From time to time someone on these pages asks a question about ideas for marketing their work at craft fairs or other similar venues. I've just spent the last few months trying to flog prints in this way and, for whatever it's worth, I thought I'd share my experiences. Maybe I can save someone else the heartache and money (with apologies for the length of this post).
First, a bit of background information. I have 30+ years of images that I drew upon to print and offer for sale. I made a deliberate decision to offer a variety of styles and formats and so I had both colour and B&W images (all silver gelatin), traditional landscapes and abstracts, large format, 35mm and Polaroid SX70 images, 8x10 up to 11x14, matted as well as both matted and framed prints, along with (for good measure) greeting cards. I even scrounged up some old concert photos (CSNY, Billy Joel) from the 1970's. In other words, I tried to cover the waterfront in terms of variety. This was done in an effort to appeal to the widest possible audience.
I priced my product as cheaply as I dared: from $4 for a blank greeting card up to $140 for a framed and matted 11X14 B&W print. Some of you will say that I was giving it away.
The venue was a local Saturday market which was attended by dozens of different vendors: Fruits and vegetable produce, ethnic foods, hot dogs, baking, and many crafts such as jewellery, painting, woodworking, pottery and handmade clothing. Again, a pretty wide variety in an established outdoor market. The location itself is in Victoria, BC which, although not big, is a prime destination for tourists from all over the world. The market was located near the downtown core with access to both tourists and local residents.
Although I did not attend every Saturday, I made a fairly significant commitment in time and was in attendance most Saturdays from June through mid-September. In an effort to make the sale as painless as possible, I arranged a Visa/Mastercard merchant account. In hindsight, this was not smart because of the set-up costs.
The results were unfortunate. Here's what I learned.
First, price is not really the issue. One potter in the market offered many pieces that were $200+ price range and was selling stuff. Another artist was selling paintings done in a folk art style on old furniture and driftwood in the same price ranges as my stuff. Woodwork in my price range was also selling.
The market attracted many 'tire kickers' who were just out for a Saturday stroll, but there were also people who truly seemed to enjoy and 'get' photography. I had many compliments on my work - but I only sold one print (plus a couple of concert photos and a bunch of cards). People liked the work - many commented on how they loved B&W photography. I tried to play up the fact that these were traditional processes and not digital images - again, people seemed to respond to the 'retro' angle. But few sales.
I learned that paintings, no matter how mediocre in terms of artistic merit, sell better than photography, no matter how good. People will ooh and ahh over and eventually spend $100 on a poor painting before they will spend $50 on an excellent photograph. Apparently, one is art and the other is something else.
I think the real issue is that purchasing visual art is a major commitment for most people and they won't make impulse buys in a market type environment. They have to really love the image and be able to picture it hanging on their wall.
Anyway, I'm vain enough that I'm going to seek other outlets and will try some of the local galleries to see if there might be a fit. But selling photography in craft markets is a tough gig.
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Originally Posted by Jorge Gasteazoro
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