UPCYCLE
verb – reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.
A great example of upcycling:-
The item that is being upcycled here is a page of text taken from an antique book. The seller has overprinted the page with an Alice in Wonderland image and quotation to create a desirable wall hanging that is proving extremely popular on ebay!
click on the images to enlarge them
As you can see, this item has sold 329 times! (7 times in the last month) That is total revenue of $3888.78
Of course, this resourceful seller didn’t stop at creating one design – here is a screenshot from Terapeak that shows their sales activity during the last month:-
The most important numbers are indicated with a red arrow:-
The time period is 31 days
Total sales = $4848.32
Items sold = 428
Not all of the seller’s designs are based on Alice in Wonderland although this is their most popular line but every item they sell is printed onto a page taken from an antique book. (Please note that the frame in the image is included for display only and is not included in the sale)
Impressive?
Very! but the most impressive thing for me is that the designs used to build this multi thousand dollar monthly revenue business are all based on freely available public domain images!
The seller has used copyright free images just like this one:-
This is one of John Tenniel’s original illustrations created for Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There published in 1871 (sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 1865)
If you look back to the image at the top of this post you’ll see that they have cropped the image of Alice, added a dash of color, a handful of butterflies and a quotation (taken from chapter 5 of the same book) and voila, they now have a unique design that only they can reproduce!
Copyright protection has expired on both the book and Tenniel’s illustrations so anybody is free to use this material to create their own products for whatever purpose (including commercial) without paying a penny to do so!
As I said earlier the designs aren’t confined to Alice in Wonderland in fact, there are thousands of different niches that this idea can be applied to – if you run an ebay search for the keywords “prints on antique pages” you’ll see what I mean.
And EACH design, once created, can be sold over and over and over again.
In this business, there’s also no need to carry any inventory as you can just print off orders as they come in!
Profitability
The profit margin on this business model is extremely high!
After the initial design work is done all you need is an ink jet printer, antique book and rigid envelopes.
I buy rigid envelopes (cardboard backed) in boxes of 125 for £18.85 including shipping which is $29.57 (at today’s exchange rate) which equals 23c per envelope.
You can easily source suitable antique books containing several hundred pages for $20 – say – 4c per page!
The cost of your printer ink is nominal – maybe 5c per page.
Your biggest cost is your selling fees which amount to approximately 15% on ebay and around half of this on Etsy.
Your total costs on a $10 ebay sale equal $1.82 and on a similar Etsy sale $1.07 (estimated) which leaves you with a net profit margin of well over 80%!!
This is such a profitable and exciting business model that I just had to share it with you!
I have been researching this idea for months and have decided to use what I have learned to put together a step by step guide so that you can grab a slice of this very lucrative pie for yourself!
My New Course!
My brand new course is going to teach you……..
* How to identify HOT niches to see what’s profitable and what’s in high demand. This research will pay for itself many times over because just ONE niche can provide the basis for the creation of DOZENS of products that we can create virtually for FREE and then print and sell for high profits over and over and over again!
* Where to find popular public domain art images to satisfy the demand in your hot niche(s) – These images can be modified in various ways to create some spectacularly popular products.
* Where to get and how to use FREE software to import, size and crop your images. You will also learn how to add additional images, how to add color and text – you’ll even learn advanced techniques like adding text along a path and adding a color gradient to your text – all simple to do!
* Where the best places are to source your antique books – what features to look for, what keywords to search for and the maximum price points.
* Finally, the pièce de résistance… we will print our designs onto antique book pages to create unique, one off art works that cannot be copied by anyone else.
YOU will automatically have exclusive copyrights to everything you create!
You’ll learn all this and LOTS MORE!
Competition to win my new course for FREE!
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this business model – what do you like/dislike about it, what challenges do you think it will present to you, what niches excite and interest you and all of the feedback received will be used to inform the content of the course.
To encourage your questions and comments I am going to give away free access to the course to 3 lucky readers chosen at random from everybody who leaves a comment on this post with their thoughts and/or question(s)
Your questions will be answered and your name will be added to the draw which will take place on the 28th of May with the lucky winners being announced on my blog shortly after!
So do get involved and help shape this great new course!
Talk soon!
.
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This is really a great idea. I have been wanting to use Public Domain but have never done so. I am currently an Amazon seller with 20-30% margins, but the margins with this type of business seems huge. I need to learn this.
I’d love to hear more about this! I have the perfect books already, prints removed, now sadly useless text remaining. Always strapped for time and leary of jumping into another project, I’d like some hints so as to hasten my learning process and find material that will sell quickly. I wonder, though, is my printer “good enough” for something like this? A customer wouldn’t expect pigment ink? or a print from a laser printer? Something “archival quality”? As always, many thanks for all the new ideas!
