Online shop for illustrators and creative stationery: selling your cards and posters

Your cards go to the Christmas market, your posters onto Instagram, and every week someone writes to you: “Do you deliver? Does it come in A3?” An online shop answers these questions for you. The customer chooses the size and the paper, adds their text if needed, and pays. All you have to do is print, slip it into an envelope and post it.

123Ventes is an online shop designed for craftspeople and makers who would rather be at the drawing board than at the computer. Here is how an online shop answers the questions that come with being an illustrator or a stationery maker.

How do I offer several sizes and papers for the same illustration?

Your illustration comes as a postcard, in A4 and in A3, on matt paper or watercolour paper? No need to create six product pages. In 123Ventes, you create a single product, and the customer chooses from options:

• the size: A6, A5, A4, A3, with an extra charge for each size;
• the paper: standard, heavyweight, watercolour, kraft;
• the finish: framed or unframed, signed or not.

The price adjusts automatically in the basket. And an option is created once: you then add it to all your posters in one click. Everything is set up from catalogue management.

Can I sell cards individually and in packs?

Yes. A card sells on its own, but many customers take several: for Christmas, for wedding thank-yous, to always have a card ready in a drawer. Offer the pack as an option: one card, a pack of 5, a pack of 10, each with its own price. A pack of matching cards can also become a separate product, with its own photo.

The 123Ventes promotion rules do the rest, for example free delivery above a set amount: the customer fills up their basket instead of hesitating.

How do I personalise announcements, place cards or greeting cards?

Birth announcements, wedding invitations, name labels, place cards: personalised stationery is often what sells best. In 123Ventes, an option can ask the customer for a text: they write the first name, the date, the venue of the ceremony when ordering, and this text arrives with the order. You set the price of the option and the maximum length of the text.

After that, keep your usual method: you send a proof by e-mail, the customer approves it, you print. Show the time to allow on the product page, for example “proof within 3 days, dispatched 7 days after approval”. The customer knows what to expect and doesn’t chase you.

For a wedding with invitations, menus, a seating plan and thank-you cards, every project is different: the online quote lets the couple describe what they want, and lets you reply with a firm price that they accept and pay online.

How do I send cards and posters without damaging them?

Paper doesn’t break, but it bends, gets dog-eared and fears damp. Two ways of sending cover almost everything:

• Flat for cards and small sizes: a clear sleeve, a piece of stiff card, a padded envelope. A few cards often go at letter rate, which keeps postage low for the customer.
• Rolled in a tube for posters and large sizes, protected by a sheet of tissue paper. The tube goes as a parcel, to a pick-up point or to the door.

In 123Ventes, shipping costs are worked out from the weight of the basket: a single card costs little to send, a set of posters a bit more, and the customer sees the right amount before paying. The carriers are described on the delivery options page.

How do I sell limited editions and originals?

An original exists only once, and a numbered print run of 50 copies no more than that. Enter the real stock on each product page: when the last copy is sold, it can no longer be ordered, and you never sell the same piece twice. Say clearly on the product page what the customer is buying: an original, a numbered and signed print, or a reproduction.

Photos matter enormously: a poster is judged on its colour and the grain of its paper. Show it whole, in detail, and in a room to give a sense of scale. And set a price that also pays for the time spent drawing.

How do I prepare for back to school, Christmas and wedding season?

Stationery follows the calendar: diaries and notebooks for back to school, greeting cards and calendars at the end of the year, announcements in spring. Open pre-orders for next year’s calendars and diaries: your customers reserve and pay in advance, and you know how many copies to have printed. Show the planned dispatch date on the product page.

The customer file keeps every order: a newsletter in October reminds those who loved last year’s calendar that the new one has arrived.

Can I also sell to shops and bookshops?

Yes. Concept stores, bookshops, museum shops and florists are happy to buy cards and posters to resell. In 123Ventes, your stockists form a group of customers with its own discounts: they order in the same shop as private customers, at the price reserved for them. Set a minimum order in your terms, and offer your cards in packs of 10 or 20.

Can I take bookings for my workshops?

Yes. A calligraphy, linocut, watercolour or bookbinding workshop: each one becomes a date to book, with a number of places. Your participants book and pay online, and you prepare the right number of pens and gouges. See the online booking page.

What rules apply to selling illustrations online?

Your drawings are yours, and you can reproduce and sell them freely. That is not the case for cartoon characters, brand logos or other artists’ works: without permission, don’t put them on your cards or posters. Put your name on your product pages: it is also a way of signing your work.

The rules of distance selling apply: under French consumer law, the customer generally has 14 days to change their mind. There are exceptions, in particular for items personalised at their request, such as an announcement with their child’s name. Say so in your terms of sale, and if in doubt, your chamber of trades (chambre de métiers) will advise you.

I already sell on Etsy and at markets: why have a shop of my own?

Etsy brings you visitors, but it takes a commission on every sale, and your customers remain its customers. Your own shop keeps your customers, their addresses and their history: that is where you bring them back. The two work very well together, and the Etsy alternative page compares the costs.

At markets and fairs, the 123Ventes till records sales with the same stock as the online shop: you don’t sell online the last print that left your stall that morning. Slip a card with your shop’s address into every bag: the customer who liked your cards will know where to find them again.

How much does a 123Ventes shop cost for an illustrator?

The subscription costs 29.90 € a month or 319.90 € a year, with hosting and the security certificate included, and it only starts with your first order: you set up your shop without paying anything. 123Ventes takes no commission on your sales: only your payment provider’s fees apply, about 1 € on a 50 € order paid by card. If you would rather not do anything yourself, the turnkey set-up costs 400 €. The details are on the pricing page.

Trades with needs close to yours

Does your business overlap with other trades? See also how to sell handmade jewellery, sell textile creations, sell handmade candles online and deliver bouquets locally. And before choosing, read how to choose a platform as a craftsperson.

Your questions

Does 123Ventes take a commission on the cards I sell?

No. 123Ventes costs a fixed subscription of 29.90 € a month, whatever your turnover, even in December. Only your payment provider’s fees apply. And the subscription only starts with your first order.

Can I sell the same illustration in several sizes?

Yes. You create a single product page, and the customer chooses the size, the paper or the frame from options. Each option can carry an extra charge: A3 costs more than A5, and the price adjusts automatically in the basket.

Can the customer write their own text for a personalised announcement?

Yes. An option can ask the customer for a text: first name, date, venue. They write it when ordering, and the text arrives with the order. You then send them the proof by e-mail before printing.

How do I send posters without folding them?

Rolled in a rigid tube, protected by tissue paper, and sent as a parcel. Cards and small sizes go flat, in a padded envelope with a piece of stiff card. Shipping costs are worked out from the weight of the basket.

Can I sell printable PDF files?

No: 123Ventes sells products that are shipped or collected, not files to download. Printed cards, posters, notebooks and announcements, on the other hand, sell without any difficulty.

How long does it take to put my cards online?

The shop is created in a minute. After that, allow about ten minutes per product, photo included. Start with your most popular cards and posters, then add announcements and workshops.