Well, I just finished and ordered my first postcard. Its pretty much going to be a test to gauge the market, but if all goes well there should be at least 8-10 different postcards of mine in retail stores throughout the NC mountains within the next year. And since I'm sure some of you have had the same idea of or might be curious how it goes I'll update this thread with any info as I go along. The big goal is getting them into the Great Smoky Mountains NP gift shops, the director of which I've been emailing back and forth lately.

Oh, the shot is "Mountain Cascade", it has been posted here and is on my website.

Thanks for any crossed fingers, I'll probably need 'em.

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UPDATE: 11/19/07

Thought some people might be interested in total sales so far... (11/19):

Initial Purchase: 1000 cards = $80 (including shipping charges)
Total sold: 90 sold @ $.25/each = $22.50

Got a ways to go... but they are only available in two stores so far...
------------------------------------------------------------------------


- Scott

Awesome! I'm sure those postcards will be flying off the racks and zooming around mailboxes in no time.

Let's hope so. And really, I couldn't care less if I make any money on them, as long as I make back my investment ($60 for 1000). I'm really only doing it as a way to get my name/website out there in hopes of landing something bigger. If I make any money, it'll just be icing on the cake and I'll probably just re-invest it it in more cards in more places.

- Scott

Awesome.
Where did you order them, and how do you get them into the stores? Do you just go in and ask for the manager and sell them?

Good Luck!

Thanks, Ben.

I ordered them from Overnight Prints (google 'em if you're interested). As for getting them in stores, I have 4 local places that have ASKED me to make postcards so I'm a lock in those. As for the GSMNP, I'm not sure yet... I'll let you know how that goes once I try.

I'm hoping the postcards will be a way for me to get some bigger business in the places I sell them. Like, if the postcards sell well, maybe the Park gift shops will want bigger prints to also sell of the same images, etc.

- Scott

How did you get asked by the stores? Friends, showed them your prints???
I don't think you'll have any issues selling your stuff though. The only thing that could be hard is getting the foot in the door of some of the bigger places... But once you're in I could see them wanting prints or maybe posters (thinking posters would be less expensive and more like what a museum sells).

I did half the photography for a local annual magazine about our county (www.acrossthemountains.com) and most of my shots were landscapes/scenics.

We (myself and other photog) had an exhibit of 12 of the images for a couple months at the county chamber of commerce. They asked me during that time to make some postcafds for their giftshops and I also received the rest of the inquiries either in person or via email from some of the local stores asking for "something to sell in their shops, maybe even just some postcards".

And, now that I've been back on the east coast for almost 2 months and I'm settled in at school, its time to get the ball rolling on all that stuff. But, since I'm doing it all independently, I can only afford to do one card to start then more as I make some money back.

- Scott

UPDATE:

Got the first 1000 in, I'm really pleased with how they came out, I'll try to get a front/back view up as soon as I can.

As of this morning, they're being sold in two stores. With first day sales of..... 3 post cards!

I'm actually pretty pumped I already sold a few, thats a good start.

- Scott

awesome!
I got my business cards in today.
The front is too dark (usable, but not what I wanted) and the back's too light.

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

awesome!
I got my business cards in today.
The front is too dark (usable, but not what I wanted) and the back's too light.

I know the feeling, I almost clipped my email address off my business card... I didn't leave enough bleed room. They're useable, but certainly not exactly what I wanted.

Thats partly why I'm so ecstatic about the post cards, I have a 1000 of 'em now and I can't find any fault. It was my first time ever converting to CMYK and the image is mostly green (river scene) so I was definitely pretty worried about the color.

- Scott

I'll have to check your printer out next time.

and tell me about the bleeds being a PITA... Vistaprint gives you a template with a safe mark and another bleed mark. I moved my edges in to the safe mark and there is more than enough room to have been out at their bleed mark. They are VERY usable, they look fantastic actually, it's just a bummer to have them not be 100% what I wanted. Especially when the 2 colors that are off are shades of gray, and one is too dark while the other is too light... . The bleeds is OK as I was too chicken, but that's better than losing part of a name/word/email.

Hey Scott. When you get them in let me know. I'll buy one. I live in Fayetteville. You take some kickass pics.

Originally Posted by Over Actor

Hey Scott. When you get them in let me know. I'll buy one. I live in Fayetteville. You take some kickass pics.

Thanks! And, do you mean the postcards? I have them, but I doubt it would be worth selling just one. But, if you PM me your address, I'll just send you one for free when I get a chance...

