These should sell… and they don’t
I have a product in my shop that should be easy to sell.
They’re beginner-friendly. They’re versatile. They work across a bunch of different projects. And they JUST. DON’T. MOVE. I’m talking about stencils.
I’ve used them on a bunch of projects now. Christmas ornaments. Bleached flannel. Furniture. A Christmas sign with layered trees.
Every time I use them, I end up thinking the same thing: Why don’t people buy more of these?
It can’t be a product problem. They rank in the top five of my favorite crafting tools.
One of the things I like most about stencils is that I mess up less. With a stamp, you load it up with ink or paint, hover over your surface, and then you commit. If it’s off, it’s off. If your hand shifts even a little, you can smear the image. And if you’re anything like me, a couple cups of coffee in and moving a little too fast, that happens. With transfers, especially on something like glass, once it touches, it’s pretty much staying there. You better be sure before you let it land.
Stencils are different. You can lay everything out first. Move it around. Figure out your spacing. Adjust your composition. Then, you tape it down so it doesn’t shift. Only then do you add the paint, the chalk, or the bleach.
The decision part is separate from the execution part.
And creatively, they can do more than people might expect. I made a Christmas sign using a stencil with a few pine trees. Just repeating that stencil in different shades created depth. It looked like the trees were fading back into a snowy forest. It wasn’t complicated. It was just using the same tool in a slightly different way.
I’ve also used stencils to add color and to remove color. That part still feels interesting to me. Same tool, completely different outcomes.
So here’s where I’m stuck. These have been in my inventory for years…I mean almost a decade. They’ve been on clearance in my shop for over a year. I recently moved my clearance from 20% off to 30% off. Sent the email. Got clicks. Got orders. ONE stencil…I sold one stencil.
So I’ve got a few working theories.
The biggest one is this: When you’re looking at a stencil, it’s hard to see what it becomes. It’s a clear sheet with cutouts. Even online, where you get a black and white preview, I’m not convinced that’s enough. You have to mentally assemble the final result.
My second thought is decision fatigue. There are a lot of designs. A lot of ways to use them. That flexibility might actually be part of the problem. Too many options with no clear starting point.
And maybe it’s perception. Stencils might feel more “craft” than “finished product.”
Even though the bleached flannel I made didn’t feel crafty at all.
If I were trying to fix this, I’d probably start with finished examples. Or even better, exact project kits. Do this. Use this. Get this result. Take the thinking out of it.
But before I go too far down that road, I’m actually curious. If you’ve ever skipped over stencils… what stopped you?
Was it the design? The process? Not being able to picture the end result? Or something else?
I’d love to hear it. Because right now, I feel like I’m missing something.
(And yes, they’re still sitting in the clearance section at 30% off… which feels a little ironic given how much I like them.)
