Fine art / decor sales - Selling More From Less

An Inkjet NEWS & TIPS article by Royce Bair for 2006 Oct 19

About 25 years ago I became acquainted with a photographer / artist that was making a good living from just four (4) images that he sold through a handful of picture framing shops across the country. Every few weeks he'd spend a few hours in the darkroom and make about a hundred 11x14 B/W prints from four different negatives. He'd then ship these off to his dealers, who sold them for him on commission.

This artist went to only one or two outdoor art shows a year, with a much larger inventory, and with the purpose to find out which images were most popular with the public. He'd use this once or twice a year sales "field trip" just to test the market and update his offering of 4 top sellers. After reviewing his sales at the art show(s), he'd add one or two new images to see if these sold better than any of his existing top 4 sellers. This way, he was able to make sure that his top 4 sellers remained current with public tastes and trends.

I asked him why he didn't expand his offering of images to his dealers (rather than just updating and replacing), and he said that he could make more money with much less effort by focusing on just those top 4 sellers. I've never forgotten that lesson.

NOTE: The above article may have links to Inkjetart.com web pages when referring to certain inkjet products. While InkjetBuzz.com is NOT associated with Inkjetart.com, many of the articles found in this section originated from Inkjetart.com news letters, which were written by Royce Bair, a private consultant.