Marieva Puzzles

Selling Jigsaw Puzzles on Facebook Marketplace and other online platforms!

There is more to their story below but we have permission to share Elke's terrific advice and tips to use while selling your jigsaw puzzles on the Facebook MarketPlace...

I think selling puzzles on MP really depends on many factors. Sometimes they sell quickly, other times, they won't at all. Here are some factors that I have found may influence why they will or won't sell:

* PHOTOS - clear box photos of each puzzles seems to draw more attention than a stack of puzzles or puzzles in a box where you can't really make out what you are selling (even when selling in a bundle/cheap)

* IMAGE - this is my main reason for buying a puzzle. I need to love the image/style. So if you are trying to sell a puzzle that you may have liked, it may be a case that it is not that appealing to others. Nothing you can do about it, other than getting to know what kind of puzzles sell

* BRAND/QUALITY - yes, a lot of people are so called "puzzle-snobs" and prefer certain puzzle brands. This either because it is the only brand they will ever do (because they love it), or through years of trying different brands and settling only for brands they prefer. If you are part of FB puzzle groups, you quickly get to know what brands generally get the tick of approval and which ones best to avoid (as the ones that people don't like, generally tend to not sell well after either)

There are so many good quality brands out there these days, but just as many really bad ones (in particular unbranded Chinese knock-offs where images are used despite copyright as well as cheap materials). You need to know what you are buying, and puzzle fanatics are getting quite savvy with this!

* CONDITION - you might think all newer puzzles in immaculate condition would sell easier than older ones, which is most often the case, but again it depends on image/popularity of a particular puzzle/brand. However, some older trusted brands which have been around for many, many decades may still have a huge following of fans who would love to add them to their collection

* PUZZLE SIZE - 1000 pieces seems to be the go-to for many puzzlers (and probably the most common size sold). However, lots of people also like the smaller or much larger size puzzles too or simple just prefer a particular size of puzzle (be it because of space restrictions, duration it takes to finish it, attention span, etc) . So try listing certain sizes together rather than mixing them up.

* PIECE SIZE/SHAPE - puzzles come in different cuts/piece shapes and sizes. The size people prefer depends on manual handling and possibly even vision, so smaller puzzles with larger pieces tend to be more suited to elderly folk who have issues with vision or picking up smaller pieces, but still enjoy doing a puzzle.

But there often seem to be different camps for differently CUT puzzles. There are generally 3 different kinds of cuts -

GRID, RIBBON & RANDOM CUTS

GRID cut puzzles are exactly that - a horizontal and vertical grid pattern with very standard assortment of pieces that can be sorted by shape (Ribbon is similar, but may only have either rows or columns that align, whereas grid aligns both).

RANDOM cut puzzles have, well, random shape pieces. They can be any shape and no particular pattern in the puzzle. (Most common in the US)

So if a particular brand JUST does random, and the buyer prefers GRID/RIBBON, then that is a strong reason for them not to buy a puzzle, even if they like the image.

* PRICE - make sure not to overprice your puzzles. There are always puzzle sales on, so selling a used puzzle for more than the current new retail price will also work against you. Get a feel of what similar puzzles to the ones you are trying to sell are listed for / sell for prior to posting.

* LOCATION/PICKUP/POSTING - I have found that aside from the puzzle itself, this is one of the main contributing factors why a puzzle may or may not sell. If you are located well outside a major city in a town with a small population and advertise pick up only, this will lMMEDIATELY reduce your chances of selling, unless you happen to have a really popular or rare puzzle on your hands. And even if you live in a larger city area, pickup only may still be a huge turn-off for those who may live on the other side of town. So offering postage/courier options (at buyer's cost, of course) can open up quite a few more doors in sales of your puzzles. You have to be mindful with packaging though, so only offer it if you are prepared to take the time to package properly so it won't get damaged in transit.

* ADVERTISING - if you haven't had enquiries after a week or so, take off the ad and relist again the following week (provided it is a free listing service). The longer the ad is on, the further down the search list it will drop, so a fresh ad every couple of weeks may do the trick as well. Also, if selling multiple puzzles in 1 listing, swap around the 1st photo when relisting so that it won't necessarily "look" the same every time!

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As you can see - lots of contributing factors, each of which can be a reason why a particular puzzle may/may not sell. So when buying puzzles, choose them wisely and know your local puzzle sales market (i.e. keep an eye on what type of puzzles/brands/images sell quickly and how they are presented)

If all else fails and you are still stuck with your puzzles, why not donate to a charity, retirement home/village or local goodwill? At least that way, they can still get enjoyed rather than collecting dust on your shelves!

Good luck! 🙂


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So it works like this, Mari is in charge of researching and buying the puzzles. She assembles the puzzle and then lists it on their Marieva face page.

Eva is responsible for shipping and taking the puzzle orders. She sends the customer an invoice with every packaged puzzle.

Marieva Facebook page was started in May, 2019 and it has been very successful. The puzzles are sold for 50% of the retail price they paid.

By the end of 2020 Marieva sold approximately 600 puzzles! And, as at this printing time they have already sold 500 puzzles!

Mari does her homework when she is searching for new puzzles. She sources out different puzzle companies online and also buys from overseas puzzle companies.

One last thing we asked Mari was what advice would she give someone that is interested in starting an online Facebook sales page. Here was her response.

"First, take the time to be super extra organized for every step of the process and keep good records. This will keep your customers happy and keep you stress-free.

Second, for every puzzle listed include everything interested buyers will need to know, state all the puzzle info so they don’t need to ask: brand, title, number of pieces, price, condition of box, condition of puzzle, etc.

Third, know that you don’t always need to use the post office to ship puzzles, in fact that’s usually the most expensive way. Compare prices between Facebook Marketplace, Pirate Ship, and UPS with the discount codes they offer from time to time".

Very impressive for creating a business that involves the love and passion of jigsaw puzzling.




AMAZON-STORE-Banner

We have collected a massive list of jigsaw puzzles in numerous categories on our Amazon Store link. It's a quick way to browse most current puzzles and/or specific seasons, accessories and themes. Makes for a terrific one-stop jigsaw puzzle gift giving shopping centre. CLICK HERE


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You know you're addicted to your hobby when you convert the back porch to accommodate living arrangements just for your jigsaw puzzles!

The project started around November 15, 2021 and ended around March 15, 2022, after many decisions, plans, and even a change in contractors.

The only purpose of the new room is to store puzzles and display puzzles. Nothing else will be done in the room.

marieva-puzzlesBefore - the puzzles were taking over the house and I just had no place to put them.

The back porch - was not getting used in the Florida heat, just collecting dust.

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The finished room! The room is approximately 9 feet x 12 feet.  

The shelves are wall to wall, the full length of the room on both sides.

On the left side the shelves are 15 inches wide (will be used mostly for 1000 piece puzzles in the big boxes)

On the right side the shelves are 9 inches wide (will be used mostly for odd shaped puzzle boxes or containers)

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This is during construction, the photos below show the construction stages.

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The room has blue rope lights all around and it looks very cool at night but it’s hard to take a good picture.

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Special thanks to Mari for sharing this wonderful story with us. Mari also runs the Puzzle Olympics on Facebook


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