ot: where should i sell my art?
Grygon
finished I'd like to sell prints, tees, etc of it like CafePress.com does.
But what on-line source is the best for doing this? Any advice, suggestions
GREATLY appreciated. I've never sold my art before like this.
Otter
I suggest at least starting with FurBid: http://furbid.ws/
That's the easiest way to begin. And it provides some guage as to
what to charge for your works if you ever decide to go to direct sales
by setting up a web site from which to deal your wares.
Give FurBid a try. It's free and easy to use.
-- Otter
M.e.W.
"Otter" <Secret...@SoftHome.net> wrote in message
news:ebo0ku4cd05sb5ep2...@4ax.com...
Yes Furbid is a good place to start. Just don't expect to sell anything for
a big price. Usually prints don't get over twenty unless they are from a big
name.
I'd sell stuff there but I easily can find a better price elsewhere, like
private collectors. Also if you have a web site you can set up a sale page.
You might want to get linked up with some good sites so you get a lot of
traffic. If you get say 100 hits a day or week at least one of them will
most likely buy something.
> Give FurBid a try. It's free and easy to use.
I need to chart when is the best time to sell. There are definite highs and
lows. As far as I could tell is before a con and right after a con it's low.
There are several in between times that prices increase.
-MeW
cat
<MeW_arts@_bitty_hotmail.com> miaoued:
>
>"Otter" <Secret...@SoftHome.net> wrote in message
>news:ebo0ku4cd05sb5ep2...@4ax.com...
>>
>> I suggest at least starting with FurBid: http://furbid.ws/
>
>Yes Furbid is a good place to start. Just don't expect to sell anything for
>a big price. Usually prints don't get over twenty unless they are from a big
>name.
I wonder, does FurBid accept sculpture? I am coming out with a
line of figs and could use an extra market.
cat
Otter
>On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 23:13:31 -0700, "M.e.W."
><MeW_arts@_bitty_hotmail.com> miaoued:
>
>
> I wonder, does FurBid accept sculpture? I am coming out with a
>line of figs and could use an extra market.
>
Of course sculptures can be sold on FurBid, as long as they are
furry-related. They would simply go into the Plushes, Dolls and
Figurines category. If they show off the "naughty bits" though, you
would want to put them in the Yiffy Items category.
-- Otter
Posted and Emailed
cat
miaoued:
No naughty bits here. I don't do sculpts of politicians.
cat
Grygon
"Otter" <Secret...@SoftHome.net> wrote in message
news:ebo0ku4cd05sb5ep2...@4ax.com...
>
> That's the easiest way to begin. And it provides some guage as to
> what to charge for your works if you ever decide to go to direct sales
> by setting up a web site from which to deal your wares.
>
>
Ok, I'll see about it.
I make my own stuff, even the prints, and sell it there, right? They don't
take any profit and don't offer to make the prints for me?
How do I make prints...? I have several good printers and can buy
glossy-poster paper. Would that do? *blink*
I have a tee-shirt, mug, cap, mouse pad, puzzle, etc. maker here at home.
Thing is- time. I told my parents about cafepress and how they'll do all
the work for us and they flipped. "And what the freak did we buy that
system out there for, Grygon? *insert more bitching*." So I've opted to
not go to any places like that ... with them knowing, at least. *g*
Cerulean
>I have a tee-shirt, mug, cap, mouse pad, puzzle, etc. maker here at home.
>Thing is- time. I told my parents about cafepress and how they'll do all
>the work for us and they flipped. "And what the freak did we buy that
>system out there for, Grygon? *insert more bitching*." So I've opted to
>not go to any places like that ... with them knowing, at least. *g*
Well, yeah, I would say if you have the equipment to do it yourself
you should use it and pocket the money. With Cafe Press, you can make
a customer pay $20 for a shirt and get only $3 out of it... Heck, I
wish someone would create a similar business and undercut them;
competition is healthy.