Hi Stuart,
This has really spiked my interest. What a great way to utilise these books and adding our own artistic ideas is even better. I am wondering about the printing on these pages though. Will my basic colour printer be able to handle it without damaging the old pages?
Anyway, I’m in and can’t wait to hear more.
Kind Regards,
Dave
Stuart, this course sounds fascinating. I would love to learn the technical aspects of doing these projects – step by step directions to complete this technique. I can usually come up with the ideas but the techie stuff is my stumbling block. Looking forward to learning more about this technique.
Hi: Stuart very interesting the prints are quite lovely and pleasing to
the eye. Would be great for t-shirts in different niches. Also for
Xmas and Winter Scenes me being for Canada and all.
Regards
Robert
I love this concept and have even been thinking along these lines for awhile. I think that your insight and course could help me full in some blanks that I haven’t worked out yet. I am also curious as to whether you use the actual antique book page or make the whole thing a printable image?
Your post really highlights what as entrpreneurs we should be aiming to achieve, and that is to come up with creative ideas for products to sell on Ebay,Amazon and Etsy.
It is all about finding a hungry market for what you produce and clearly the Selller you give as an example in your post has indentified a market, found out exactly what the market wants and then provided the solution – a nice ready made unique item.
Of course, when we also look at the Return on Investment for a product like this, there is plenty of scope to make a profit and also stand out from other sellers. We have all seen sellers trying to sell the same thing on Ebay or Amazon and when you sell the same thing as someone else it is much harder to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Consequently price of your item is driven down and you only have to look at Amazon books and you can see sellers there selling a book for 1p! – Who wants to be in that Maket? certainly not me and nor should you!
In conclusion, clearly then art prints are unique,desirable and have a hungry market – perfect for us all!
Simon
What an awesome idea! I’ve seen these a lot on Etsy and always wondered how it could be replicated into a profitable business. I too would love to know how to source antique books. I think this would be a great side business that my kids and I can enjoy together. And this looks to be simple enough that even my mom could do this when she retires. Do you think this would be more profitable on Ebay or Etsy? Is it possible for Amazon FBA? I run a business with both Ebay and Amazon but haven’t tried Etsy yet. Also can the steps you teach in your newest course be replicated for other types of businesses within Etsy like say people who sell their clipart/doodles? or is that something you teach in your current etsy course? Will we learn how to drive traffic to our etsy pages? As much as I love the idea of set and forget, one must set him/herself apart from the sea of other sellers on any online platform that doesn’t belong solely to them. I look forward to your new course 😀
I think being able to use the text pages is great. That means that none of the pages will go to waste. The picture above is very eye catching and would look beautiful hanging on any wall. I have a couple of books that I already own that would be wonderful for this use.
Thanks
Marilyn
Question, are these printed on the ACTUAL antique pages like the ones we get from books? Or is the whole thing printed when ordered?
I have to laugh at the way the computer interpreted some of my dictation…so sorry about the strange typo misinterpretations… Next time will edit better…,
Hi I think this would be a great learning curve on making a unique item, but my only concern would be croping and moving the item about as I am not great on the technical side of things.
It will be worth looking at though because your products are always good value and do-able.
Great idea Stuart! I always stop what I’m doing and read your posts because they are always helpful, full of new ideas, and no BS. This would open up a whole new concept for use of our public domain items. Thanks as always for sharing!
Hello Stuart
I am one of your long standing customers from about 10 years. I really resonate to creating the antique picture reproductions. Has been determined if buyers prefer a particular size picture? I’m not sure if you mentioned were the antique pages with him tat we would use for the up cycled pictures.
at one time I tried to sell individual prints from antique books that were popular on eBay but it was too expensive to obtain those particular books. I had bought a course on Madding and framing them but it never happened for me. I love this idea and is something I would definitely want to do. I have a traversed the waters of eBay since they opened in about 1997 and I make part of my life Lee hood on eBay even today.
I would love to be one of the winners of the course. I am already fairly adept at some of the editing tools that you have mentioned. Thank you for presenting this really cool idea to me.
Missy
Sounds great. It appears that you have throughly researched this. I own your other courses and really admire your simple profitable business ideas. Hurry up and sell me a copy.
Possibilities, possibilities, possibilities with this seem just endless. Do you mat and frame your prints or just sell the prints only?
Hi Stuart,
This does indeed look a very interesting ‘twist’ under the general Prints Makes Profits theme. An attractive product that is obviously in demand and – as someone has already mentioned – maximizes use of resources (at negligible extra cost) has to be worthy of further investigation. Looks promising!
Regards, Andy Fearn.
This looks like a very interesting business venture. I love the look of the Antiques pages coupled with the color graphics. This seems to be a very unique and very desirable item and since no two are exactly alike the prospects seem endless. Looking forward to learning more about this.
