Selling at craft markets - hard lessons learned.

[eric black]

dont get me wrong- I enjoy what I do and am not doing it to get rich (although I wouldnt mind that) I just want to give people a fair assessment of some of the not quite so glamorous parts of the business. The glamour comes in the multitude of compliments that your work will get whether someone buys something or not and the incredible feeling when somebody connects with one of your shots and wants to do an entire room dedicated to your work- that rocks!

As for the question on doing unique work- yes it definately gets noticed by people such as myself but keep in mind to many a photo is a photo regardless.

[photographs42]

This is more opinion than factual knowledge but I think that anything that sets your work apart from the masses can give you an edge. If you attempt to sell “exotic” process, you have to market it to the higher end customer. The average art fair buyer is looking for decoration and will not be willing to pay the price you should charge. If you include in your display a visual and written description of how your work is produced it will call attention to the fact that it is special.

When I first met emerson around 25 years ago he was doing dye transfer and he had a panel with pictures and text describing the process. It was very helpful in that most people, even some collectors, don’t know what all is involved. The average guy on the street thinks you snap the shutter, send your film to Wal-Mart, pick a few to have blown up and mat them up when they come back from the lab. The “unique” factor is a big plus but it has to be made clear what makes it unique.

Jerome

Jerome/All-
Do you know if there is any "advantage" to having one-of-a-kind (more or less) prints like hand coated prints (salt prints, Vandykes, pt/pd)? Does that angle add any value to the over-saturated digital print market at these fairs? Thanks. Paul

[QT Luong]

Although I have never tried to sell at those venues, my understanding is that there is a fundamental difference between craft fairs and art fairs. The latter are generally juried, offer nothing but art for sale, and do attract art buyers.

I've been doing OK with internet print sales, but my methods may not work for most photographers (takes me more than 50,000 visits to sell a print).

[paulr]

TThe average art fair buyer is looking for decoration and will not be willing to pay the price you should charge

this seems like the root of all these issues. most people go to art fairs looking for decoration and handicrafts. if they don't get/appreciate/value your work, you'll probably do better in a different setting with a different crowd. one of big challenges in selling work is finding your audience.

[Randy H]

Yup, its frustrating for sure, so I'm looking to trying to sell my work in others areas such as the USA.

If you come to Oklahoma, leave the photos and bring a truckload of Elvis on black velvet paintings. And if you insist on photo's make them at least sofa-size pictures of a crushed beer can, or mud-monster, or such.

"hell, anybody can do them pictures with one of them disposable cameras and a trip to wal-mart!"

Interior designers could be a decent market, however, the company where I work just recently moved into a brand new facility, and the designer used a "lot" of saint Ansel's repro's. 99% of the people in the office did not know who he was, and none were overly impressed with the works.
"just a picture"

[Greg Lockrey]

"just a picture"

"And it's only black and white."

[eddie]

great thread. many of the people viewing my work always say "you should/do you sell your photos" we after a while i started say yes. they are for sale.

i am primarily a travel photographer. so i think that unless you have been to a specific location you may not be that interested in buying a print. a few years ago i had a pretty good run of sales. mostly they were word of mouth. but i think i have saturated my market and sales declined.

i currently have a gallery show hanging. i have gotten many many very nice complements on my work. while my head and ego have been swelling my wallet is very very thin! my prices are not overly high, nor are they bargain basement.

my wife wants to try and sell at crafts fairs and the like but i am not sure i want to do that. i get all my satisfaction from the actual process of photography from loading the film to printing in my darkroom. i am thinking i should just do what i like and not worry about actively trying to market my stuff. when i was putting together my gallery i basically was not able to shoot at all. all i was doing was printing, matting, and framing. now that the show is hung i have been shooting lots....i feel better now!

i am thinking i will have a "frame and print burning party".......anyone got a match?

eddie

ps. i had several cameras on display for my opening to help connect with the people. i brought my 8x10 and some of my pinhole cameras.

[Ben Calwell]

When I visit craft shows, the photos all look alike. How many slot canyons, flowers and sunsets can we endure?
I shouldn't criticize -- I tried selling some of my large format work (rural highway scenes) at a neighborhood yard sale once, and they were painfully and uniformally ignored by everyone who stopped by our table.

[Dick Hilker]

Since I've been retired for about ten years and don't depend on selling my prints, I decided my remaining time was too valuable to sit at a church fair booth, but instead enter juried regional art shows and have my work at a couple of local galleries. Prints in 16 X 20 frames sell in the $200-$300 range and are principally Epson 7800 inkjet color images of floral subjects, captured on a large Microtek flatbed scanner.

I've noticed that most buyers' main concern isn't with their archival qualities or whether they're limited editions, but rather how well the colors will go with their home decor. It was a bit disillusioning to realize that all the care that goes into the print is worth less than how well it'll look over a favorite sofa! Lately, with the trend toward larger homes, I've also found that larger prints sell better than smaller ones of the same subject, due to typically larger wall spaces. Most of the folks who sell their work at fairs seem to offer relatively small sizes and that may be why sales aren't as brisk as they might be. Also, the typically low prices suggest that it isn't realy quality work worthy of display (and bragging rights!) in someone's home.

I've been tempted to sell unframed prints, but prefer to retain control of how my work will look on someone's wall, especially after seeing what happened to a couple of unframed prints I'd given as gifts.

[tim atherton]

Prints in 16 X 20 frames sell in the $200-$300 range and are principally Epson 7800 inkjet color images of floral subjects, captured on a large Microtek flatbed scanner.

I've noticed that most buyers' main concern isn't with their archival qualities or whether they're limited editions, but rather how well the colors will go with their home decor. It was a bit disillusioning to realize that all the care that goes into the print is worth less than how well it'll look over a favorite sofa! Lately, with the trend toward larger homes, I've also found that larger prints sell better than smaller ones of the same subject, due to typically larger wall spaces. Most of the folks who sell their work at fairs seem to offer relatively small sizes and that may be why sales aren't as brisk as they might be. Also, the typically low prices suggest that it isn't realy quality work worthy of display (and bragging rights!) in someone's home.
.

Especially when you consider most such peopel will go to an interiors store and happily spend 150.00 - 200.00 on a "nice" off-set/half tone (or whatever) b&w print in a frame of which there are another 10,000 out there