Topic: Selling Fine Art Prints (Read 9261 times)

camhabib · « **on:** February 15, 2009, 01:00:36 am »

So once all is said and done, how does one go about selling a print? I realize that it takes time to build up to having a reputation and skill worthy enough for collectors to desire, but how does one start out?

I have seen several various people selling prints on eBay - seems like a good method to me. Simply post a listing (~$3) with a picture and description. Once the auction ends, if someone won it, simply print and mail. If no one bids, you've only lost the eBay fee, as you haven't created the print yet. How do these kind of things usually turn out? Whats the average price and selling rate? Most popular print sizes and paper options?

Are there local art galleries that you can go to with a portfolio and ask if they'd be willing to buy / display any of your works? Is offering to donate your prints for free to various businesses and establishments, in exchange for posting a card with contact / print information in the event that someone would like to purchase them, a feasible idea?

I do have a website that has a limited number of photos on it, the only problem is that it gets limited exposure and isn't really set up to be a fine art sales portal. Any information you can provide to guide me in the right direction would be appreciated.

bill t. · « **Reply #1 on:** February 15, 2009, 02:02:57 pm »

ebay for photographic art...NOT! I know several artists who have tried and died. The only one who has succeeded sells panoramas of football and baseball stadiums.

You need to start climbing the hill of exposure. Good starting places include grade school Christmas fairs. That will introduce you to the world of being a gypsy artist. Once you get the hang of it, spend $300 to $500 to get into reputable local art fairs (especially in June and October to early December). That will put you into the eyes of the medium price point art buying public, where you will either flounder or prosper based on what you offer and how well you present it. Gallery owners sometimes scout these affairs, I have made good contacts that way.

Other good introductory venues include community centers (see the social director), college galleries, etc. At least around here there are several community centers with truly first class gallery spaces. You can do restaurants, medical offices, etc if you want, there are problems with those but also possibility. But as a general rule don't agree to show in third party venues unless they can quickly take payment at the site, otherwise you won't sell a thing. Above all else, be prepared to deal with the simple fact that what the public buys and what you like may not be the same thing.

You can show your portfolio to galleries and framing shops at any time of course, but you'll be in a better position if you can claim some previous public exposure and in particular if you can claim good sales and offer particular images that you know are good sellers.

Co-ops...NOT! Unless you are of an essentially Machiavellian character or at least highly political.

As an interesting aside, I recently had a garage sale to dump some household clutter. I sold two very expensive pieces that just happened to be visible towards the back of my garage/framingshop. Maybe I should have more garage sales.

camhabib · « **Reply #2 on:** February 15, 2009, 11:18:15 pm »

Thanks for the reply. I figured eBay was kind of a bad way, but thought it was worth a mention.

How does one go about finding and signing up for these fairs? I've never really seen any advertised nor have I ever been to one. I understand it all depends on the subject and quality of your photographs and prints, but can it be expected to at the least recover the cost of admission? Is it common to bring prints framed / matted or are they mostly lose prints, etc?

bill t. · « **Reply #3 on:** February 16, 2009, 12:44:16 am »

To find your local fairs google "arts crafts fair (your city name)".

Yes you can easily not sell up to your admission fee and many suffer that fate, especially first-timers. It's very important to have not just the right stuff, but the right stuff for each particular fair and locality. I suggested school fairs as a starter because this will help you get a feel for what sells, this is cheaper to do at typically $40 admission versus $400 or more. Also it will let you rub elbows with other artists who will for the most part be very happy to share tips and information about what fairs are worthwhile. To do the fairs right you will also need to invest between $1000 and $1500 in panels from which to hang your prints. I use stuff from propanels.com, if you plan to do the outdoor fairs (highly NOT recommended) then get the wire types or else you will get blown away, literally.