Thanks!
Steve
Hi Stuart,
What a wonderful idea it begs believing.I would like to get the new book on this when you are ready to release it,GREAT!
regards
Gordon
This sounds like a very good way to maximize revenue from antique books by providing another creative way to monetize the residual pages after extracting the highly sought after prints and book plates. There are several methods to monetize antique book pages, and this approach should provide a reliable way to help further diversify your sales portfolio. A step-by-step guide is a great because it gives you the core concepts to get started, and then you can always branch out with a little creativity and experimentation! Looking forward to the course!
Kind Regards,
John B
Hi Stuart,
It sounds like there may be quite a lot of technical stuff to get to grips with which I may well struggle with.
An exciting concept with thousands of possibilities if it’s not too technical. Will a standard ink jet printer be sufficient?
Will Terapak be required to run the business and what other costs may be involved other than a computer, internet, antique books and the free softare please?
When will this course be available?
Thanks
Sue
I love this idea – so simple and not much needed in the equipment dept. – just a good color printer and a good paper cutter to get nice cuts so the printer doesn’t jam…
There are lots of beautiful PD books with flowers and animals and I think they would look stunning in this type of business.
What I would like to know is if you would do your printing of images as is or take steps to lighten the images so that the words show through. I notice from this seller’s images that the seller seems to leave them as is – with lighter areas showing words through the image and darker areas not. I wonder which way is more impactful.
What a brilliant idea and really so simple. I’ve seen a few before and wondered how it was done. Will this work as well on Ebay UK or would it be better on the US site? It would fit well with my other public domain products on Ebay and Etsy. Looking forward to the course.
Best wishes and thanks,
Jude.
Stuart. I anticipate relatively little (a dangerous word) competition because to source books, pictures, and text will require considerable research. Not everything will sell well, so I foresee many people that try this being very impatient to get the big bucks (small bucks will be easier but not worth the effort.) Since I very much enjoy the research part of books and prints I will very much enjoy this. I can see the process of finding and creating multiple valuable products in this niche to require a few months. Any niche should provide a multiple source of sales of similar products. This is a great idea but I predict many people will burn out, which is great for me and others with time and money to have patience.
Regards,
I’m in. You always have great ideas. My mind is already spinning!
Stuart, you come up with some of the most novel and exciting new ways to make money online, and most often using supplies that are easily accessed. I have not seen anything else like it, and I am very interested in this course.
Well! The possibilities here are endless. Are you matting them? Does a frame add to the desirability? Or is it just a drain on the postage? I am going to follow this model at once. Thanks, You are always an inspiration. Cheers.
I’ve been creating my own prints (digital downloads on Etsy) for a few months with a small bit of success. I have also added some of my best selling prints to my eBay store, (creating the physical product and mailing) but have not had the same success as with Etsy. But, I believe you are on to something here. I had never thought of using public domain images to create my own unique image to sell. Reading this post has rekindled my desires and I’m excited about the possibilities this model presents. I believe this is a concept that will not be saturated any time soon. Thanks for this great post and the new ideas.
Troy
Hi Stuart!
Thank you for wonderful information yet again! I am aware of the profitability in this area and have even done a few Bible verse prints on vintage pages myself, but I am needing more direction and tools to tap into the market in a fun and creative way. Thank you for putting this together and I look forward to learning more from you!
Blessings,
Lee
Without a doubt this is another exiting way for creating timeless art prints and selling it to a large audience. Stuart has another winner here. I think this can bring an awsome addition to my current print products sales on ebay and etsy. I would like to follow this process to market cecil aldins work. Love to participate as soon as this course is available.
Hoss
Ageless prints
I love the idea and want to learn more.
In fact I was given a similar Alice print last Christmas as a present. I was very impressed and could immediately see the potential as a business idea.
I tried a print myself using a quality illustration, some text and an old book page. I was very disappointed as it was very”muddy”. Yet my printer is a top end inkjet that produces lovely prints on the right paper.
So I would welcome technical advice regarding printing and which books would be suitable.
Also, as much as I love the Alice in Wonderland illustrations, I would assume the market is already saturated. So information on other niches which could prove popular would be great .
Many thanks and look forward to the new course.
Hi Stuart, Stuart here. How fantastic. Very profitable and exciting. Just what I have been looking for. I have read loads of ways of making money with The Public Domain but this beats them all. Especially Alice in Wonderland which must be a very profitable niche. You could use images from nursery rhymes for children. Old advertisements for businesses. Transport images for enthusiasts. The ideas are endless. I would love this course even though you have given me ideas a-plenty already. If I see an email from you I always open it first to see what new ideas you have. Keep up the good work.
Thanking you. Stuart.
Hi Stuart,
What a great idea to recycle these pages of books – to make it unique and your own creation. I would like to learn more about this technique and what is needed? Does it include photoshop.