--
___vvz /( Cerulean = Kevin Pease http://cerulean.st/
<__,` Z / ( DC2.~D GmAL~W-R+++Ac~J+S+Fr++IH$M-V+++Cbl,spu
`~~~) )Z) ( FDDmp4adwsA+++$C+D+HM+P-RT+++WZSm#
/ (7 ( hJJaLd-,,hemhue 6u!ua+s!7 s! auo-ou 'a)edS uI,,
cat
>Quoth Grygon:
>
>>I have a tee-shirt, mug, cap, mouse pad, puzzle, etc. maker here at home.
>>Thing is- time. I told my parents about cafepress and how they'll do all
>>the work for us and they flipped. "And what the freak did we buy that
>>system out there for, Grygon? *insert more bitching*." So I've opted to
>>not go to any places like that ... with them knowing, at least. *g*
>
>Well, yeah, I would say if you have the equipment to do it yourself
>you should use it and pocket the money. With Cafe Press, you can make
>a customer pay $20 for a shirt and get only $3 out of it... Heck, I
>wish someone would create a similar business and undercut them;
>competition is healthy.
Actually they would be hard to undercut given their overhead.
they get about what any T shirt printer would charge and don't have a
minimum. all in all a reasonable deal but still not as cheap as one
can do it at home if they have the gear.
Startups can be expensive. Just to make decals for my new
casts I have had to buy an ALPS MD printer (with THE most expensive
and non refillable print cartridges anywhere) and hideously overpriced
paper. Still it will be cheaper in the long run than sending my work
out to a commercial decal house who wants large quantities per order
(actually costing as much to order a 500 sheet minimum as does the
printer I bought). Of course this investment will be worth it IF I can
generate the artwork with enough quality (I am a TERRIBLE drawn
artist) and manage to get the machine and paper to work together
(notorious as a daunting task which some put in the ranks of
difficulty just below finding King Solomon's Mines)
No matter what, generating your own shirts, mugs, etc will be
a learning experience and, hopefully, a fun one.
cat
Grygon
"cat" <c...@consultant.com> wrote in message
news:l1t8ku4f2nrgleci0...@4ax.com...
> Actually they would be hard to undercut given their overhead.
> they get about what any T shirt printer would charge and don't have a
> minimum. all in all a reasonable deal but still not as cheap as one
> can do it at home if they have the gear.
> Startups can be expensive. Just to make decals for my new
> casts I have had to buy an ALPS MD printer (with THE most expensive
> and non refillable print cartridges anywhere) and hideously overpriced
> paper.
We have an ALPs... I can't recall which one though off hand (that system is
in another room, locked with an alarm in another building...).
What paper and what printer would you recommend for making prints? I'll go
out tomarrow and make a list of the names of the printers we have if that
will help.
> Of course this investment will be worth it IF I can
> generate the artwork with enough quality (I am a TERRIBLE drawn
> artist)
Have you considered taking a few art classes at your local tech school or
college? Might help. You have the want to draw, so learning the skills
shouldn't be too far behind if the teacher knows how to teach them.
> No matter what, generating your own shirts, mugs, etc will be
> a learning experience and, hopefully, a fun one.
>
I know how already, I just never have put my own stuff on them. We make
shirts etc. for other people. They give us a family photo or business icon
and we place it on a shirt or mouse pad.
Some people don't THINK about the photos they give us. One girl cut her mom
out of the photo, giving it a jagged edge and inconsistent background and
wanted a tee out of it. We get all sorts of strange things like that and
the product always looks like shit cause the photo did.
Tim Gadd
>
>"Otter" <Secret...@SoftHome.net> wrote in message
>news:ebo0ku4cd05sb5ep2...@4ax.com...
>>
>> I suggest at least starting with FurBid: http://furbid.ws/
>
>Yes Furbid is a good place to start. Just don't expect to sell anything for
>a big price. Usually prints don't get over twenty unless they are from a big
>name.
I've seen the most unbelievable crap sell there for more than $20 (maybe
they were big name artists. I dunno. I'd never heard of them.) I keep
thinking that one day I might just draw some stick figures or something and
try to sell it there. Someone would probably pay $10 for it if you said it
was a fox.
