Need Advice For My First Booth

Tom Potter

Hey Gang,

This December, I have my first opportunity to sell at a booth. It will be at a company fair, where potentially 2000 people will view my prints. The fair will have a total of 12 booths (inclucing mine).

I am writing to ask if you can offer any advice for this situation. I am a PRO, using Bay Photo.

Though I will only be offering prints for sale, and not framed prints, I'm thinking it would be wise to display 4 or 5 prints in frames, just so that a potential client will get some idea what my prints will look like in a frame. Would you agree this is a good idea?

Since Bay Photo prints come shipped flat and well-padded in a larger box, it seems to me that bringing inventory for what I think I will sell will not be wise, because of the space all these boxed prints will take up. Would you advise that I simply take orders at this booth sale? If so, should I collect payment at this point? Can you think of a solution wherein I can have my prints with me, so that I can give a customer their print on the spot? The thing too, is, I do not want to purchase a bunch of prints that may not sell.

Also, can you tell me the most popular print sizes that sell for landscape images? I'm thinking maybe I will show my framed prints in those specific sizes.

Thank you all VERY much for your help,


Tom

deb22

Hey Tom, congrats on your 1st booth. I do both markets and large art shows and the one thing I found is people want things now so the taking orders probably wont result in as many sales as having the prints on hand. landscapes usually are larger than other subjects so I would suggest a fairly large framed one and then sell smaller ones[12x18] for each photo for as much room as you have.If someone orders a large one collect FULL payment as deposits are messy and you have to pay to get it done. Is there a reason you don't print yourself? A cannon printer is only a few hundred and it is an excellent printer, that way you can make lots of prints and if you don't sell them it is easy to store for your next show.Matting and clearbags are inexpensive and show very well. it looks better than just the print.You will learn a lot from the others showing so soak up as much info as possible. Have fun and good luck.

chrisjohnson

I don't suppose anyone is coming to this fair intending to buy a photo.

You need to figure out how much this crowd might pay for something they did not intend to buy when they left home - discretionary spending.

Next you need to make it easy. Very few people want to organize a separate expedition or three to buy and collect a frame. So framed photos only is my view. And you need inventory on hand. This is a NOW moment. You should also be able to process a credit card unless you intend selling for loose change. The frames need to be small enough to carry conveniently.

The other sales you need to organize are planned events. I would have a video presentation running of your main themes - eg scenery, weddings, kids parties, whatever. Keep it short - 30 seconds? You can have back-up material handy should you get into serious conversation.

You have some super photos on your site. Postcards and other greetings will also sell imo.

As this is your first time, you should maybe invest in some backing prints for your booth giving your key messages. These are not expensive. The big investment is the folding scaffold to hang your collateral/products whenever you go to the next level.

Tom Potter

Thanks!

goldenballs wrote: »

I don't suppose anyone is coming to this fair intending to buy a photo.

You need to figure out how much this crowd might pay for something they did not intend to buy when they left home - discretionary spending.

Next you need to make it easy. Very few people want to organize a separate expedition or three to buy and collect a frame. So framed photos only is my view. And you need inventory on hand. This is a NOW moment. You should also be able to process a credit card unless you intend selling for loose change. The frames need to be small enough to carry conveniently.

The other sales you need to organize are planned events. I would have a video presentation running of your main themes - eg scenery, weddings, kids parties, whatever. Keep it short - 30 seconds? You can have back-up material handy should you get into serious conversation.

You have some super photos on your site. Postcards and other greetings will also sell imo.

As this is your first time, you should maybe invest in some backing prints for your booth giving your key messages. These are not expensive. The big investment is the folding scaffold to hang your collateral/products whenever you go to the next level.

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated!