Selling Photos: First time prices

[justin_koenigshof]

<p>Hey Everyone, </p>

<p>I'm beginning to get requests from people to purchase my photo prints, which is great, but I have no clue what to price them at. What price points does everyone suggest? I've seen a lot of photo prints advertised for $100 and up. I was thinking like $50, but maybe that's too low??? The prints won't be framed by myself unless requested by the client. Obviously a framed print would need to be priced much higher. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks!<br>

Justin</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>It might help if you mentioned what sort of images you're talking about, the circumstances under which you produced them (landscapes? event coverage? sports? portraits?), and what sort of customers with whom you're prospectively dealing. It <em>is</em> great that people have an interest in buying prints from you - but don't lowball, since that's a hard hole to dig out of, later.</p>

[justin_koenigshof]

<p>Thanks for your response Matt. All of my photos are Nature and Landscapes (waterfalls, wildlife, streams, vistas, etc). Maybe I be pricing them based upon my attitude towards the image? For example, if it's a unique shot like Birds of Prey in my gallery and one that I cannot reproduce I should price it higher than a more generic image such as one of a stream?</p>

[Charles_Webster]

<p>Justin, the customer has no knowledge of how easy or difficult it was to capture a particular image, so pricing according to "your attitude toward the image" isn't going to help make sales.</p>

<p>Figure out how much it costs to make and sell the image. Make sure your sales price covers that by about 3X to 4X. Look at others to see what price range sells in your situation. Then price the pictures by size.</p>

<p>I mat and frame all my "for sale" images, with an 8X10 print, matted, and framed in a cheap metal frame for $100. A 10 X 15, double matted and framed in a nicer frame sells for $250, and an 12 X 18, double matted in an even nicer frame sells for $300. But most of that price increase is due to the higher price of the frame.</p>

<p><Chas><br /></p>

[ted_raper1]

<p>I agree with Charles - determine costs and do 3x that for sales price. In the gallery I was in recently my prices were similar to what Charles says, maybe a bit lower for the large sizes. It really does come down to your costs - in some cases (like now, poor economy) I have actually gone as low as 2x, depending on frame costs. </p>

<p>It's tough to sell a photograph these days (because people look at them and say "I can do that with my little _____"), so probably the worst thing you can do is over price the work.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

<p> </p>

[justin_koenigshof]

<p>Thanks for your responses Charles and Ted. I think I've now got a pretty good idea of what to price things at. The 3x and 4x tip is exactly what I was looking for. That'll at least get me in the ballpark of what my photos are worth. I think I'll keep things towards the lower end, as in 2x or 3x my costs, for now and if I start selling a lot more prints I'll move up. Thanks again! ~Justin</p>