Simply Religious Print for Sale on eBay
I'll be experimenting with alternate methods of selling prints over the next few months. One method I'll be pursuing is via eBay. I've started by listing one of my photos for sale as a signed and limited edition print. I'll be adding new items every week or so, and after a few months I'll share what I've learned.
In the meantime, if you're interested in acquiring a print, check out my latest offering. I've started the listing at $470, which is lower than what I would typically ask. I'm offering this particular print at any size up to 36 inches, signed, and limited to 30. So if you want it, get on it!
Simply Religious on eBay
Johnny Malkavian
June 8, 2008I was just thinking of doing something like that myself a few days back. Good luck on your sale!
John Milleker
June 8, 2008Good luck Brian, I’ll be keeping an eye on your experiences with the auction. I have thought of eBay before but didn’t think an auction would make it to many fine art buyers – just people looking for pictures of Jesus on a piece of toast.
As for selling a print only, I would think a presentation of printf/frame would be best for the fine-art eBay crowd (if they exist) and perhaps invite buyers to contact you regarding print-only sales if that is what they want. Of course you would have to make it clear that you would set up a private auction for the buyer and stay within the realms of eBay as per the ToS. Of course, a frame sale would mean more shipping, figuring out how to handle glass (let the customer purchase their own?) and worrying about the customer pulling apart the frame to insert glass. Maybe a statement along the lines of ‘Frame, mat and print are warrantied against defects only if glass is installed by a professional framing business’.
Brian Auer
June 8, 2008I’ve often contemplated over the framing thing. It definitely makes life more difficult when trying to ship things, but I also leave it out because I want to allow buyers to frame according to their needs. To tell you the truth, if I’m buying a piece of art I’d want to frame it myself so I can match it to wherever I’m placing it. Maybe it’s just me though — you could be 100% right about ebay buyers wanting the whole package.
Stephen gray
June 9, 2008Very cool. I’m definitely interested in eBay as a photo-sales option and learning more about your experiences there.
One thing that always confuses me, however, is the use of the term “limited” or “limited edition” in the digital age. There’s really no actual limiting factor when dealing with digital photos and printing. I mean, even a good negative can be scanned and then reproduced in large numbers. So how do we as photographers define this? What are our responsibilities or requirements when using such terms? (I’ll be honest, not understand this–along with a severe lack of time due to a show I’m currently working on–was a big factor that kept me from submitting to the recent Fine Art Photoblog call for entries.)
As a consumer, if I’m buying something that’s touted as “limited”, then it comes with the expectation that what I’m buying will remain scarce. After 30, you’ll not sell this photo again or is there some other caveat involved?
No criticism here, I’m just trying to learn the ins and outs of this stuff.
thejdawg
June 9, 2008Good luck on ebay. I tried selling a few photographs last year and only managed 1 sale. Most of my sales have come through my personal site, etsy and galleryxchange.
Brian Auer
June 9, 2008Stephen, that’s a great question you’ve asked — I’ll cover it in a dedicated blog post so others can join the discussion.
franco
October 15, 2008selling and buying for ebay can be very stressful, any auction can be cancelled at any time if the reserve price isnt met, you just have to know where to look and what to look for, there are all types of great deals out there.
heather
October 28, 2008i completely agree, working with Ebay you cant expect to just be handed money. Do research and see what people are looking for and how much they are paying for it! Its quite easy to make money on Ebay if you use your time appropriately.
allen
October 30, 2008Ebay has opened doors for many types of businesses relying solely on internet purchasing. Craigslist has evolved hugely and so has amazon with their selling of products and now i think they have added auctions to their site. I must say i have transfered to craigslist over ebay because of I can get what i need in a close location! but its all thanks to ebay!!
Jeff
February 28, 2009Ebay is a good way of finding customers, and I mean customers all over the world, This is one good thing about globalization. Small businesses and niche businesses can strive.