Selling Photographs: Considerations

—My photos rarely are purchased as a gift for someone. They are almost always bought as a personal item.

—Farmer’s Market sales are, almost by definition, impulse buys. People are there for radishes and arugula, not photos (or jewelry, etc.) Thus the unlikelihood of selling big-ticket items. Not an impossibility, but unlikely.

—Therefore, one needs to determine what is the "maximum impulse price" that any given object can be sold for. One would think that small photos, selling for less, would be the best option. But no, small 4x6 prints on 8x10 paper don’t sell at all, even for $10.00 each. Even my elegant Nielsen-framed 11x14 photos are perceived as too small. So far the best-selling items have been unframed prints, about 8x10 image size on 11x14 paper. I’ve been selling them for $20.00 each, but that’s just too low.

—Farmer’s Market has been great for practice in trying out different booth ideas, practice in setting up and taking down, and experience in leaving the house and driving to a strange destination. Also good for perfecting one’s pitch.

Photos: Art Lover—Oakland, 2009; Wall of Pegboard—Oakland, 2009