Creating Holiday-Specific Items – Good or Bad Idea?

The holidays are upon us. As small business owners, we are all thinking of what might sell during the holidays, and possibly considering offering handmade, holiday specific pieces. Is this a good or bad idea?

There is really no definitive answer to that question. There are both rewards and pitfalls to creating holiday-specific items, so let’s discuss those.

The Good Things…

The best possible outcome would be to create something for a specific holiday and have it sell like hotcakes.  Typically, these types of things are new and unique.  People see it and immediately say, “That is so cool – I have to have one!”  It’s not a plan-ahead purchase; it’s an impulse buy.  The great thing about this is that it can be a huge income booster all at once.  The selling period for this type of thing is a fixed date on everyone’s calendar.

It can also be creatively freeing.  If you create a holiday-specific item that’s a hit, you won’t need to create something else too soon because you will be too busy making more and more of the “hit” item.  Plus shipping will be simplified because you’ll be mailing out lots of the same thing.  And once the holiday is past, you’ll be able to take a bit of a breather because the “hit” item was so successful.

The Bad Things…

The immediately obvious downside to creating something holiday-specific is that if it doesn’t sell for its holiday, you are stuck storing it for the next calendar year – until the specific holiday rolls around again.  If it’s a small thing, storing it might be an issue.  But you will also be storing your capital investment in supplies plus all of the time you spent creating it – all for no immediate return.

Additionally, if it’s in an online shop, it will drop way to the bottom of the search results, since new items are typically shown first.  Certainly, you could delete the listing, store it/them, then write a new listing when the appropriate shopping period arrives next year.  Either way, if the holiday-specific item doesn’t sell, you’ll be faced with some issues.

Splitting the Difference Might Be the Answer…

We all want to get in on the global holiday spending frenzy.  There’s a way to do it so that you won’t get stuck storing unsaleable items for a year.

The best idea is to perhaps make things that are appropriate for a specific holiday, but not necessarily…  Take the earrings above.  If they don’t sell for Christmas, they could sell at virtually any other time of year.  People like red; people like green; people wear earrings year-round.  The key words or tags on these earrings could include not only Christmas, but Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, red, and green.  They are a holiday item, but not limited by it.

Conclusion…

Think your idea through completely before jumping into the holiday-specific market, and make sure that you are prepared and ready to deal with unsold holiday-specific merchandise.

Tags: chaunakah, Christmas, gifts, Halloween, handmade business, holiday specific, holidays, shopping

Posted in Handmade