Sources of wholesale supplies

[David Eckels]

Naive question, are there wholesale sources of paper, canvas, inks, frames and other supplies? I am starting to sell more photographs, but the the costs are over the top. I suppose an automated website for sales is one avenue, but I want to make sure clients get exactly what they want and in my book, each image is different for each purchaser. Importantly, I am not trying to make a living, but I do need to justify my efforts for the tax man.

[red2]

Naive question, are there wholesale sources of paper, canvas, inks, frames and other supplies? I am starting to sell more photographs, but the the costs are over the top. I suppose an automated website for sales is one avenue, but I want to make sure clients get exactly what they want and in my book, each image is different for each purchaser. Importantly, I am not trying to make a living, but I do need to justify my efforts for the tax man.

You might consider Framing Supplies (https://framingsupplies.com/index.html). I get aluminum frames, foam board and mat board from them.

[mearussi]

Contact itsupplies and ask to open a business account. They can give some small discounts that way, but as a whole unless you buy large qualities of something most places won't offer large discounts.

[David Eckels]

They can give some small discounts that way, but as a whole unless you buy large qualities of something most places won't offer large discounts.

Yeah, I knew it was naive.

[enduser]

Alibaba might be useful. It ships from at least 7 different countries.

[dgberg]

Naive question, are there wholesale sources of paper, canvas, inks, frames and other supplies? I am starting to sell more photographs, but the the costs are over the top. I suppose an automated website for sales is one avenue, but I want to make sure clients get exactly what they want and in my book, each image is different for each purchaser. Importantly, I am not trying to make a living, but I do need to justify my efforts for the tax man.

My ink and paper when selling prints accounts for 15% of my sale price. Lower that normal because my K3 ink costs are under .10 per ml.
If you can keep it at or under 25% you will be good.
Materials 25%, overhead including labor 50% which leaves 25% for profit. If you alone are doing the printing it should leave 50% to go into your pocket.
A very profitable business if you are charging appropriately.

I do all my own mounting and framing which is more profitable than just printing. If you have the equipment and do all the work yourself $75 an hour is easily attainable. This is retail. If you sell wholesale than the profit lowers based on the discount you offer.
The only thing I shy away from is mats and glass. Too time consuming for what i can get out of it.

[disneytoy]

I like Ink and Media Wholesale  Free shipping. Get some rewards points. Great prices. And if you find it cheaper, they will price match. And for me in Cali, I can get a delivery from AZ in 1-2 days.

[langier]

Paper and ink, not so many discounts except when on sale like now with Epson 3 for 2 deals and I try to take advantage anticipating my needs for the next few months. Epson seems to run them sometimes for a month, sometimes for a month followed by a month sometimes three-four months apart. Framing supplies I usually go with Frame Destinations since they sell top-quality and workmanship is first-rate for their custom-cutting and packaging is superb.

My best advice is to charge enough to cover your worst-case scenario costs plus enough to make you feel you are digging a hole. When your expenses are much less than your projections, it feels like getting a bonus and encourages you to work harder and more efficiently.

When I used to figure bare-minimum costs, it always bit me. When I started figuring worse-case expenses and contingencies, it lifted a burden from my shoulders knowing that if I did have an issue, I wasn't digging myself into a hole any more and when things ran right, those expenses that never happened boosted my bottom line like an unexpected gift.

It took me years to figure that out. But the benefits were that I was able to prosper, my work improved when I didn't nickel-and-dime any more and have to worry about "almost quite right..." and I slept much better!