A few years back, when things were looking bleak, I took my prints and setup a stand outside the Metropolitan Museum. It was a tough life. You got your place based on who got there first to stake out their claim; and you had to lug around prints and mats etc.
Sometimes, you’d go through a 12 hour day without a single sale. Other times, you might make a hundred bucks in a day. Eventually, the web site took off and I concentrated on that. But this morning, I was thinking about another way to go about it that would be much easier and take very little planning:
Get yourself an iPad, make sure you had a wifi connection to this site, and bring a few actual prints, as examples, but it could all be easily carried whenever you felt in the mood. Set up your card table and your iPod, and a couple of prints; and the iPod itself would be your kiosk. People could cruise through the site while you were there to chat about it; and sales would be done on the spot.
I expect I’m missing something – it seems too easy. But still something to think about. Plus, of course I want the iPad anyway, for the occasional presentation or just to have with me to show anyone that I happen to meet. Have iPad – will travel.
Then you get that SQUAREUP credit card swiper that attaches to your Smart Phone and now you can take credit cards! Here’s a link to the SQUAREUP.COM site. I might sign up for it myself soon.
Deal done.
I doubt if this guy bought anything… looks a bit too enthralled.
Now, with all that being said about the “future of selling photography on the street” – one of the pleasure is that people can just pick up the item and go to the next museum with it. But then again, you could set things up to actually place the order through your FOTOMOTO Site and have them send it to where they live. Yup. That is also interesting twist. Hmm.
The thing you’re missing is that if you take your eyes off of the ipad for even a short moment, it would be gone in a flash.
Yes, in a “New York Second” the Ipad would be history…They should make a cable lock like they do for some laptops…You were offering too good a product for those people.
new yorkers are not like that. i’d be more concerned with the tourists.
I love generalizations about people. They’re so inaccurate.
It’s an intruiging idea Dave; the iPad does have a beautiful display. As you say though you would need a few actual prints though, of different sizes so people could get a feel for the actual product.
Yes. You bring the iPad, a couple of prints, and you get one of those SQUARE things (I forget the exact name) so that you can attach it to your SMARTPHONE and take credit cards. Deal done. Finished. And if nothing else, carry your iPad everywhere you go with your credit card taker. Never miss a sale again.