Create and Sell Personalised Chess Sets and Other Popular Characters

Texas resident Chris Hillard makes chess sets to order, and his client base includes individuals wanting the chess sets as gifts, as well as companies requiring them as promotional pieces for customers and clients.  Some sets are from designs Chris created himself and they’re designed to suit specific niche markets, such as golfing enthusiasts, mothers-to-be, dancers, teachers, and hundreds of other professional and special interest groups. 

But by far the most popular and highest priced designs are made to order from specifications provided by customers.  Chris makes his original moulds himself from information supplied by the customer, and the more unusual the order, the greater the challenge, and the more the client pays.  Recently, Chris has produced chess sets to represent Senators and Congressmen, national baseball teams, famous actors and actresses, and even imaginary sports teams comprising family members and friends and an opposing team of  'people you love to hate'.  Into the latter category go teachers, traffic wardens, tax officials, awkward neighbours, and so on.  His work is sold mainly through mail order, and he achieves a very high response rate simply from mailing exclusively to people living in more affluent areas.

This idea works a bit like personalised teddy bears you see selling on and off the Internet, where bears are created to resemble specific types of people, or their clothing is embroidered with the recipient’s occupation or special interest or even the recipient’s name. 

Unlike the personalised teddy bear service, we have not yet seen the personalised chess set service advertised on eBay, and that suggests a possibly very large and profitable market indeed for you to consider. 

If the idea sounds good to you, take a look at people selling personalised teddy bears, and other designs, online, including on eBay and make a note of the type of subjects and themes covered.  Notice also how sellers offer a bespoke service to clients, namely where items are designed to match clients’ precise requirements, and then model your business on the best of other firm’s ideas.

Look through Google Images for unusual ideas to emulate, not to copy because you may be breaching trademark and copyright rules.  Try searching for something like ‘unusual + chess + designs’ and ‘personalised + teddy + bears’.

Advertise your goods online, from your own web site or blog, or through Google AdWords.  Alternatively, advertise your products in magazines and forums targeted at games collectors.  Reach an even bigger audience on Amazon and eBay, also Etsy, and other large marketplaces all year round and especially in the run up to Christmas.