Paracord bracelet selling tips?

They cost about $2 to make, and considerably less if you buy 1000 ft spools and bulk buckles. There are dozens of "weaves" aside from the traditional cobra. Trilobite, for example, is a very stylish wide weave that is appealing. Jawbone is another really cool one.

If I was selling them I'd only make the unconventional really cool looking ones with interesting weaves and color schemes. They'll stand apart from the cheap cobras and people will be willing to pay a little more. $7 for a $2 bracelet means $5 profit. If you can make three an hour that's $15/hour, which is not bad imo.

You forgot to add in your time. How much is it worth? Then add in the fees if you intend to sell it on eBay or similar sites. You just cleared .50 a bracelet or $1.50 an hour. Hypothetically speaking of course.

I don't think $15 bucks an hour is a live-able wage.....in the first place, you would have to sell 10 a day for $150 bucks....10 hour day.

I can't get any one to cut my grass for $20 bucks an hour....with my mower.

Why doesn't some one come up with something new?....Once the world market took over with el-cheapo bracelets....Just saw some in the bargain bin at Menards for a buck....
That ship has sailed......

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Originally Posted by hunter63

I don't think $15 bucks an hour is a live-able wage.....in the first place, you would have to sell 10 a day for $150 bucks....10 hour day.

I can't get any one to cut my grass for $20 bucks an hour....with my mower.

Why doesn't some one come up with something new?....Once the world market took over with el-cheapo bracelets....Just saw some in the bargain bin at Menards for a buck....
That ship has sailed......

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I'm not saying to quit college and start selling your own paracord bracelets. But some people enjoy these types of crafts and could use a few extra bucks. A 14 y/o for example probably has NO income whatsoever, so $12/hour would be worthwhile to him.

And let's say I spend 10 minutes on Amazon prime ordering a spool of paracord and buckles. 5 minutes opening the box when it arrives the next day. 15 minutes setting up my station to begin making bracelets. Then 30 minutes at school or work asking people if they want a bracelet and showing off what I've made.

That's a whopping total of 1 hour that I've invested in my business, not including the 20 minutes it takes me to make each bracelet. Again, no matter how you do the math you won't be a millionaire, but its not exactly sweat shop wages either if you are actually able to get these things sold at the right price.

Well lets see...
Normally 2 parents, and 4 Grandparents.
Now with a standard family of 2.5 children per Grand parent pair, total of 5 Aunts/Uncles......
Brings the total sold to 11 for sure sales......your friends don't have any money, maybe only one is a survivalist, so that adds up to 12, but you give your friend a discount....so back to 11.

That should be about it.....unless your extended family involves a lot ex's.........Soooo, Move on to the next project.

BTW this thinking is what is used recruiting life insurance salesmen.

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Originally Posted by hunter63

Well lets see...
Normally 2 parents, and 4 Grandparents.
Now with a standard family of 2.5 children per Grand parent pair, total of 5 Aunts/Uncles......
Brings the total sold to 11 for sure sales......your friends don't have any money, maybe only one is a survivalist, so that adds up to 12, but you give your friend a discount....so back to 11.

That should be about it.....unless your extended family involves a lot ex's.........Soooo, Move on to the next project.

BTW this thinking is what is used recruiting life insurance salesmen.

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Well, the trick is to find a venue that allows you to sell them to more than your personal contacts. A street fair, gathering, concert, website, or something like that. Just wearing a really brightly colored cool looking design will attract some interest from people who see you wearing it. You may get sales that way.

If you always wear one anyways, you could bang out a bunch and just sit on them and sell them whenever an opportunity arises. Then its an extra $5 or $10 bucks in your wallet whenever someone randomly buys one off you. And we're talking a few dollars, it's not like you are trying to sell a vacuum cleaner for $300. It's basically just pocket change. Not a hard sell by any means.

There are several on here that have sold them as a commercial enterprise. Most no longer do. There's a reason for that. As Hunter said, that ship has sailed. You have to be on the front end of market trends. Now you're playing to a saturated market.

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Originally Posted by Rick

There are several on here that have sold them as a commercial enterprise. Most no longer do. There's a reason for that. As Hunter said, that ship has sailed. You have to be on the front end of market trends. Now you're playing to a saturated market.

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Agreed. It's not going to be a wildly profitable endeavor at this point. But I still think if you could put a unique spin on it, you could sell YOUR bracelet to people who already have old ones and want something new. Especially if they are actually wearing one. You could tell them "You're still wearing the old cobra weave?!" Then show them some cool looking weave they've never seen before.

I've made about a dozen bracelets and could make a lot more if I wanted to. But selling one or two for $10 doesn't make a difference to me. And selling enough to make $500 is too much time and effort for what it's worth...to me. For someone else it may be worth it. It's all personal choice at that point.

You are correct ....it is all a personal choice at this point.....BUT the OP and several other along the way asked
How can I sell these and make money?"
Bottom line is you really can't,..... unless it's a hobby....They need to know that up front.

