Feb 5, 2011

Wholesalecrafts.com Reports 2010 Year End Sales Results

Mooresville, NC – Wholesalecrafts.com, the premier online marketplace for retailers to source artist made American and Canadian crafts, announces 2010 year end sales results.

Total online online shopping cart sales placed by retailers to artists through Wholesalecrafts.com’s online marketplace for 2010 came in at $3,457,643 – a 13.66% increase over 2009 and our highest recorded annual online sales amount to date. 14,446 total orders were placed online – a 4.49% increase from 2009. The web service also reports 945 new retailers enrolled in 2010, for a total of 19,178 retailers enrolled and 1,207 current artist members to date.

“Although 2010 was another recession year, these increases are encouraging and give us a hopeful outlook for our industry in 2011,” said Nancy Vince, President, Wholesalecrafts.com, Inc. “With many industry businesses cutting their trade show and travel budgets,Wholesalecrafts.com’s web service continues to serve as an invaluable resource to bring artists and retailers together, especially in these slower economic times.”

January, February, March, June, July, October, and November 2010 were all record-breaking months, boasting the highest online sales amounts ever recorded for those months, with October coming in at $446,977, the highest online sales amount ever recorded in a single month in the history of Wholesalecrafts.com.

Wholesalecrafts.com reports “up-to-the-second statistics” on their site, which can be accessed by its members. The site reports total sales, number of orders, and number of inquiries made to artists. It is estimated that only 30% of retailer transactions are placed through their online shopping cart; the rest bypass their system by placing phone, fax or email orders directly with the artists. Considering this information, it is more likely that artists received closer to $10 million in total sales revenues fromWholesalecrafts.com’s online marketplace in 2010.

About Wholesalecrafts.com
Wholesalecrafts.com is the premier online marketplace for retailers to source over 1200 juried American and Canadian wholesale artists.Wholesalecrafts.com features jewelry, home decor, gifts, fashion accessories, garden accessories, and more in a wide variety of price points and styles. Enrollment is free for retailers. Artists pay a service fee and are eligible for many marketing opportunities including a quarterly printed Buyers Guide catalog, co-op advertising in top trade publications, and two annual trade shows. Commissions are not charged on sales.Wholesalecrafts.com is the producer of the American Craft Retailers Expo (ACRE) shows, held annually in Las Vegas, NV and Orlando, FL. Upcoming show dates include ACRE Las Vegas, June 4 – 6, 2011 and ACRE Orlando, January 21 – 23, 2012. For more information, visitwww.Wholesalecrafts.com, www.ACRELasVegas.com and www.ACREOrlando.com, or call 1.888.4.CRAFT.1 (1.888.427.2381).