shop or website just as an additional product.
Pricing
You can price your poms however you would like, but as a maker I know pricing your products isn’t always the easiest thing to do. You always wonder, how much do I charge, what is too much, what is too low? How do I make sure I make a profit off my sales?
Well, I am going to share the formula that I use to price my poms, to ensure it is worth my time and effort and that I am getting a fair profit.
You want to take your Faux Fur Fabric Cost for 1 yard of fabric (as this is typically the lowest amount of fabric you can order online) and divide that cost by how many poms you can create from that material + plus extra material (poly-fil, thread) and that will equal the total cost to make 1 pom.
Example: 1 Yard of fur costs $40. I can make 40 large size poms out of that 1 yard. Extra materials I estimate around $1 per pom.
Fur cost ($40)/40 poms= $1 + Extra materials ($1)= $2 total for material cost per pom.
Now this is simply your total material cost. Now to price it for profit to sell, you can use one of these two methods.
1: Take your $2 (total material cost) and multiply it by 3. ($6 per pom)
2: Take your $2 (total material cost) and multiply it by 2, then add your hourly rate amount *This would be a fixed number that YOU choose is fair for the time it takes you to make 1 pom.* Say you want your hourly wage to be $20, and it takes you 10 minutes to make one pom. Your hourly wage to make one pom would come to $3.30.
Example: $2 X 2 = $4 + $3.33 (hourly wage for 1 pom) = $7.33 per pom.
To figure our your hourly wage for just one pom, time yourself making a pom. Pick your hourly wage number. Starting with 60 (because there are 60 minutes in an hour) divide that by the length of time it takes you to create one pom.
Take your hourly wage number and divide it by the number you got from above and that is how you find out your wage for 1 pom.
Example: 60/ 10 (takes you 10 minutes to make 1 pom) = 6
My hourly wage is $20. So I will do 20/6= 3.33 so your wage per pom is $3.33
Keep in mind these figures are simply examples.
How to Ship your Poms
When it comes to shipping these cute little fluffy poms, I rely on USPS like my BFF. And guess what? If you’re selling yours on Etsy or Shopify, they’ve got sweet deals on shipping labels. Score!
Here’s the scoop on shipping costs: since faux fur poms are pretty lightweight, you won’t need to break the bank for shipping. Phew!
For my domestic shipping (within the USA), I usually charge a flat rate of $4.50, which is totally reasonable, right? And for our friendly neighbors up in Canada, it’s $9.50.
The trick is to double-check the pricing on the platform you’re selling on. You want to make sure you charge just the right amount for shipping, ’cause nobody likes those pesky shipping overages that eat into your profits.
Let me tell you about my poms and their shipping weights. They come in packs of 4, 6, 8, and 10, and the weights can range from 3 to 10 ounces. A 5-inch faux fur pom weights about 1 ounce.
Here are all the materials I use when shipping.
Care Cards: I made my own on canva. If you want to get mine for free you can sign up to my newsletter to get these care cards right to your inbox!
Don’t worry if you don’t have a label printer or can’t buy one right now, you can absolutely use a regular printer and use these labels to print your shipping labels on.
Bonus: Printable Display Cards! These are from Anna over at The Knotty Boss! These display cards are great to elevate your packaging! You can grab these printable for 25% off in Anna’s Etsy Shop. Use the code “POM25” at checkout.
How to Pack an Order
To pack your order, you will add the poms from the order into your poly mailer along with a care card/business card. Weigh the whole package. Using the platform you are selling on to purchase your shipping label.
If you are on Etsy your label purchase will look like this:
Go to the order you need to ship. Click the little truck logo in the upper right-hand corner. Select “get shipping label”. Another screen will pop up and you will select the package type and put in the package weight and package size info. Scroll down on that page to select your delivery service. It will show you a list of USPS, UPS, and FedEX and show you the price and delivery date range for each option. Select the one you want. Then click “review”. The next page that will pop up will show you what you selected, and give you the option to “send me a copy of all notifications”. Once you review this, you will click purchase.
Should you do made-to-order or Ready to Ship
Hey there! So, let me tell you about my “Made-to-order” process! It’s super easy and convenient. I’ve got a bunch of faux fur pom colors available on my website. You can either buy just one pom or go for my packs with options like 4, 6, 8, or 10 poms. If you’re looking for even more, I’ve got bulk packs of 20 or 50 too!
Now, the key to success in this game is to keep everything up-to-date and in stock. So always make sure to check the available color options on the website to avoid selling something you no longer have. It’s all about staying organized and on top of things!
Of course, there are some challenges too. With made-to-order, you need to keep a decent amount of faux fur in stock all the time. Sometimes, you might end up with a color that doesn’t fly off the shelves, but hey, that’s all part of the adventure!
The good news is that you’re totally in control! You get to set your own pace and keep up with the demand. If things get crazy, just adjust your turnaround time to make sure you can handle all the orders. It’s all about finding that perfect balance!
If you want to do “shop updates,” where you make a limited number of poms, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. This way, everything is ready to ship, and it takes some stress off your shoulders. Plus, it lets you decide how many poms you are comfortable making at any given time.
Sure, there are a couple of downsides. Sometimes, people want poms ASAP and might find your shop empty during an update. But hey, you can’t always please everyone, right? And if your shop becomes super popular, you might sell out quickly, but that’s a good problem to have!
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. You do what feels right for you and your business. It’s your show, and you can always switch things up to match your current lifestyle.
Now that you have all the skills needed to sell your very own faux fur poms, be sure to sign up to my newsletter to get a free PDF download of my “Pom Care” cards that I include with every pom order. These will help your customers know how to take care of their handmade luxury faux fur poms.
Happy Crafting,
Sierra!
