Selling Your Work

[ABERS]

A friend is determined to enter the tacky world of commerce by attempting to sell his photographic endeavours at craft fairs, boot fairs or any other fair that springs to mind or takes his fancy.

He has asked for my advice, which is non existant, on the matter. Can anyone give me some hints or tips?

DigiDiva I know from past posts is very active in such areas, perhaps her involvement has lead her to avoid pitfalls and the such or revealed useful nuggets of information that allow sales to be made on a regular basis.

What price range will people accept, are her prints mounted or not? Do framed prints sell better than unframed? How many prints should be taken for sale or just take a selection that can be ordered from for delivery later.

Can you advise DD please, any advice would be more than welcome.

P.S. I would advise him to go to fairs for the partially sighted.

[DigiDiva]

Tip 1 price for the area you are selling in.  I found that I had to sell cheaper at a sale in an ex mining village than I did in a country manor craft fair.

Tip 2 don't expect much interest. You are lucky if you get 1 sale

Tip 3 framed prints sell better as its a whole package and people don't want more expense or hassle looking for frames. As such have a variety of framed prints choices on show

Tip 4 talk to anyone showing interest . Tell them they are your work or the story behind the print. May not sell the print but passes the time as its quite tedious standing waiting

Tip 5 have local landmarks on show. People like local landmarks.

Tip 4 be willing to bargain

Tip 5 use good lighting and have an interesting display. I section my display into  themes using interesting props

[ABERS]

Many thanks for the info. I'll pass it on.

[Mick]

P.S. I would advise him to go to fairs for the partially sighted.

  

[Graham]

P.S. I would advise him to go to fairs for the partially sighted.

  

I missed that bit! 

[Oldboy]

P.S. I would advise him to go to fairs for the partially sighted.

  

I missed that bit! 

And me! 

Didn't know Abers had a sense of humour! 

[ABERS]

Didn't know Abers had a sense of humour! 

I must have, staying on here for some few years!!

[Simple]

Someone told me the other day: "The best way to make money from photography is selling your camera"

[Graham]

Someone told me the other day: "The best way to make money from photography is selling your camera"

  Yes. It's very easy to make a small fortune from photography...first you have to have a large fortune.

[ABERS]

A little on the drastic side, but you could always employ the Van Gogh marketing approach. Take a few pictures that nobody rates, cut off one ear, and then die. 

[Graham]

It does annoy me that I'm going to have to die before my genius is recognised...And if I cut an ear off my glasses wouldn't sit properly.

[DigiDiva]

I make a fair profit by printing off 6" x 4" photos then sticking them on card and sometimes adding bling to make greeting cards. Cost about 20p each but sell for a quid. Not gonna get rich but  its nice to know that someone looks at my image on a card for a week or so before its binned.

[ABERS]

It does annoy me that I'm going to have to die before my genius is recognised...And if I cut an ear off my glasses wouldn't sit properly.

Ah, but the beauty of the van Gogh approach is that if the strategy doesn't work you'll not be aware that  your work is still regarded as not  worthy of acclaim.  There are contact lenses available.