Selling prints at a local craft show?

[KalaMarie]

Not sure what is so "unfortunate" about what I wrote because I was not referring to my images

I think he's referring to the point about the 'customers' having more money than sense.

As photographers (artists), we should think that people who spend money on 'artwork' have a lot of sense.

It makes no sense to me that someone would pay $150 for an average 5x7 framed snapshot. I stand by that. At the same time, it also gives me tons of incentive to try and sell my shots which I think are much better than average. I don't know how much clearer I can be on this.

 

[KalaMarie]

and everybody likes cheap art

Sure...but if it's too cheap, people don't consider it art.

As a crude example;
At $10, it's a snapshot.
At $20, it's a photo.
At $50, it's a good photo.
At $250, it's a valuable piece of art that someone would be proud to hang on their wall.

True. It really is a matter of taste & perspective.

 

[Big Mike]

It makes no sense to me that someone would pay $150 for an average 5x7 framed snapshot.

$150 for a snapshot....$500,000 for a Picaso...
It's worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

In some ways, sure, that really makes no sense...but if someone wants to sell art, they shouldn't believe that the people who buy art are idiots, should they?

 

[KalaMarie]

It makes no sense to me that someone would pay $150 for an average 5x7 framed snapshot.

$150 for a snapshot....$500,000 for a Picaso...
It's worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.

In some ways, sure, that really makes no sense...but if someone wants to sell art, they shouldn't believe that the people who buy art are idiots, should they?

1) I don't dictate what people should or should not believe, that is not my place nor is it anyone else's.
2) Never did I use the word "idiot".

 

[G. Ike]

and everybody likes cheap art

Sure...but if it's too cheap, people don't consider it art.

As a crude example;
At $10, it's a snapshot.
At $20, it's a photo.
At $50, it's a good photo.
At $250, it's a valuable piece of art that someone would be proud to hang on their wall.

So the quality of work is directly proportional to the price?

 

[Big Mike]

and everybody likes cheap art

Sure...but if it's too cheap, people don't consider it art.

As a crude example;
At $10, it's a snapshot.
At $20, it's a photo.
At $50, it's a good photo.
At $250, it's a valuable piece of art that someone would be proud to hang on their wall.

So the quality of work is directly proportional to the price?

Sometimes yes...but certainly not all the time. I should have mentioned in that post that the example is all for the exact same photo.

My point was that people are more likely to pay more for something if it already has a higher perceived value. Is a BMW really worth 5 times the price of a Kia? Maybe not...but plenty of people buy BMWs.
So when it comes to 'art work'...if you give it a low price...people will automatically assume that it doesn't have much value.
You can't just tell them that "It's really valuable"....so in order to make people believe that it has value, one of the things you can do, is give it a higher price.
Of course, ideally you want to price your products as high as you can...until the price gets too high that fewer and fewer people buy it. (The law of diminishing returns).

Of course, another method is to price thing lower and sell a higher volume (it works for McDonalds & Wal-Mart)...but it means a lot more work for you.

 

[G. Ike]

I understand what you mean Big Mike. This is my first attempt at selling my work, so my intention was to get my name out there more than anything. If I make some money, that's great! If I don't, I gained experience. Thanks for your input everybody

 

[KmH]

.......I see framed photographs selling for $150 at our local arts & crafts shows to be purchased by people with more money than sense.

An unfortunate, and costly, attitude for a business person.

One of the most important things to remember about selling is: "It's not your money."

Not sure what is so "unfortunate" about what I wrote because I was not referring to my images. The OP was asking about what we thought about selling our photos at craft fairs. From what I've seen, it can be a great way to make some money for your efforts, hence my post. People will pay $150 for a framed 5x7 snapshot. So there is a definite market out there, but it obviously depends upon the type of photography, how it's presented, who your target purchasers are, what the location of the venue is etc etc.

Furthermore, I don't need to be scolded about my business sense on a photography forum. I spent 22 years in Corporate America selling before I retired last year at the age of 45. So back off.

Nah. I think I'll continue to comment when I think it is worth provoking thought in other thread viewers.

One of the weird parts about ART is, what you consider 'average' may be seen as 'stunning' by someone else.

Mike's comment sums it up pretty good.

"I think he's referring to the point about the 'customers' having more money than sense.

As photographers (artists), we should think that people who spend money on 'artwork' have a lot of sense."

 

[Jon_Are]

I'd like to know as well because I see framed photographs selling for $150 at our local arts & crafts shows to be purchased by people with more money than sense.

I think what is rubbing people the wrong way about this sentence is your implied contempt for potential customers. If a salesperson/artist has feelings along these lines - as you seem to - he or she had better be skilled at hiding this arrogance if they want their business to prosper.

"22 years in Corporate America selling" or not.

Jon

 

[jubb]

My point was that people are more likely to pay more for something if it already has a higher perceived value. Is a BMW really worth 5 times the price of a Kia? Maybe not...but plenty of people buy BMWs.
So when it comes to 'art work'...if you give it a low price...people will automatically assume that it doesn't have much value.
You can't just tell them that "It's really valuable"....so in order to make people believe that it has value, one of the things you can do, is give it a higher price.

I agree with this. Somehow psychologically this works to suggest that something is really valuable. It does have to be better than something worth about $10 dollars more than paper it's printed on though.

What do you guys think about setting up the booth Displaying your work and trying to get people to sign up for your portrait photography packages?

 

[o7sugar]

G. Ike, I was just wondering if you had your showing yet?? How did it go, and what did you end up doing? If you haven't had it yet, when is it?? I get to show off my work for the very first time, (other than family), at a local coffee shop, so I am super excited about that!

 

[Heretotherephoto]

We just did a craft fair yesterday and it was a total bust. Part of the issue was very few people showed up. Lesson learned was really research the venue. We did a craft fair two weeks ago with poor results and one a week before that where we made a good bit.

On pricing we have been basing it a little on the area in whichwe are selling. We live in a blue collar kinda town where people don't have a ton of money to spend on art. We try to keep our prices low to encourage people to spend. We also try to have some lower cost items like greeting cards and other items featuring our work that are not real expensive. this has met with mixed results.

 

[KalaMarie]

I think what is rubbing people the wrong way

Jon

You're correct. In retrospect that wasn't a very insightful nor intelligent post on my part. Apologies to all who were offended.

 

[KmH]

We just did a craft fair yesterday and it was a total bust. Part of the issue was very few people showed up. Lesson learned was really research the venue. We did a craft fair two weeks ago with poor results and one a week before that where we made a good bit.

On pricing we have been basing it a little on the area in whichwe are selling. We live in a blue collar kinda town where people don't have a ton of money to spend on art. We try to keep our prices low to encourage people to spend. We also try to have some lower cost items like greeting cards and other items featuring our work that are not real expensive. this has met with mixed results.

How does all that fit into your busines plan and how does your pricing relate to your CODB (cost-of-doing-business)?

 

[Heretotherephoto]

Well to be honest we don't have a real business plan. We just started doing this and have a lot to learn. We really had little intention of starting a business but realized that in order to avoid legal problems we had to if we were going to do the website and craft fairs.

As far as what we make on the print that certainly varies with what we charge. A mounted print costs us about $10.00 to make, not including our time and effort. I generally sell and 8 x 10 print for 20-35 dollars depending on the quality. This is subjective which may be the wrong way to look at it.

We have tried pricing higher because we read that higher prices left the impression of higher quality. We were then told we priced too high so I am trying to figure this out. I would love any opinions on pricing or anything else on our site from those with more experience. Right now I am working on SEO that I just learned about but any constructive criticism is appreciated.