Looking for expectations from people who buy yarn online

The Ender

...Basically, I just want to know what people look for when shopping for yarns & what they expect to be able to pick up.


My mother is attempting to do online retailing for a few collections of fiber, and while I'm doing my best to try and help her out, I don't know jack shit about yarn or knitting or what people generally want to buy when looking for yarn.

mts

I dunno, when i was buying yarn more often, i would just go and feel things and look for interesting color patterns, which i don't think is conducive to online shopping

SilverWind

I'm very review oriented when shopping for yarn online. I found some of my favourite online shops by browsing five-star reviewed yarns on Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/yarns).

Most people select based on colour, so have good photos. It's nice to see the skein and a sample square of how it looks like when knit up.

I'm not sure what a new store would have to do to start building a good reputation, but it couldn't hurt to build a presence on Ravelry (4.4 million users!)

Usagi

Yes, what SilverWind says

Rav is basically a gateway to people who are yarn/fiber connoisseurs and will spent literal shitloads of money on popular, high quality yarn and fiber (me = guilty as charged)

Thing to note: if she's trying to sell sock yarn then one or two skeins of a color isn't an issue, but if you get into heavier weight people want to be able to make a sweater and that's 4-8 skeins depending on the size; stripey yarn does very well but is very niche; variegated color has a big following but is difficult to knit without looking ridiculous; consistent colors are key; if she can partner with a pattern writer then she's golden; it's a really really really fucking tough market, supplies are expensive and sales can be scarce until you get exposure

I highly suggest she join Rav, set up a group, and then putter over into the Yarn Hoars group, that will give her a pretty good idea of what exactly people are looking for, and how to find a niche to fill.

The Ender

Usagi wrote: »

Yes, what SilverWind says

Rav is basically a gateway to people who are yarn/fiber connoisseurs and will spent literal shitloads of money on popular, high quality yarn and fiber (me = guilty as charged)

Thing to note: if she's trying to sell sock yarn then one or two skeins of a color isn't an issue, but if you get into heavier weight people want to be able to make a sweater and that's 4-8 skeins depending on the size; stripey yarn does very well but is very niche; variegated color has a big following but is difficult to knit without looking ridiculous; consistent colors are key; if she can partner with a pattern writer then she's golden; it's a really really really fucking tough market, supplies are expensive and sales can be scarce until you get exposure

I highly suggest she join Rav, set up a group, and then putter over into the Yarn Hoars group, that will give her a pretty good idea of what exactly people are looking for, and how to find a niche to fill.

Thanks a lot, @Usagi & @Silverwind ; that puts a damper on my current frustration.


I'm honestly more worried that my current layout for the online store sucks donkey balls than about exposure right now, but it's certainly something important I'll pass along.

Liiya

I like to see the wool/yarn photographed in various lights, in natural light, in close up, in a full garment, because the colour can look very different depending on the setting.