macgfxdesigner said:
I have been chosen to sell my photography at a local coffee shop, and I need help to ethical price my photographs or what pricing scheme I should use. I have no overhead except the cost of the frame, and not sure do I buy high-end frames or low-end ones or non framed? The coffee shop owner takes 20% of my profits. So I get 80%
Help me please also to pick out some to print and sell!
Photos
HERE
I generally sell matted but not framed 8x10 prints of my photos, when I originally searched for pricing, I found prices between $25 and $120 for similar work depending on the photographer, their market, and their target audience.
Only you can decide what's "fair" and what your market will bear. If you sell low though, your chance to raise prices later may be affected.
I generally don't sell framed work, as many people make purchase decisions based on the frame (normally negative ones.) For a showing though, I'd probably frame with gallery frames, and offer either way, with a markup for the frame.
I don't agree with another poster on numbering prints- it's an interesting "drive the price up and make someone think they're getting something of value" strategy, but unless you want to artificially limit the number of prints you'll make of a particular image (or start to play games with "editions," "sizes" and all that stuff) I find it much easier to just pencil sign the backs. It's necessary for some shows/galleries though, so if you might way to go that way, then you need to do it from the start.
I generally sell C-type prints rather than inkjets. My "better" shots are priced higher than my "worse" shots, even though my production costs are the same-- I like to give a potential purchaser who can't quite come up to my full price the chance to purchase something, though in truth folks tend to make go or no-go choices almost immediately.
Stick with photos that'll blend well with the business (insects tend to turn of folks eating) and take a fair range of samples, or your portfolio there a few times and ask folks which they like-- it's really difficult to guess what a particular clientele will like- my best sellers are photos I think will sell well, but not necessarily my favorite photos. Ask the staff too- they're at least partially your salesforce, so giving them input theoretically should help your sales if you do it right.
Maybe leave a proof sheet or five laminated and switch out prints every month or so.
Best of luck!