Carry on.

And the OP was three years ago when the market was still pretty warm. Today, the Chinese will make any style you want and have flooded the market. Just being realistic.

I'm not really seeing the saturation you guys are talking about. I wasn't able to find much on Amazon or by doing a google search. You can get a cheap cobra weave from Rothco for less than $5, but when you look for higher quality and other designs you end up on sites charging $15-$20 per bracelet.

What if you live in a football town, like Greenbay for example. You make about fifty green and yellow bracelets of different designs and head down to the stadium on game day with a bunch on your arms for show while you yell "Packers paracord bracelets, $10." Maybe you sell half. That's $250 in a day. Minus your $100 overhead. That's still $150 profit in one day. It takes about 3 days to make that at McDonalds.

You stand around talk to girls, talk to some dudes about football. Watch the game at a sports bar, sell a couple bracelets there, hit on a waitress. I think if you are willing to think outside the box you could certainly find worse ways to turn a profit.

If you can create something new and market it to create a buzz (gotta strike quickly) then you can make a few bucks. I know your Packers bracelet was just and example, but...... http://www.amazon.com/Packers-Paraco.../dp/B00B534IQS

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...al%20bracelets

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Originally Posted by crashdive123

If you can create something new and market it to create a buzz (gotta strike quickly) then you can make a few bucks. I know your Packers bracelet was just and example, but...... http://www.amazon.com/Packers-Paraco.../dp/B00B534IQS

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...al%20bracelets

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Wow. And those are cheap too. Only like 3 dollars!

Here's the thing, it's not always about who got there first. This world is full of people who just resell and markup existing products. It's less about what you are selling and more about how you go about selling it.

I knew a guy who sold binoculars. He'd set up his booth at various places. He was able to carve out a nice little living for himself. He said the number one thing people told him was "I never thought I'd be buying a pair of binoculars today". Sure anyone can go onto Amazon and buy whatever product they search for. But most people don't know they want said product. That's why we go out shopping and looking for stuff, or carry spending cash so we can buy random stuff on the spot. I've bought a TON of crap online. All the things I thought I'd need and things I've searched for. But I'll still buy things when I'm out and about if I have the impulse. That's why I think you could sell a flashy colored bracelet to people, despite charging more than a million other competitors out there. As long as you had the right venue.

Last year none of my wholesale books had bracelets in them. This year they all do. I must get 2 or 3 emails a week from Chinese suppliers. I keep blocking them and they keep coming. Your comment about marketing is spot on. You can sell anything to anyone if you know how to do it. Well, almost.

I've noticed that the more "enterprising" individuals are approaching the paracord bracelet craze from a different angle. Instead of showing you a really cool bracelet that you can buy off of them. They show you how to MAKE a really cool bracelet and encourage you to buy SUPPLIES off of them, like rope, buckles, lighters, fids, jigs, etc.

The person who made the most money during the California Goldrush was the guy selling shovels and pans.

This is mynopinion. A paracord bracelet is something nice and I am sure there are some people who can make them and sell them, So, how do you make or get people to buy yours?
You need to have something different on them or instill a or some wow factor. Maybe this something that you can do, add a few items to it so that it even attracts your friends parents attention to think or find that it is a good idea for their kid to have one.

1. Add a howling whistle or any bracelet clips that have a whistle incorporated.
2. Maybe get a button compass for the watches wrist band, and find a way to attach to the bracelet.
3. Think "out of the box" what else to put or maybe the color or having reflective paracord so that they shine at night, giving the wearer visibility, a safety thing.

By adding these things and using the correct materials, your bracelet will be something different, other kids and parents will lok at this as something cool, and parents will realize the bracelet is something cool and a safety thing for their kids.

Happy venturing dude!

Been looking decent priced rifle slings for a while now.....make me wonder how many 3 buck bracelets could be hooked together to make it long enough for a sling.....then figure out how to attach the swivels.....Hummmm

I have a buddy who makes them and even sells a few but as has been stated here there's really no money in it anymore. We have a surplus store in town that sells them for $4.95. They have all kinds of two tone color choices and several different weaves. Kind of hard to compete with that. My buddy does more than bracelets though. he's done a pile of key fobs and he even did a rifle sling for me.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps53f93444.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps412d14e6.jpg

I made my own belt just like the rifle sling. Been wearing that paracord 550 belt everyday..its one of the most comfy belts I've came across...

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Originally Posted by blackfinger

I have a buddy who makes them and even sells a few but as has been stated here there's really no money in it anymore. We have a surplus store in town that sells them for $4.95. They have all kinds of two tone color choices and several different weaves. Kind of hard to compete with that. My buddy does more than bracelets though. he's done a pile of key fobs and he even did a rifle sling for me.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps53f93444.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps412d14e6.jpg

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That's a nice looking double cobra sling. Probably uses 80 feet of cord and takes a couple hours to make. Easily worth $20-$25.