--
Tim Gadd | fluke .com.au
Hobart, Tasmania | @southcom
Homepage: http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/university/222/
'We see the moon but cannot remember its meaning.'
- Edward Brathwaite
cat
<GrygonL...@redeyeSPAMmail.com> miaoued:
>
>"cat" <c...@consultant.com> wrote in message
>news:l1t8ku4f2nrgleci0...@4ax.com...
>> Actually they would be hard to undercut given their overhead.
>> they get about what any T shirt printer would charge and don't have a
>> minimum. all in all a reasonable deal but still not as cheap as one
>> can do it at home if they have the gear.
>> Startups can be expensive. Just to make decals for my new
>> casts I have had to buy an ALPS MD printer (with THE most expensive
>> and non refillable print cartridges anywhere) and hideously overpriced
>> paper.
>
>
>We have an ALPs... I can't recall which one though off hand (that system is
>in another room, locked with an alarm in another building...).
I like them but it is getting tough to get supplies for them
(some of mine have to come from European sources) but their support is
excellent/ When asked about drivers for XP, they overnighted a CD of
them to me. Nice thing to do for a customer with an older model and,
since they are no longer sold in the US, not likely to buy a new one.
That is rare customer service.
>
>What paper and what printer would you recommend for making prints? I'll go
>out tomarrow and make a list of the names of the printers we have if that
>will help.
That would depend on the level of image quality you are
outputting as well as the overall colourtones involved.. I have had
the best results with Canon printers though others make good ones as
well (however beware of Lexmark or Compaq (also a Lexmark with a
different name) If possible use one of the "Photo" printers for their
more vivid colour and finer dot. Absolute best are the Dye Sublimation
or Laser printers but either is far from cheap. Occasionally you can
find an older colour laser for a not too horrible price if you check
around..
Choice of paper, like printers can start a brawl among the
various adherents. Generally a heavy glossy photo stock gives the
sharpest, brightest results and is what most artists prefer. There is
a wide variety of makers and stocks out there. If you can get some
sample sheets from a paper dealer to compare the results, p[lease do
so. It is such a subjective thing you really have to make the final
choice of specific stock yourself.
>
>> Of course this investment will be worth it IF I can
>> generate the artwork with enough quality (I am a TERRIBLE drawn
>> artist)
>
>Have you considered taking a few art classes at your local tech school or
>college? Might help. You have the want to draw, so learning the skills
>shouldn't be too far behind if the teacher knows how to teach them.
Oh, have I tried to learn(I have a degree in Studio Art and it
is embarrassing to have that and not be able to draw anything
recognizable). Jack Kirby, John Buscema, and DT Smithmeyer as well as
several college professors have tried to teach me to draw and none
have succeeded. I guess the difference between 3D (sculpture) and 2D
(drawing) is too big a gulf to span after this many years not doling
drawing. Recently Bernie Wrightson said the same thing but in reverse.
He complained though he was a major artist he couldn't sculpt worth a
darn. Maybe it has something to do with the regions of the brain and
how they develop. While some can do both, far more seem to be able to
do one and not the art. It is most annoying since i would like to draw
the Manga I write.
>
>
>> No matter what, generating your own shirts, mugs, etc will be
>> a learning experience and, hopefully, a fun one.
>>
>
>
>I know how already, I just never have put my own stuff on them. We make
>shirts etc. for other people. They give us a family photo or business icon
>and we place it on a shirt or mouse pad.
>
>Some people don't THINK about the photos they give us. One girl cut her mom
>out of the photo, giving it a jagged edge and inconsistent background and
>wanted a tee out of it. We get all sorts of strange things like that and
>the product always looks like shit cause the photo did.
Sounds like a job for Photoshop. I have found that is a great
substitute for talent in a photographer.
cat
M.e.W.
"Tim Gadd" <nota...@addy.com> wrote in message
news:XPtEPR+ei2=+FgvzCKb...@4ax.com...
