Scratch 'N Dent sales

[paulr]

Every year a friend of mine used to have a sale of his scratched and dented prints ... things he'd dropped on a corner or that had been abused by a show jury or the post office, but that otherwise were good prints.

For some reason I didn't like the idea back then, but now I realize I have more than a few of prints with dinged corners ... and the rent is due after I've spent two weeks in the mountains ...

Any thoughts about this kind of thing? How would you announce it without sounding like a used car dealer?

[Ash]

Advertise them as 'seconds'

[paulr]

"certified previously viewed luxury fine art prints"

[David A. Goldfarb]

If they've been exhibited, you could stress their "provenance."

[paulr]

Is there a similarly impressive word that means "considered for exhibition, then lost in the corner of the office, then dropped on the sidewalk, then returned by 4th class mail six months later" ... ?

[Kerik Kouklis]

Fell Off Truck.

[claudiocambon]

I have also heard of people doing this. I think the trick might be to have the sale in a physical sense, so that people can actually see the defects; it helps them reconcile themselves to the idea of damage. Many collectors are actually pretty frank about the fact that prints often acquire defects over their lives. Go for it!

[Mark Sampson]

you could call them "conservation-ready". Or, given that many of your pictures your pictures are of less-than-pristine land(city?)scapes, actually charge more for these prints, as their less-than-pristine condition reflect the subject matter so faithfully. Or something like that.

[Eric James]

Is there a similarly impressive word that means "considered for exhibition, then lost in the corner of the office, then dropped on the sidewalk, then returned by 4th class mail six months later" ... ?

"Vintage"

[Brian Ellis]

"Artist's proofs, viewed only by little old ladies who couldn't see very well."

[paulr]

"Vintage"

Nice. Are you looking for any artists to represent? ;)

[Michael Jones]

I have also heard of people doing this. I think the trick might be to have the sale in a physical sense, so that people can actually see the defects; it helps them reconcile themselves to the idea of damage. Many collectors are actually pretty frank about the fact that prints often acquire defects over their lives. Go for it!

I have purchased several prints from artists that have "issues," mostly during mounting. They were heavily discounted. But I could see the defect and the minimal impact on the overall image. Edward Weston used to have damaged print sales to raise money and clean out old work. While his then current work was selling for $10-25, the beaters were $2. "Sigh"

Go for it with disclosure.

Mike

[Brian Sims]

You guys crack me up. Sometimes, I just log on to get a good laugh...cyber-wit.

Paul does raise an interesting question. The sale of "seconds" is a way to sell to folks who might not be able to or want to afford the item at full price. But it's not like a dishwasher with a scratch...where it will actually cost the store money to get rid of it. We can tow our work out with the daily newspaper. The value of our work is mostly in the efforts leading up to the printing and mounting (e.g. many trips to the mountains, many many shots that are crap, hours and hours in the digital or traditional darkroom). My point is that if you discounted the work based on what is actually damaged it would be a pretty small mark down based on the total value of the effort. If it was a bent corner on a matt, I'd re-matt it. If it was bent corner on the print, I'd throw it away. If I had potential customers who wanted my work but can't or won't pay my regular price, I'd rather consider an annual "sale" of undamaged prints just to get the art out there. I wouldn't sell or give away anything I would cringe at if I saw it on someone's wall.

[Ralph Barker]

Fell Off Truck.

Make that, "Fell off armored truck during a fine art photography hijacking." :D

[paulr]

I wouldn't sell or give away anything I would cringe at if I saw it on someone's wall.

I'd definitely agree with that. The kind of damage i'm talking about would be invisible (or almost invisible) if the work is framed and behind glass.

That's why i'm staying away from calling it "seconds." I'm not trying to sell rejected prints ... just good prints that are in less than mint condition. Considering what prints cost, I would completely sympathize with an irate collector who paid full price and received something with a bent corner or a finger smudge in the margin. Even if would never show when the work is framed.

I think I'll try this. Who knows if it will garner any interest at all, but if it does it will be a good deal all around.

[Struan Gray]

"Now with added aura!"

"Pre-patinated"

"Proofs hand-distressed by the artist"

The only real downside I can see is if the buyers of your full-price prints feel you are surreptitiously trying to dilute the edition.

[MIke Sherck]

I vote for "vintage". FWIW, someone owes me a keyboard...

Mike

[photographs42]

A friend of mine has a Show and Sale at his home every year, usually around Christmas. It is sort of a Holiday party and Photography exhibit. He has the pristine work hanging but he also has a “bargain bin” for stuff like you are talking about. Some of the stuff in the bargain bin is just prints that have not proven popular and some have some sort of blemish. People like to discover bargains. There are lots of people who are not collectors and if they can pick up a print at a bargain price, they are happy as larks.

Whatever he gets for these is profit in a since because otherwise they would take up space or be thrown out.

Now that I think about it, I need to do that.
Jerome

[seawolf66]

Or you say there your rental stock and you need to make room for rental prints coming back::::

[al olson]

I am considering selling off my surplus prints at the next local arts & crafts fair for pricing of $10 for unmatted print and $20 for matted prints. I am tired of being in the storage business with all the hard copy I have in the house.

The matted prints will be represented as "surplus prints that have been previously exhibited". I think that is sufficient. I hope that this move will not destroy my pricing structure.

[Clay Turtle]

:) :) :) Went by my cousin's house the other day, been along (long) time since we had seen each other. Didn't really think I would find any of the family still living in the old house. Anyway, the point is he was as we started talking he realized that I was into photography so he showed me one of his souvenir's from the past.
What he brought out was a dusty framed print, he had bought for $40.00. Ya, he had made a trip down south & had stopped at some place & ended up buying the print (about a 11x14) . . . an original hand print by Clyde Butcher.
Workman is worthy his wages . . . of course back then he wasn't so well known & the price of peanut butter wasn't so high . . seems like a fair price?
So first question are we talking some machine print on photocopy paper or are we talking a hand printed & processed photo from an enlarger? Is it worthy of the shredder or is it worth spending some time & money trying to repair?

[paulr]

I put some work on sale ... found 11 prints that were nice except for superficial damage. A small catalog is here: www.paulraphaelson.com/sale.pdf

I'm taking Mark Sink's advice (he's my dealer and the one who gave me the idea) and am sending this link to friends, family, and fellow photogs, but not to serious collectors. The bargains should be for people who don't normally spend $$$ on prints.

Mark sold his damaged goods at parties where people could flip through in person. Probably a better idea, but this is easier for me to handle right now.

[Charles]

With apology to Mussorgsky, label a bin of seconds with a sign 'Pictures from an Exhibition'.

[C. D. Keth]

Individuality and character are your selling points ;)

[TenOx]

"Previously unavailable" ... how would you hold the sale:
from the trunk of your car?
at your regular snooty gallery, with wine (from a box) and cheese (sliced cheddar?)
at a coffee house (on 'jazz' night?)
at the local art fair ("Get you PRINTS! Loverly PRINTS!")

/..
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