building suspense for my first ever print sale

[eddy pula]

Hi all, I'm holding a print sale next week on my blog, been printing up a bit of everything from the past 3 months, 35mm, medium formats and 4x5, check out this testimonial
http://karapture.wordpress.com/2012/...joey-harrison/
prints are gonna be sold fairly cheaply (my business partner says 'stupid cheap at a loss you moron') $20 for 8x10 rc prints, probably double that for 11x14 fiber but all prints will be shipped with a mystery gift, will it be another print? Random darkroom equipment, things I find on floor? Save up your pennies and find out next week!
Thanks
Eddy Pula

[eddy pula]

I have to go pick up some mailers at staples and price out US and international shipping rates (which will be extra) any ideas on the price, I already have a print going to the UK, I once paid $150 do ship a porfolio to france for a contest, never heard back from them ; ( I'm hoping the shipping will be like 5-10 bucks, what are your experiences?

[cdholden]

Flat or rolled?
Just prints or are they matted?
Size, weight and destination all factor into the end results. Narrow down the variables and you'll get a better idea of what to expect.
Good luck with the sale!

[eddy pula]

good call cd, I was gonna get a whole bunch of like 12x17 mailers (or whatver is bigger than 11x14, the biggest thing I'll be shipping is 11x14) no matte, maybe some extra cardboard so it won't bend and I'll slip in an extra print or something else flat, but the whole thing won't weigh more than a few ounces

[vinny]

good call cd, I was gonna get a whole bunch of like 12x17 mailers (or whatver is bigger than 11x14, the biggest thing I'll be shipping is 11x14) no matte, maybe some extra cardboard so it won't bend and I'll slip in an extra print or something else flat, but the whole thing won't weigh more than a few ounces

"won't bend". I like that.

[cdholden]

Most buyers will like that too. I hate finding nice photos in tubes, not to mention manila envelopes marked "photos - do not bend". It seems these are used for postal origami practice.

[Kuzano]

Hi all, I'm holding a print sale next week on my blog, been printing up a bit of everything from the past 3 months, 35mm, medium formats and 4x5, check out this testimonial
http://karapture.wordpress.com/2012/...joey-harrison/
prints are gonna be sold fairly cheaply (my business partner says 'stupid cheap at a loss you moron') $20 for 8x10 rc prints, probably double that for 11x14 fiber but all prints will be shipped with a mystery gift, will it be another print? Random darkroom equipment, things I find on floor? Save up your pennies and find out next week!
Thanks
Eddy Pula

Eddy, Eddy, Eddy.... Listen to your partner.

Potential buyers will not respect (and pay real money) for your images if you do not show respect for your own work.

After 40 years in business marketing, I learned from the very beginning, and it paid off until retirement... the phrase "The Law of Perceived Value." It's not vague at all. You telegraph the value of your work by what you charge for it. Artists and Photographers are at the top of heap for undervaluing and giving away their work.

The reason Galleries get much more money for artistic or fine art work is primarily because they do what artist will not do. They put a substantial value on the work they hang and sell. The 40-50 per cent that galleries get for the work they sell is fully justified by the fact that they often sell work for 3-4 times what an "artist" will ask. (Or for that matter, get, until they build a portfolio and a following of customers.)

[welly]

Hi all, I'm holding a print sale next week on my blog, been printing up a bit of everything from the past 3 months, 35mm, medium formats and 4x5, check out this testimonial
http://karapture.wordpress.com/2012/...joey-harrison/
prints are gonna be sold fairly cheaply (my business partner says 'stupid cheap at a loss you moron') $20 for 8x10 rc prints, probably double that for 11x14 fiber but all prints will be shipped with a mystery gift, will it be another print? Random darkroom equipment, things I find on floor? Save up your pennies and find out next week!
Thanks
Eddy Pula

I'll be keen to buy a print, but at least cover your costs chap!

[Mike Anderson]

FWIW you can get all the shipping products you need at uline.com. They're a great company to do business with the only problem is that they only sell things in quantity.

[eddy pula]

Kuzano, I hear where you are coming from but personally I reject that notion, part of the reason I want to sell unframed unmatted prints is that thats the reason you can't buy a photograph for under 1000 dollars, a great photographer Jess Dugan broke it down for me one day, the frame costs $200 and my print has to be worth atleast that much, and the gallery takes half, so a beautiful fiber 16x20 HAS to cost $800 (at thats about as cheap as they run in Boston at real galleries) for the artist to make $200, and it didn't sell so she gave it to me for a bunch of 11x14's! Well I don't have no gallery and I have low overhead, don't think I don't understand where you are coming from but I'm aiming towards the T-shirt, softcover book demographic, You'd buy a t-shirt of a cool no name band for $20, not $200, I'm a cool no name band right now, I will jack the prices up as soon as possible but all I want to do right now is get my name out there, some prints on some cool peoples walls, and approximately $500 for gas and tri-x, hey its an experiment anyways.
Thanks for all the input though, I'm not so arrogant to think I know everything, or even really anything, I just know one way of figuring things out, trying!