Lois, the best low-cost ways to advertise your work would be to do it online, which is where many artists are spending their time these days. And since you ve come to Yahoo! Answers for advice, I m guessing that would feel comfortable to you. {Have a look at this article I wrote for the New York Times about artists exploring new markets for their work: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/busine��eBay and Etsy are two sites that are very popular with artists. There s no middleman between the artist and the consumer; you can set your price and terms and go from there.eBay has a huge community of crafters and offers a guide to getting started. http://pages.ebay.com/buy/guides/crafts-�� If you ve already sold other things on eBay and are familiar with the process, that would be a natural place to try. Some artists prefer to sell their work in an online community that is focused solely on artists. That s where Etsy comes in. Etsy is basically an online shopping mall where all the stores sell hand-made items. While Etsy isn t free, it comes pretty darn close. Signing up for Esty and opening your online shop is free. Once you list items for sale in your Etsy shop, you pay 20 cents for each item you list. When you make a sale, you pay a commission of 3.5 percent. Full details on how to start selling on Esty are here: http://www.etsy.com/faq_selling.phpAs for taxes, what you re selling doesn t matter. Income is income to the state and federal tax collectors. The short answer is that you after you ve reached $400 in self-employment income, you ll have to file federal taxes. But your tax situation will depend on a variety of things, including what other kinds of income you have. In addition to federal income tax, there is also state income tax and sales tax, which both vary by state. The Small Business Administration website has a useful section on tax planning for small business. {http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/�� Make sure to also talk to your regular accountant.
Lois, there s always SOME marketing expense, and resorting to renting a table . . . sounds like you re saying you want to make but not sell.Well, you have to get attention SOMEWHERE if you re to sell your stuff, so either suck it up and do the flea market circuit, or learn about SEO to drive traffic to you (or pay someone like me to do it for you if you don t have time or interest in learning it for yourself).As for the tax question: the CORRECT answer is that you pay at your marginal rate , but there are so many permutations on what that means and even questions about who you are that the question can t really be answered here without making assumptions. I won t do THAT, and neither will any other consultant worth listening to!Reach me through the link if you want help . . .Jeff
First things first, get a state sales tax number. You ll save yourself a lot of headaches. And when filing a Federal tax form you ll need one that covers businesses. just follow the prompts. As for advertisement you ll just have to test the waters. Good LuckEdit: Some towns only allow you to have one yard sale per year so check with the town zoning officer. Also you may need a state tax license to sell at established flea markets. Do your home work pronto. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Do you remember this past summer a young girl was selling lemonade in NY Central Park and the park police issued her a summons for not having the proper permits. The case was dropped but she had to move on. And I believe her father paid the fine.
You could get a states licence to sell,But you could sell at yard sales,put a ad in the local newspaper or ebay,craigs list. etc.Good Luck!