One local photographer "cracks the nut" by selling $10 to $20 mini-prints with volume-bought mats in clear bags. I recommend against such practices since you will be wasting your time writing up $10 credit card orders while you should be schmoozing potential multi-hundred dollar sales. Prints-with-mat-in-bag up in the $60 to $150 range can sell pretty well, but your best return on time and investment is framed pieces with very high perceived value, meaning a great photo in a good (and undamaged) frame for a "bargain price." There is a ceiling around $250-$350 for easy sales of this type of material. Hitting price points that low requires finding a source of cheap but well made frames and working at standard sizes. Gallery wrapped canvas in the 36 x 48 sizes and bigger can fetch $800 to $1500+ for a striking subject. For higher-end fairs big gallery wraps are probably your very best return on investment provided you are set up to knock them out. I have figured out what to sell at these events and generally do exceptionally well. Could write volumes on this. It can actually be fun going to those fairs and I love the artistic camaraderie of it, but I am doing it much less frequently in my old age.

Having said all this, I am currently selling best through galleries and community centers. Galleries will of course take up to 50% commission and if you work the spreadsheets your pieces need to sell at around 8x production cost minimum for you to even begin to make a living. Some galleries will want to price you so low "at the beginning" that you will take a hit on every sell, don't fall for it. My most profitable venue is a community center where I exhibit every fall, and which asks a dramatically smaller commission. That particular center often hosts meetings of professional associations like lawyers, doctors, real estate agents and other "to die for" clientele, right there in the exhibit space. No gallery can deliver 1/4 that number of qualified buyers. I more than sold out the last show.

FWIW try to make your pieces as big as possible...big is in! Forget prissy little 11x14's, nothing looks more pathetic these days than a row of little frames lost in space on a big wall. Think 24x36 minimum. I have just started making 30+ x 80+ panoramas in 4" mouldings and 3" liners, those babies sell very well, and (framing for myself) at a wonderful per-piece profit.

We haven't even begun to talk about presentation, but my rambling fingers are tired. You gotta look good on the wall. Really good. You can not overdo presentation. Think spotlights. Go to a Peter Lik gallery and learn.

wolfnowl · « **Reply #4 on:** February 16, 2009, 04:15:03 am »

Alain Briot is a well renowned photographer and a member on these forums. He's written some articles on the main Luminous Landscape site on marketing, which you may want to search for. You might also be interested in this: http://beautiful-landscape.com/Articles-CD.html#anchor2

Mike.

Ronny Nilsen · « **Reply #5 on:** February 16, 2009, 05:43:06 am »

Quote from: wolfnowl

Alain Briot is a well renowned photographer and a member on these forums. He's written some articles on the main Luminous Landscape site on marketing, which you may want to search for. You might also be interested in this: http://beautiful-landscape.com/Articles-CD.html#anchor2

Mike.

Bill t. gives good advice here, and I would also recommend Alain Briots Marketing DVD. It's a very complete coverage of the subject if you are new to selling you prints and well worth the money if you want to get up to speed quickly.

Ronny

Mike Bailey · « **Reply #6 on:** February 16, 2009, 07:49:01 am »

Several good resources for finding art fairs in the U.S. are:

http://www.sunshineartist.com/

You can also fiind the Sunshine Artist magazine at most major bookstore chains. It always has a list of art fairs by area and state. It also is a good source for advice on art fairs.

Art Fair Source Book - Greg Lawler - at http://www.artfairsourcebook.com/ is more pricey, but is about the best single resource for art fairs. You can buy a regional edition for detailed listings of art fairs which is cheaper than the standard edition.

A third source which is free is to find the arts board web site for your state, which would be listed somewhere on your state government's web site. Most states have art boards which will have listings of art fairs in the state. Usually they charge the events to list themselves, but the information is then freely available via the state web site and/or downloadable PDF files.

