How can I display my images at a craft fair.

[Raw photographer]

Smaller craft fairs around Christmas isn't too bad. Some around me I can get into for $25. That made back in a single sale.
DO NOT do a large stadium style venues or upper end venues without having metal prints or prints much larger than 8X10, and they all have to be well framed AND $200-$900 price range.

The venue I was at in this photo was a very large market. I probably made 3X more from future work (portraits, shooting artists prints etc).
Knowing that the clientele for this venue were the out for an afternoon of window shopping, it was up to me to turn them into opportunistic shopper. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. One way was to have that large owl banner. Kids loved that owl and since my business cards have the same owl. I'd hand one to the kids and say "Here's an owl of your own" basically forcing my card into their home. Another way was to have one of my camera's with the "Big" lens attached on a tripod. It would always draw in about 100 people a day to look at it.

Below is a link where I talk more about his larger (read more expensive) market experience.

Do what I say not what I do. lol

Thanks. It's interesting, hmm i also starting to wonder if if it's even worth my time, effort and money to only try and sell a couple. Ill have to look into it a bit more, maybe price it out a bit, see what i come up with in terms of cost and overall profit.

Thank you all for all your great help.

 

[Raw photographer]

I was at a craft fair a couple weeks ago, where a photographer was selling prints. He had a super nice booth semi rustic with led lighting. His smaller prints were sleeved in bins around the perimeter, but wall space was covered with 100% wrap around canvas. He claimed the canvas outsold prints, because it was a ready to hang item, no frame required.

Now thats an idea too, maybe if im just going to sell a couple, i might be better to print on canvas, just easier then mating or using sleeves, at least for only a coupleof them.

 

[Raw photographer]

Ok turns out canvas is really really expensive, $99.99 for a 16x20" YIKES!!! Even for a 8x12" it's $59.99

I don't know, i personalty think thats expensive but maybe not.

 

[smoke665]

Ok turns out canvas is really really expensive, $99.99 for a 16x20" YIKES!!! Even for a 8x12" it's $59.99

I don't know, i personalty think thats expensive but maybe not.

Not sure the options you have available, but here's one Snapfish The list price is $99, but the sale price is $15.99. Another $49 for a 16x20 Photo Gallery Portrait Framed Canvas Prints | Shutterfly. And another $24 for a 3/4" frame Cheap Canvas Prints - Photos to Canvas Prints | Save 93%

With a little research you should be able to find something that you could double your money on easily.

Not mentioned, but you may have already thought of it is, how will you accept payment. Craft fair sales are impulse buys. If you're selling a $5 item most people have the cash, if you're selling something $40+ you just eliminated a bunch of potential customers. Will you take checks???? (need to price in a loss percentage for bad checks) What about credit cards?? (most all services, readers, charge a fee that you'll need to account for in your costs)

 

[zombiesniper]

For the payment issue I had a cash box with a float but most transactions I used square. They had the least cost of use/ownership.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Usually I've seen matted prints, with maybe a couple/few larger prints matted and framed.

Think about what you'll do with whatever doesn't sell... If you use hinged mats, archival plastic sleeves etc. you can slide prints in and out and change them as needed. What would you do with canvas that you have to store?

Not sure if these ship to Canada but these are the type things I've used.
Hyatts sells on Amazon too.
Buy Archival Storage by Lineco, Dekko, Clear File & Alvin

Adorama has lots of mat sizes not linked here.
http://www.adorama.com/l/?searchinfo=print+storage+box

Matboard - Jerry's Artarama

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/category/60-Presentation-and-Storage

 

[smoke665]

Think about what you'll do with whatever doesn't sell

Sell it the next time, Mark it down, yard sale it, donate it to a thrift store. IMO selling prints at any type of market is a business, with prints being inventory. Just like any other business before you leap, do your research, go to shows that sell the same products, what are they selling, how are their prices, quality, displays? If you're selling a matted print at $75 and 4 booths down they're selling ready to hang canvas for $75 who is likely to do better? Likewise if you can't supply a competitively priced product then you won't be successful. The people I know who are successful at this type of business are very market savy, they have a pretty good idea going in what inventory and pricing point they need to be at. Case in point, a friend of ours was a successful watercolor artist for many years who traveled the show circuit in $750k motor home. She had low priced grab prints that were impulse buys, more moderate priced, and premium framed higher priced works, all were reflective of her costs to produce. Yeah she occasionally sold a premium work, but the low price, and moderate payed the bills. She also occasionally was invited to attend the more high end art shows where the premium high end work was the norm, "invited" being the key word here. You don't get invited to these until your reputation and skill become recognized.

Finally you need to decide up front if this is something you want to do as an ongoing enterprise. Lots of people get into these things, and quickly get out when they find that they don't have the commitment or resources to be successful. I talked to a lady a couple weeks ago at a big show in Pigeon Forge, TN, she did acrylic painting on various things. She said the show was extremely good for her financially, the only downside was that it was a month long, and it wore on her being away from home that long.

 

[Raw photographer]

Usually I've seen matted prints, with maybe a couple/few larger prints matted and framed.

Think about what you'll do with whatever doesn't sell... If you use hinged mats, archival plastic sleeves etc. you can slide prints in and out and change them as needed. What would you do with canvas that you have to store?

Not sure if these ship to Canada but these are the type things I've used.
Hyatts sells on Amazon too.
Buy Archival Storage by Lineco, Dekko, Clear File & Alvin

Adorama has lots of mat sizes not linked here.
http://www.adorama.com/l/?searchinfo=print+storage+box

Matboard - Jerry's Artarama

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/category/60-Presentation-and-Storage

Thanks these are all great products if i got serious in it, but if i do decide to do it, it would only be a couple larger prints that i might try, but now with all your guys help i'm thinking that unless i did this in a bigger scale ( as in more than a couple prints) it wouldn't be worth the cost and time that would go into going to a store to get just two mats, and then just two frames, and then print out just two pictures. It probably isn't worth my effort to sell just two photos. And it will probably look weird that i will be selling other products at my booth and here is just two random photos there beside it. LOL. Thanks for all your guys help, id still be pondering this idea today.
Not saying some day I won't try it.

 

[smoke665]

Not saying some day I won't try it.

You know there is another option, selling online. There's a lady that does ICM prints ICM Lily I see on here occasionally that does that. I believe she uses one of the online fulfillment sites. She posts the images she has for sale on their site. When a sale takes place the company prints it, mats, frames and ships. She gets a specified percentage of the proceeds. Apparently she's been doing it for awhile and does well with it. https://www.thephotoforum.com/threads/icm-lily.436850/#post-3953431

 

[Raw photographer]

Not saying some day I won't try it.

You know there is another option, selling online. There's a lady that does ICM prints ICM Lily I see on here occasionally that does that. I believe she uses one of the online fulfillment sites. She posts the images she has for sale on their site. When a sale takes place the company prints it, mats, frames and ships. She gets a specified percentage of the proceeds. Apparently she's been doing it for awhile and does well with it.

Cool thank you, i will definitely check it out.