Selling Photographs Online and Off

Most of my sales, whether for large amounts or small are straightforward.  The person adds items to the cart; pays for them; gets them; and usually that’s that unless they write a note to thank me for the pictures.

The next level, may involve say 6 emails back and forth:   how soon can they get it since they need the print for a special occasion; or is it possible to get a discount; or how much will it cost to ship prints to Afghanistan.  Whatever.  Again, these are normal inquiries and they almost always end up with a completed sale.

But, there are several elongated threads that seem to go on forever, and end with nada.  And this year,  the winner of THE RETAIL ANNOYANCE CONTEST will be announced.  Winners are judged in the following areas:

1) The number of replies, i.e. how long the email thread is

2) Whether there was any extra sort of work involved, such as figuring out what an image will look like blown up to 5 x 6 feet; or if I were to do it in sepia, could they see an actual sample.

3) And the overall quality of how the process finally dissolved into wasted time.

This year’s winner are Steve and Ellen R. from the great state of Wyoming

The first thread began with the usual opening:

“Dear Dave,

I would just like to tell you how much I have enjoyed your photography.  My husband and I have found one of your pictures (Chess Table in Rain) that we just love.  We would like to know whether it is possible to print this at a larger size than what you show on your site.”

And that was the beginning of a thread that eventually reached 42 emails (that includes my replies and their emails) and that went on for a period of four months.

During this process, I sent out several samples, showing what the print would look like blown up (yes, 35mm film will be grainy when you get up to 6 feet long) and a sample showing what the paper was like.

For every response, on my part, there was a reply asking another question.  Eventually, I began to believe that the couple from Wyoming were simply bored, and out to torment me.

The process devolved when I pointed out that I would have to send the print rolled in a big tube, because it couldn’t be shipped flat.  That was the beginning of the end.  They wanted to know the diameter of the tube; how long it would take to flatten out; and whether this wouldn’t be ruining the print.

I didn’t answer this e-mail.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  They wrote back again, with similar questions, and again, I simply didn’t answer.  It was my turn to torment them.

Eventually (I waited a full month) – I wrote back that this was a normal way to send large prints, and that it wouldn’t damage the print.  I didn’t get any reply to that, and didn’t expect to.  My guess was that they had found someone else to question by then.

Now, I don’t want to be sexist, but men and women are absolutely different when it comes to making a purchase – whether on the web – or in any retail situation.  Yes, I am about to generalize:

So, for example, when I was selling photography on the street (yes, I was once one of those street vendors outside the Metropolitan Museum) – I can’t tell you how many times a couple would stop by.  It was almost always the woman who noticed the photography and stopped.  She would ask a few questions, but reasonable ones; and while she was admiring the photograph, half the time the husband, or boyfriend would step in, whisper something to her, and she’d tell you apologetically that she’d be back the next day, which meant the deal was over.

Every vendor who had been doing this for a while knew that the man had to be kept out of the transaction.  There were even schemes, if you had two buyers selling next to each other, where one seller would help out the other by trying to distract the husband if it looked like he was going to spoil the sale.

You could imagine the conversation: “Do we really need another piece of art in the house?”

“But it’s beautiful.  It would go perfectly by the sofa.”

“Maybe some other time honey.  It’s okay, but I think the price is high.”

Or whatever reason.

But I will tell you this.  Selling through the web may have it’s issues; but compared to standing on the street in all sorts of weather; and lugging the stand around; and going through 12 plus hour days where you didn’t make a dime — no comparison.  One other thing you should know.  Most of the photographs you see on the street have been copied in China from large format art books; reproduced for pennies and put into frames that cost a few cents.  Only a few of the vendors are selling original photography, and they usually don’t last very long since they are competing with mass produced junk and most people simply cannot tell the difference; though every once in a while you do run into someone who knows something about photography and is willing to pay for quality.  But they are rare and far apart.