Thanks,
Joanne
I have also seen these prints and they are quite lovely and I love the fact you can source the images from the public domain. I would like to know the best way to outsource the printing if possible. Are there other sites that will print one image for prints, t-shirts, mugs, etc?
Thanks!
Sue
Very creative product combining several ideas into one unique item.
Two issues come to mind.
How well will pages from a hundred + year old book absorb ink and produce a clean, clear image? Seems like this could be a potential problem for a home-based business without high end printing equipment.
Also, in the event of equipment failure and pending orders, could a local commercial printing company do the job without losing all the profit?
Thanks Stuart for, once again, helping us get the creative juices flowing.
Hi Stuart.Very interesting idea.I think in the past you mentioned something like this in your Alice guide showing what other dealers are doing with the books left behind after the plates are removed.This gives the opportunity to use all of the text pages with no waste.I had emailed you in the past about how to do this process.I think it is a very unique niche and whatever you produce will be yours exclusively and gives your artsy ideas a chance to come out.This will be a great addition to your series of instructional courses.Best of luck with this and I will surely be looking to take advantage of this product.Regards Don Stappenbeck.
include information where you can quickly check if an Artist is in the Public Domain.
info on what you can and cannot do regards downloading images.
I usually scroll past other marketeer’s emails, Stuart, but I know you are more interested in selling physical things as I am. I love this idea, it’s genius and if there’s a market for it, so much the better. I hope you can consider me for the competition too! I trust your advice and judgement on these matters and have loved reading your previous books.
Love this idea! I already sell on eBay but till now was mainly things on hand as opposed to creating a new market. The cool thing is for a few dollars you can create on demand so you are not stuck with any inventory – my biggest problem with most of the make money programs for eBay or etsy. I can control the quality if I produce it, instead of hoping it is when someone else is. Awesome!
I think it’s a great idea. I do have a couple of concerns about it, the first being the competition. There are so many people selling prints on old dictionary pages, so that is a problem. Secondly, it can be difficult to print on a piece of paper that’s 100 year’s old without destroying the page.
If those to issues can be address, then I’m all there!
Beth
This is a fantastic idea and I am interested 🙂
I’ve seen these on Ebay and Etsy and have found them quite interesting and pleasing to the eye. I tried to make one myself, actually, with a doll print and a poem about the doll as the background but I just couldn’t get everything lined up correctly. I’ve even seen them with the image being a silhouette. I think one niche would be Halloween themed. People are fond of witches, black cats, owls, pumpkins etc. Animals are another good niche and children’s stories. If you had a step by step guide on the best software for cropping and the best way to print, I would surely want to read it. I look forward to the course.
Thanks!
Monique
As a student of Stuart’s work, he has done it again! A great profitable idea. Can’t wait to give it a try. If you love art, books and making money on a budget, Stuart has the business models that work. He is a genuine resource.
I love your monthly newsletters and look forward to receiving them. Thank you.
I think this is a wonderful idea and I’ve been looking at these prints on a fairly regular basis. The problem is I am not a very “computer saavy” person-so a step by step guide like yours will definitely be a huge help!!
Great idea! I am already beginning to sell some prints that I created on Etsy and have been looking into using upcycled products. I had not considered using public domain images though. For me, colorizing the black and white prints will be the most challenging thing. I’m very interested in this course. Thanks for the opportunity! I hope I win! 🙂
Thanks for telling us about this interesting business model. I am glad to see that you cover niche selection. That’s where I usually get stuck, probably because I overanalyze everything.
I would be interested in knowing more about printing. I do not have a color printer so I would have to print each one at the copy store, which would be about $1 each.
Thanks,
Caroline
I’m very excited about this. As someone who has dabbled in graphic design work, this would be something I would very much enjoy doing. I would like a chance to win access to this course.
My question: How difficult is it to protect designs from being copies/pirated by someone else?
What I like:
1) No inventory requirement
2) Business can be run from anywhere
3) Creating your own private label product
4) Low cost of product
What I don’t like:
1) Involves mailing a physical product
What I would like to see:
1) Sample ad description
2) Can it be a downloadable product?
3) Sample title
4) Sample pictures to include (more than one)
Great idea Stuart. Looking forward to your new course.
Hi Stuart,
Very good find! Just goes to show what you can do if you have a touch of creativity. This can be used in so many different niches. Just need to match the style to the niche for it to be a seller.
I like the fact that you once again go above and beyond to show the full what, where and how in your course. I have a couple of your Etsy courses and have found them to be excellent value. All too often a course leaves out some vital piece of information.
Looking forward to grabbing it when it’s released.
Hope you do well with the course.
I think that this is a great idea since I am already finding antique books for prints, now I wi have another use for the books.