Is it more profitable to sell items or patterns ?

Hey so I wanted to know from others experience is it more profitable to sell patterns or actual products and like which is easier to sell

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So it depends. If you’re selling patterns, then you take your time and write out the pattern, make testers, take pictures, and so on. After that all you do is wait for someone to take interest and buy it. Now with products, you of course will get more money but you have to buy the material, make a certain amount of the products, then list it and wait. It takes some math to find a price that is most profitable but i feel its worth it. In the end, in my opinion is that it depends on how much effort you put into it.

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I agree. Potentially patterns are more profitable, if you sell quite a lot. It’s a fixed amount of work for, potentially, endless sales. And using Ribbuild saves a lot of time & headache plus you then get your pattern promoted & translated so you can reach a wider audience.
With items you do get paid more per sale, but you have to spend time & money each time you make something.

IMO the best way forward is to focus on what you love doing the most, whether it’s one or the other or a bit of both.

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Patterns you will probably get more sales, but actual items probably cost a bit depending on what you do. Like, I’m selling a bee that I made to a friend for $5 and on ribblr I would sell for like $3 but that’s just my opinion

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The way I see it, I can only make an item and sell it once. A pattern made once can sell an infinite number of times…

Pattern writing can be a lengthy process, I find when I am making something I think people might pay for a pattern, I write everything down but it slows the creative process dramatically.

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I think your lifestyle factors into it quite a bit. Personally for me selling patterns is more profitable because once I’ve made the pattern and put all of the work into it, all I have to do is wait and hope for sales (although marketing still needs to be done).

Keeping up with crocheting physical products to sell was too difficult for me as I work fulltime and I’m lucky if I can get one project completed a week. I have a very busy schedule and its just not possible, which is why I also don’t do commissions. :sweat_smile: Also, my storage space is limited, so keeping a large inventory stashed somewhere safely, as well as packing items, can be difficult sometimes.

If you’re looking to design and sell patterns somewhere other than Ribblr, I have a guide and a template to help you format them. :slight_smile: Otherwise, Ribblr makes it very easy to type up patterns to sell.

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