Prices...

[ivgonzalez]

K...

Here is the deal, I have been showing my "wanta be" portfolio around work hoping someone will let me shoot them and or their family when...

Someone found some landscapes I shot and wanted to buy them. Well heck I don't know... So I charged them $10.00 each. They bought 4 different prints at the size of 13 x 19 (I printed them my self); did I cut my self way to low, or just low enough? I feel like I could have maybe sold them for a bit more, but did not want to be greedy especially since this would have been my first sale.

[LoungeLizard]

I know what you are struggling with - but would you sell a 13x19 from a wedding for $10? You're not just selling the paper and ink - you're selling your effort and creativity.

I was recently asked by a frame shop owner if I'd consider selling one of my prints as a fine art print. I told him I had never thought about it and started wondering how much I'd sell it for. I didn't come up with an answer but I know it'd be a lot more than the equivalent sized print for a wedding.

[HotHolly]

That person should be smiling from ear to ear...$10 was really really really cheap. There are people on ebay that are no names that sell for about $25 for a small print. I would have thought you could have pulled that or more per print - even though you just started. Something good to do is to go to WalMArt (bleck!) and poke around in their art aisle. Notice the prices on prints...you always want to cost more than WalMart - unless you want to be considered a resource for bargain shoppers. Prints from people I've never heard of tend to sell fro $25 - $50. Odd sizes, panarams and oversized images, sell for more. Don't freak about about selling low. It was your 1st sale! Yea! Next time ask for a little more. :o)

[MarkM]

Absolutely nothing wrong with starting cheap.

There's definetely something wrong to stay cheap.
Increase your price list incrementally. (I do it every 6 months).

Kirk Voclain told me something hilarious once...."I only print my price list 10 at a time".

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by MarkM

Kirk Voclain told me something hilarious once...."I only print my price list 10 at a time".

LOL! We should all be so brave!

[ivgonzalez]

Thanks guys and gal!

[jeffkohn]

Considering the prints probably cost you around $5 or so apiece in paper and ink yeah I'd say you let them off pretty cheap. I would think you could charge at twice that next time.

[ivgonzalez]

Yep, I was thinking $25.00 bucks next time.

thanks again!

[Jake]

Congrats on the sale!

I got a call earlier this year...uh, (I mean last year) from someone who saw I pic on pbase and wanted to buy a 20x24" print. I really did not know how much to charge but I really needed money so I quoted him a price and he said "great, I'll take it!"

I must of went to low

[Shane]

Just be sure to pay tax on that!

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=13628

[lancemoreland]

Originally Posted by ivgonzalez

Yep, I was thinking $25.00 bucks next time.

thanks again!

You are selling yourself way short. If they are good enough for someone to want, to hang in their home or in their office they are good enough for you to sign and sell for $250 or $2,500 for that mater. You're an artist, you should charge like one.

I was contacted by McGraw Hill. They saw an image that I had captured on my pbase site, that they wanted to use on the cover of one of their textbooks. I shot a price sufficient to cover the cost of some nice Canon L glass. They did not blink. The moral of the story is that if the purchaser wants the image badly enough and it is good enough, they will pay the price. If on the other hand the image is for a friend or family member, sign it and give it to them as a gift. I would rather give it as a gift than to charge $10.

[everdreaming]

Congrats on your first sale!

I've been shopping for prints for my apartment lately and everything I've seen in that size range costs a lot more. Take a look at art.com or allposters.com to see what comparable print sizes go for there. Then factor in your quality compared to theirs, whether you're doing a limited edition of these photos, etc...

[ivgonzalez]

Originally Posted by lancemoreland

If they are good enough for someone to want, to hang in their home or in their office they are good enough for you to sign and sell for $250 or $2,500 for that mater.

Dang! They are going on his wall, but I don't think they would pay that much. Wow, that is a price!

[suzyjazz]

Congrats on the sale! That is very exciting. Everyone has already said the price was too low, but you didn't know. You were excited someone was interested and didn't want to scare them off by going too high. Like MarkM said, it's not a mistake to sell for too low the first time, only to keep doing it. Increase your prices over time as your skills and/or confidence level go up.

[bondarnes]

Congratulations on your sale of the 75% off the regular price, one time only, introductory print sale. Now for the next sale ask for the regular price. Then the time after that.....