Handmade work is the one category on this site where the seller usually knows more than the room, and that is an advantage most sellers forget to use.
Say who made it
If you made it, say so and say how long it took. If somebody in your workshop made it, say that. If you buy from makers and sell their work, say that too — all three are honest positions and buyers respond to the clear one.
Name the technique and the region
A craft name carries information: the technique, the materials, the place, often generations of it. Use the real name, and then say in one line what the technique actually involves. The room will not all know, and the explanation is half of why live selling works for this category.
If a craft name is also a protected Geographical Indication, then selling under that name is a claim about where and how a piece was made. Make it only when it is true, and say plainly where the work was done.
Variation is the point
Irregularity in handmade work is evidence, not a defect — but a buyer who has only bought factory goods may not know that. Say it in the listing: "Each piece varies; the one in the photograph is the one you receive", or, if you are selling made-to-order, say that it will be similar and not identical.
Always be clear which of the two you are selling. Made to order and ready-to-send are different promises.
What to show on camera
- The surface and the edges, close
- The underside or back
- Anything that shows the hand — tool marks, a slight asymmetry, a glaze pool
- The scale, with something ordinary beside it
Delivery
Fired, carved and lacquered work chips at the edges, and the chip always happens in the last metre of a journey. Packing handicrafts.
More: how to sell on Metzee, pricing your work.
Questions people ask
Should I apologise for irregularities?
No. Explain them. An apology turns evidence of handwork into a defect in the buyer's mind.
Can I sell work made by someone else?
Yes, if you say so. Reselling is normal here; passing another person's work off as your own is not.
Do I need to name my region?
It helps, and if you are using a craft name tied to a place, it is part of describing the thing honestly.