has anyone sold a print(s)?

[mia_rosario]

Hey guys!! I searched the forum for a place to put this question but this one has the highest traffic. Sorry if it's outta place. Anyway.......
I have a gallery showing in April and I have to price all my stuff. The only thing is, it's my first showing and I have no idea what to ask for. I should have my stuff up in my online galleries soon so I will ask for feedback on my personal stuff then. My question is this;
Have any of you sold your work and if you don't mind sharing, what did you ask for it? How did you come to that price ect.? You could answer here or mail me. Thanks....
Mia

[sheila]

A good rule of thumb is that you multiply by 6 your costs involved in mounting the print on matt border (ie cost of ink, paper and border). A word of advice. If you are selling prints, don't frame the print as most folk would prefer their own taste in frames to match their decor. Just buy good matt borders, preferably white and be very careful handling the borders as they are susceptible to fingerprints. Also buy a stack of protectors (I buy A3 protectors as we in Australia went metric 25 years ago!). Also think about not printing your images. Offer your would-be clients the choice of a print in the post or alternatively offer them the service of burning the image on to a CD with a stipulation that the image is only to be printed out by them once. Of course, you cannot guarantee that they will comply with your request but they could also have your hard copy print copied in any event. Burning onto a CD is cheaper than printing out images, IMO.

If you are mounting on a border, I suggest you start a numbering system - ie. 1 of 25 etc etc and keep a record of those you have sold. Always sign the border (with a copyright symbol ©) before your name and the year. You can, of course, put your name and © embedded in the image but if you do so, make it as subtle as you can.

That's should be enough for going on with. Feel free to contact me if you need any more info.

Cheers and good luck.
Sheila

[mia_rosario]

Thank you for the great tips. I really had no idea where to start. Gotta love the forum!!!

[artandrevolution]

another good idea would be to scout out the surrounding galleries and see what other photographers are selling thiers for. Often cities/towns will have different areas that market to certain areas. If you are showing in a higer end gallery always price it higher than if you would that facilitates more local artists that are just starting out. you can also frame your pictures very cheaply and very simply(but looks nice) if you buy the frames at a local art store where you just pin them together yourself(i framed a 20x24 picture with museum board for 20 bucks and had it hung in a New York City gallery).
also you can leave the option open to sell prints unframed and unmatted
like 250 framed
200 unframed.
just be sure not to undersell yourself