pricing prints in consignment market

[wildestseas]

I've had an upscale spa and massage practice ask to consign some of my work but have never done anything like

this before. Do people really buy fine-art prints off the walls of businesses? How much can I get away with

asking for an 11x14 print? The work is nice, but it's not quite National Geographic picture of the month

material. Is it better to sell the prints framed or should I supply framed versions to be displayed in addition

to mounted prints that the business actually sells to customers?

Does this all sound like a poor investment?

[bob_sunley]

Sounds like an inexpensive way for the spa to decorate it's walls. :)

[sarah_hyder]

It's nice to have your work out where people can see it and it doesn't sound like a poor investment at all, if you already have the pictures ready to go. I really don't think anyone will be able to tell you how much it is worth, you'll probably have to decide that on your own. Try checking out what other people are pricing prints at in your area and at least you'll have a jumping off point. And price the work both framed and as prints. You can make more money selling the print with the frame, but someone may only want a print. If you sell a framed print, you can always frame another. Congrats on getting your work out on consignment!

[beartooth1]

I have several...matted and framed (nicely) in a local stock brokers office....I got the invite to put them up last month. I've sold 2 (prints) 13 x 19 for 159.00 ea. 1 of them I did the matting and framing myself and made a little extra on that one.

 

I would say the exposure is worth the time and effort. Good Luck........Ken

[alan_myers]

Hi,

 

Often what's done in these situations is to simply hang your images, matted and framed, and discretely provide contact info in case people want to buy an image, letting them contact you directly for any purchases. I wouldn't necessarily expect the business displaying them to handle the sales, too.

 

But, it doesn't have to be this way.

 

Any exposure is good exposure (pun intended). It's a win/win situation actually. Your photos get in front of more eyeballs and the spa gets free decor.

 

If you keep sales off-site, you might not even have to give a percentage to the spa. Did they ask for consignment? Or did they just ask for some of your images to display?

 

On the other hand, maybe you do feel some percentage is due to them. If they don't handle the sales, I'd keep it minimal... maybe 5 or 10% (of the gross price, so be sure to build in sufficient profit).

 

If they do handle sales the percentage would probably be greater. Perhaps up to 25%.

 

I would not provide them with extras of anything. That's just money out of your pocket speculatively. Be prepared with an image or two as replacements if one sells off the wall. But, otherwise just mat & frame one of each image you mutually decide to include. Then handle any sales on an order by order basis.

 

One place I display my images I hardly ever sell an unframed (but matted) print. Buyers always go for the framed ones. I've offered matted-only there off and on for 5 years, with little success. Other places you'll sell matted prints, but not framed ones.

 

Plus you will invariably get requests like "I love that photo, but can you put a different color mat on it? And can I get it with that other frame instead? It matches my sofa better."

 

So, I'd suggest you don't fully finish too many in advance.

 

Now, this should all be written down clearly and in detail and the document signed by both you and the spa manager/owner. There are sample contracts for this sort of thing in some books.... "Business & Legal Forms for Photographers", by Tad Crawford and the ASMP, I think includes one. Or, at least there is probably a gallery contract you could adapt.

 

This sort of arrangement is usually for a predetermined period of time, say 3 or 6 months. That's probably long enough to get your images in front of all their regular customers.

 

One thing you seriously have to consider is the possibility of damage or loss due to theft or other unforeseen circumstances. Usually it would be up to the business where you are displaying to have insurance coverage. They may need a rider on their policy specifically for the additional decor. You'll probably have to agree upon a value, which may differ from your selling prices. You'll need to carefully itemize and inventory everything in advance, and keep it up to date with any changes, for insurance purposes.

 

I don't know if you will see tons of sales off this... Probably not. But, you will at least have your work out there for people to see. You'd have even less sales potential with the same images hanging on your wall at home. And you might be able to find other business that are willing to do a similar display for you, or to rotate images from one to the next every so often. I'm considering approaching my dentist about this, and there are many coffee shops that have display spaces.

 

Finally, an 11x14 mats nicely to a 16x20 frame (www.matcutter.com or similar have precut mats this size). Put nice frames on them, don't go cheap, but also try to keep costs in control. You'll have to spend around $10 per mat (archival double mat, in bulk), and likely $30 to $50 per frame. Buy frames locally if you can. 16x20 is a standard size, so you shouldn't need to go to the cost of custom framing. Check out Aaron Brothers sales, if there is one near you.

 

Now, I do all my own matting and framing (with precut mats and ready made frames). If you drop stuff off to have it done, it will double or triple your costs. I'd recommend doing it yourself, take a class or read a book about it if you don't know how.

 

So, if you end up with around $40 to $70 in each framed and matted image, you'll probably want to charge at least $120, perhaps more. A rule of thumb I've heard is "280%", but I don't know who came up with this figure or why they settled upon this amount. In other words, add up your costs and multiply by 280%. With costs of $40 to $70, that gives a price range of $112 to $196, which is about what I was recommending anyway.

 

Oh, and if you make the images "limited edition", that's even better. It's pretty simple, really. Just number and sign each one, and keep a record of copies made of each. In my case, I limit all my fine art prints to no more than 200 copies. (I recommend signing in the margin of the print, in pencil. Some folks also like to sign the mat so it can be seen.) Limited edition should have more value to most people.

 

Cheers!