- Scott

I also added some updates on how the cards are doing to the first post... I plan to update that whenever anything new happens (new card design, purchase, etc.)...

- Scott

Dayumn, you've already sold 90? Within what time period?

Originally Posted by tardypizza

Dayumn, you've already sold 90? Within what time period?

I guess around a month. But, those numbers should be explained...

The way I sell them is I show the store owner one and ask them if they're interested.if they want to buy some, I sell them to at a flat rate of $.25/each and the store then sets their own price which $.50 seems to be the norm.

With that said, I've sold 90 in the sense that one store bought 50 to start off and the other bought 40. So, actual sales are probably much lower than that but I'll find out for sure when I go back to the mountains this coming week and check on the stores to see. Also, I'm hoping to get at least one more place to sell them while home. Although, I really don't need to worry about it as this isn't the real season for selling something like a postcard... the goal is to have them several places before next summer when the real tourist season comes.

- Scott

Originally Posted by Stime187

With that said, I've sold 90 in the sense that one store bought 50 to start off and the other bought 40. So, actual sales are probably much lower than that
- Scott

No, they're not. Your sales are actually 90 cards.

At this point you are a distributor, not a re-seller, so any movement of product is a plus on your books. You have your cost for production and your mark up to your re-sellers. As long as you get paid and cover your costs, it doesn't matter what the stores charge or sell on their end. Of course you hope they charge the average rate for postcards so that your volume is kept up, but at this point just relish in the fact that your product is available and selling to the public at large.

Originally Posted by tardypizza

No, they're not. Your sales are actually 90 cards.

At this point you are a distributor, not a re-seller, so any movement of product is a plus on your books. You have your cost for production and your mark up to your re-sellers. As long as you get paid and cover your costs, it doesn't matter what the stores charge or sell on their end. Of course you hope they charge the average rate for postcards so that your volume is kept up, but at this point just relish in the fact that your product is available and selling to the public at large.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I'll start looking at it like that.

And really, any money I make on the cards is just icing on the cake... my main goal is to get my name/website out there as my info is on the back of every card. If I manage to sell the 1000, I'm willing to bet something more profitable might come out of at least 1 of those.

- Scott

I'll pm you my address thats what I meant yeah I'd like one of the post cards but you take kickass photos.

Actually are you selling them for .25c a piece? I might buy a bunch of them and send them to all of my friends in Iraq with a return address for cindy sheehan thanking them for their service or something so the hajis go after her haha

Originally Posted by Over Actor

I'll pm you my address thats what I meant yeah I'd like one of the post cards but you take kickass photos.

Actually are you selling them for .25c a piece? I might buy a bunch of them and send them to all of my friends in Iraq with a return address for cindy sheehan thanking them for their service or something so the hajis go after her haha

If you'd like to do that, just let me know how many you want and we'll add whatever it costs to send a small photo mailer type thing ($2.50 or so) to the cost of the cards. I'll send you one either way, but let me know on that.

And, I'm glad you enjoy the shots... always great to hear that!

- Scott

Originally Posted by Stime187

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I'll start looking at it like that.

Remember that, I'm rarely wrong.

Originally Posted by Stime187

And really, any money I make on the cards is just icing on the cake... my main goal is to get my name/website out there as my info is on the back of every card. If I manage to sell the 1000, I'm willing to bet something more profitable might come out of at least 1 of those.

- Scott

That reminds me, I'm going to do a shameless copy/paste of a great thread over at texasphotoforum on the value of photography. Stime, your work is worth way more than 25 cents a postcard, but I see where you're coming from.

Originally Posted by tardypizza

Stime, your work is worth way more than 25 cents a postcard, but I see where you're coming from.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm hoping I might can make a decent little income selling the cards eventually... once have 10 or so out there... I've already pretty much finished the next two that I'm going to put out, I just can't quite afford to spend the $160 it would cost to have them printed just yet.

- Scott

Have you sold many of your prints? I sent a link to your site to my wife and she has found a few she likes.

I think the macro of the leaf with the water drops on it would be killer.
I have a few friends that are real estate agents and they send post cards to people all the time I'll show them your work maybe they'll buy a bunch of them.

Originally Posted by Over Actor

Have you sold many of your prints? I sent a link to your site to my wife and she has found a few she likes.

I think the macro of the leaf with the water drops on it would be killer.

