How to offer landscape prints for sale?

[TiaS]

I am starting to sell my photography and advertise it. However I have no studio or store to have a showcase. Therefore I show them online, as I am starting the business from my apartment. I am currently offering them as matted prints. (e.g. 5x7 matted to 8x10, 7x11 matted to 1x14, 12x17 matted to 16x20, etc). I have a list of the print and 'matted to' sizes on my price list. I don't think this because first off it just sounds confusing to the customer. Second off, to get a print matted at the shop in town is expensive and so I have to raise my prices (a 5x7 to 8x10 is $10, raising the asking price by $10). Thirdly, people may like the matt different sizes (someone told me today that I should offer the 5x7 as matted to 11x14 and the 8x10 matted to 16x20 but I like to accommodate people who want the smaller frames for those on a budget or who have a small place to live and not alot of room to hang things).

Even though I have had many hits on my webiste with my advertising, and some business, I am thinking of just changing the landscape pricing portion. All of it. I would like to offer the print ONLY. Than offer matting or framing as something to be requested and for pricing to adjust accordingly. So mostly just selling the print alone.

If I offer my print alone, this leaves me with 3 questions:
-How to present it upon delivery (throwing it in a bag doesn't seem professional)
-Is it OK to offer custom sizes without a matt? Since my camera's native aspect is not compatible with printing 8x10 (and cropping looses much of the scene).
-If offering a print alone (no matt or frame).... what sizes are generally advertised?

Any ideas on this are appreciated

 

[Big Mike]

I would think that you'll have a very hard time selling photos with just a website....unless you are a famous artist/photographer or get millions of hits per month on your site.

As for you plan of offering prints alone, I think that is the wrong direction. Rather, I think a better idea is to offer finished products...things with more 'value' than just a print.
For example, it may only cost you $3 to have an 8x10 print made, but you need to make it up dramatically to make any profit...let's say $50 for example. But if you add a matte, it cost you $10 more, but you should charge $20 or $30 more. If you add a simple frame, it might cost you $20 more, but you now have a photo that is matted and framed, and you should sell it for $50-$100 more.
You could go as far as having them professionally framed, which may cost you $100-$200 more....but that's OK, as long as you can add in a mark-up.

A finished (ready to hang) print has a lot more value to a customer, than just a print. So the key is to offer them as much value, without increasing your costs more than necessary.

Of course, your target market will likely influence the level of product that you offer. If you are selling to art gallery patrons...then very large, professionally framed prints might be a good idea. But if you are selling to a crowd at a flea market, then postcards might be a better seller. But you never really know unless you research it and/or see for yourself.

As for what sizes to offer....well, you are the artist. You should decide which aspect ratio looks the best for each of your images and sell it that way. Often, the more options you give clients (the more willing you are to cater to whatever they want) the less they will respect you as an artist, and the less likely they will be to buy your work.

But like I said at first...unless you are popular enough to have an incredible amount of traffic on your site, you are unlikely to sell many prints with just the website alone.