Mike

Roscolo · « **Reply #7 on:** February 16, 2009, 02:29:42 pm »

I've had great results on Ebay. But, I started by selling some really good large format portraits of some famous folk artists, along with their artwork. That got me exposed to some really good collectors who buy my photographs regularly. They, in turn, have led to other collectors who buy my work, but I can trace many of those relationships to Ebay, directly or indirectly. The key is to have very good work. Most photographers selling on Ebay who don't sell are trying to sell work that isn't necessarily bad, but is commonplace. I used my connections with famous artists to not just sell the artists' work, but to sell my work. But if my work had been commonplace, I don't think anything else would have helped.

Ebay will work for you, but you can't just throw some photos up, no matter how good they are, and expect it to happen. You really need to find a way to tie your work to something for which there is already a market of collectors, via subject matter, geographic location, style, etc.

Good luck!

Victor Glass · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2009, 04:53:42 pm »

I'm having my first show from March 1 - 31. I'd noticed that the local library exhbited the work of a single artist each month. I went over and asked if I could exhibit my work. By chance an artist that was booked for March copped out. They offered the slot to me. It's a great deal. The exhibition room is large, I can put up 40 - 50 works. It also serves as a events room that they rent - which means exposure. Best of all, they take no commission on sold work, they do not require a fee for using the room for an entire month, they allow a reception (and have a kitchen), they advertise for you in local papers (no charge), and you get to put up a big sign at the entrance to the library announcing your show. This place is always booked for the entire year. It is common place for an artist to do a show, get good results and then book the same month in the following year. The artist that exhibited before me, a painter, made $7,000 in sales.

Community centers have been mentioned in the previous responses as good places to show. I believe this is true.

Here's my announcement (I really feel like a grown-up now):

My Show!

bill t. · « **Reply #9 on:** February 22, 2009, 02:17:58 am »

Congrats Victor! Some people turn up their noses at venues like that, but not me! Exposure is what it's all about. It's amazing how far simply asking can get you.

You will get a significantly different audience at the library than at a gallery. Basically people who don't necessarily care very much about art, but who can be greatly moved by an image that has some meaning for them. Figure out what connects with your audience, put lots of that in your show. One thing that always sells is very dramatic pictures of locally themed images. Landscapes, landmarks, etc. Think magic hour, you can never go wrong with magic hour shots. For instance I have sold a remarkable number of pictures of city parks...very atractive pictures to be sure, but parks none the less. If there is a dramatic overlook of your town, be sure to include that (at magic hour of course). Don't bother too much with merely pretty pictures, if they don't connect they won't sell. Watch your price point, check some successful local galleries and don't go any higher than what you see there. Not having to pay a commission gives you a huge competitive advantage, figure out what you would have to charge if you were paying a 25% commission, price accordingly.

If you have the right stuff (in your show) you can easily do $7k+. However, to sell that much stuff it is almost imperative that the library process sales for you. That's the big thing, you need to make the sale while the customer is still feeling moved and at the scene. No matter how moved he might be, if he leaves scene without paying you have almost certainly lost the sale. A distant second is that your tags say "To Purchase This Image please call xxx-xxxx." Get yourself to the scene ASAP, or make arrangements to deliver the piece to your buyers home or workplace (always offer the workplace option, some buyers don't like people coming to their houses). In this sense a small commission of even 25% would be to your advantage if somehow that could induce them to take sales.

Also be sure you have some replacements on hand. Don't let empty spaces appear on the wall. It's little things like that make you an attractive invite-back, the guys who run these venues have a lot to do and strongly favor artists whom they perceive as reliable and easy to deal with.

PS your link doesn't work, I get a permission denial.

Victor Glass · « **Reply #10 on:** February 22, 2009, 11:08:26 am »

Sorry about the bad link. This should work
http://www.pbase.com/vglass/image/109111492

Tklimek · « **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2009, 01:37:43 pm »

Has anyone heard of "Etsy" or have any experience with trying to sell work through that medium? How about galleries with SmugMug or Zenfolio? I know Zenfolio offers prints through Mpix which is supposed to be pretty good. I think all of three of the above mentioned services have options for fulfilling your own orders also.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

Quote from: camhabib

So once all is said and done, how does one go about selling a print? I realize that it takes time to build up to having a reputation and skill worthy enough for collectors to desire, but how does one start out?