I'm not sure exactly, but I've probably sold 30 or so. They haven't been up for sale for all that long though... but if you and your wife are interested in one, just shoot me an email and we can talk about it. Is the one you're referring to "Rain Jewels"? Someone ordered a 12x18 of that a couple weeks ago, looked really damn good (and thats not just me saying it as the photographer who took it, okay, maybe a little )

Originally Posted by Over Actor

I have a few friends that are real estate agents and they send post cards to people all the time I'll show them your work maybe they'll buy a bunch of them.

Thanks, dude! I really appreciate it. Actually, a real estate office in western NC has two 16x24s of mine on their walls so if they need anything like that, I'd be glad to talk to them about it.

- Scott

Update? How has this worked out for you Scott?

Same as my prints. The potential is there, I just haven't had/taken the time to get them out there. Probably made about $40 on them total. Still have a lot from the original 1000. That and more importantly my prints are a major spring project for me.

Originally Posted by jjswee

Scott - Just to let you know, your signature already has "-Scott" in it, so when you type it in manually, we get told your name twice.

Edit- oh, this was a huge bump from the past. Neeevermind. Still funny though.

I'll give you the password to my account if you'd like to go back and change the ~2000+ posts like that, I'm sure as heck not touching it.

Mail me one.

Will do. I gave out all the ones I had here in Raleigh, but I'll grab a few on my way to Colorado tomorrow when I head through my hometown.

I truly envy you Scott...

Originally Posted by Stime187

Will do. I gave out all the ones I had here in Raleigh, but I'll grab a few on my way to Colorado tomorrow when I head through my hometown.

What is happening in Colorado? You taking a vacation to Mountaineer and Shoot?

Originally Posted by MK19

I truly envy you Scott...

+1
If I had been into Photography in college, I would have taken photo/camping trips at every break I could.

Originally Posted by thomps6s

If I had been into Photography in college, I would have taken photo/camping trips at every break I could.

I was and still didn't as much as I should have. I really wish he had DSLRs back then, I can only imagine how much more I would have shot.

Originally Posted by thomps6s

What is happening in Colorado? You taking a vacation to Mountaineer and Shoot?

Hell yes! I can't wait.

9 days to shoot landscapes and solo winter 14ers in the Rockies? Yes, please. Might even be able to get in some ice climbing if I run across some partners...

Originally Posted by Stime187

Hell yes! I can't wait.

9 days to shoot landscapes and solo winter 14ers in the Rockies? Yes, please. Might even be able to get in some ice climbing if I run across some partners...

What tent and sleeping bag are you using?

Originally Posted by thomps6s

What tent and sleeping bag are you using?

Cheap REI two-man, three-season tent and probably a MH 15* synthetic bag of some sort. If I bivvy out overnight on a route, I'll take a 0* down bag, my down parka, and no tent.

And, when I'm just camping at trailheads or whatever, if it's epically cold... I'll sleep in the car. Taking an Outback wagon.

Nice. Can't wait to see what you get.

Originally Posted by thomps6s

Nice. Can't wait to see what you get.

My expectations are pretty low. But the potential for something really special is definitely there.

I feel I do my best work in the mountains because I'm so happy there. Seems like it really comes through in my work.

Originally Posted by Stime187

My expectations are pretty low. But the potential for something really special is definitely there.

I feel I do my best work in the mountains because I'm so happy there. Seems like it really comes through in my work.

I will agree, but your streams and other work is nothing to bark at.

Originally Posted by thomps6s

I will agree, but your streams and other work is nothing to bark at.

Which would make sense... if someone asked me what two elements I love in a landscape, the answer would be high mountains and running water. That's why I get depressed when I'm alone in the desert, it's beautiful, but I need something else (like another person) to make me happy there. I don't need that in the mountains, though another person or persons to share it with can be a wonderful experience.

Originally Posted by Stime187

Which would make sense... if someone asked me what two elements I love in a landscape, the answer would be high mountains and running water. That's why I get depressed when I'm alone in the desert, it's beautiful, but I need something else (like another person) to make me happy there. I don't need that in the mountains, though another person or persons to share it with can be a wonderful experience.

Kinda the same for me, I love being next to the water, any source of water.

I love piles of frozen water on steep inclines myself.

I also love the ocean, but it gets old in terms of photography options after a while...

Originally Posted by jacobsen1

I love piles of frozen water on steep inclines myself.

Me too! I need to get back into skiing. I'm sure I will once I get out west permanently.