I have seen several various people selling prints on eBay - seems like a good method to me. Simply post a listing (~$3) with a picture and description. Once the auction ends, if someone won it, simply print and mail. If no one bids, you've only lost the eBay fee, as you haven't created the print yet. How do these kind of things usually turn out? Whats the average price and selling rate? Most popular print sizes and paper options?

Are there local art galleries that you can go to with a portfolio and ask if they'd be willing to buy / display any of your works? Is offering to donate your prints for free to various businesses and establishments, in exchange for posting a card with contact / print information in the event that someone would like to purchase them, a feasible idea?

I do have a website that has a limited number of photos on it, the only problem is that it gets limited exposure and isn't really set up to be a fine art sales portal. Any information you can provide to guide me in the right direction would be appreciated.

feppe · « **Reply #12 on:** February 22, 2009, 02:39:46 pm »

Quote from: Tklimek

Has anyone heard of "Etsy" or have any experience with trying to sell work through that medium? How about galleries with SmugMug or Zenfolio? I know Zenfolio offers prints through Mpix which is supposed to be pretty good. I think all of three of the above mentioned services have options for fulfilling your own orders also.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

Last I checked (while back, though) SmugMug didn't offer self-fulfillment. I went for ExposureManager for that reason: they offer lab fulfillment, but you can do your own printing as well if you so choose.

JeffKohn · « **Reply #13 on:** February 22, 2009, 11:18:27 pm »

Quote

Has anyone heard of "Etsy" or have any experience with trying to sell work through that medium? How about galleries with SmugMug or Zenfolio? I know Zenfolio offers prints through Mpix which is supposed to be pretty good. I think all of three of the above mentioned services have options for fulfilling your own orders also.

I don't know what "Etsy" is. Most of other gallery-type sites are heavily biased towards using their own print fulfillment. Smugmug does not allow self-fullfillment.

Zenfolio has "custom products" that you can use for self-fulfillment, but the experience is far from seamless for your customers. Zenfolio does not collect payment for "custom" products, which makes their shopping cart system next to worthless since you still have to contact the customer for payment. And yet they have the nerve to charge a 12% commission. Zenfolio is also severely lacking in customization features. You can choose from a few different themes and layouts, but you can forget anything beyond that.

Quote

Last I checked (while back, though) SmugMug didn't offer self-fulfillment. I went for ExposureManager for that reason: they offer lab fulfillment, but you can do your own printing as well if you so choose.

I'd be interested in hearing your feedback on using ExposureManager for fine-art sales. I had gotten the impression they were primarily for event photographers, and very expensive at that. Now I see they have a less expensive "art" account type for folks who don't need as much storage space. How good are the customization features? Can you remove all EM branding and use your own domain name? How do they handle payment collection for self-fulfilled orders?

I'm not interested in lab fulfillment because a) I would never drop-ship a print to a customer without bieng able to examine it; and I'm interested in selling signed and number pigment inkjet prints, as opposed to photo-lab prints.

feppe · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2009, 01:57:47 pm »

Quote from: JeffKohn

I'd be interested in hearing your feedback on using ExposureManager for fine-art sales. I had gotten the impression they were primarily for event photographers, and very expensive at that. Now I see they have a less expensive "art" account type for folks who don't need as much storage space. How good are the customization features? Can you remove all EM branding and use your own domain name? How do they handle payment collection for self-fulfilled orders?

EM has some templates you can use, and you can customize the CSS files as you wish. Some have even created a front-end for themselves, and using EM just for shopping cart. So it's very flexible, and entirely dependent on you or your webmasters coding expertise.

You can get rid of all EM branding, use whatever domain, and can even customize the mailers to include your business info.

The payment collection is via CC, and they send you a check every month if you have at least $100 on your account, whichever is later.

Author Topic: Selling Fine Art Prints (Read 9261 times)