>
> I've seen the most unbelievable crap sell there for more than $20 (maybe
> they were big name artists. I dunno. I'd never heard of them.) I keep
> thinking that one day I might just draw some stick figures or something
and
> try to sell it there. Someone would probably pay $10 for it if you said it
> was a fox.
Not so much recently since they cracked down on people fixing their prices
by bidding under false aliases. They rack the bid up then if they end up the
highest price they email the runner up and say they'll give them a deal.
Ebay has the same problem now and then.
-MeW _-_-*reporting from the day of hell*-_-_
Grygon
(snip)
I would like to continue the discussion of printers and paper in a week. I
copied the reply and sent it to my email, but is your email up there
correct? I will be on vacation till the 10th and will reply to it all then.
> >Some people don't THINK about the photos they give us. One girl cut her
mom
> >out of the photo, giving it a jagged edge and inconsistent background and
> >wanted a tee out of it. We get all sorts of strange things like that and
> >the product always looks like shit cause the photo did.
>
> Sounds like a job for Photoshop. I have found that is a great
> substitute for talent in a photographer.
>
We do Adobe some of them IF it won't take hours of work. But some of them
are helpless/hopeless and we don't charge nearly enough for those sorts of
hour to 3 hour fix-ups.
Plus, our machine out there is aging fast and is real slow. So it's a pain
to do anything aside from scan and print. This machine is fast, but I
refuse to move it out there where I wouldn't be able to access the internet
without going through the security and locks. O.o
Tim Gadd
wrote:
Even if that were true - and it may well be - it doesn't change the fact
that one of the two parties was still prepared to pay $20 for it. You can't
shill bid somebody up higher than they';re prepared to go.
M.e.W.
>
> Even if that were true - and it may well be - it doesn't change the fact
> that one of the two parties was still prepared to pay $20 for it. You
can't
> shill bid somebody up higher than they';re prepared to go.
That's part of my problem, it's not worth it to sell my art for twenty
bucks. I expect to at least get fifty for the simple pieces. At least my
stuff is better then a lot of things I see on sale. :)
-MeW
Otter
<MeW_arts@_bitty_hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>"Tim Gadd" <nota...@addy.com> wrote in message
>news:sUJKPZ5c2FAJoO...@4ax.com...
>>You shill bid somebody up higher than they';re prepared to go.
>
>That's part of my problem, it's not worth it to sell my art for twenty
>bucks. I expect to at least get fifty for the simple pieces. At least my
>stuff is better then a lot of things I see on sale. :)
>
One solution is to set a low minimum bid, just to get people to at
least look at your auction, but put a $50 reserve on it, and go ahead
and state somewhere in the listing what the reserve is. Then if
someone thinks the piece is worth that, they will meet the reserve.
Since there are no listing fees, unlike eBay, it's not that big a deal
to play with reserves and Buy It Now prices.
-- Otter
Tim Gadd
wrote:
>
I agree $20 is peanuts for a piece of good, original art that someone has
spent some time on. But it's still a lot of money for someone to pay for
real crap. And I've seen real crap go for a lot more than $20 on Furbid.
And when I say real crap, I don't just mean 'not of a really professional
standard', I mean stuff by people who plain can't draw.
M.e.W.
"Otter" <Secret...@SoftHome.net> wrote on gossamer wings and side of
pixie fries in message news:akrlkucaef9ullsk5...@4ax.com...
>
> One solution is to set a low minimum bid, just to get people to at
> least look at your auction, but put a $50 reserve on it, and go ahead
> and state somewhere in the listing what the reserve is. Then if
> someone thinks the piece is worth that, they will meet the reserve.
>
> Since there are no listing fees, unlike eBay, it's not that big a deal
> to play with reserves and Buy It Now prices.
Yes I've see the buy it now thing lately. I do have to say that peaked my
interest. I'll have to set some time aside and look it of in the FAQ.
I never seemed to get the reserve price thing to work. Would be nice if
there was a test page to play with different things on a template.
-MeW
M.e.W.
"Tim Gadd" <nota...@addy.com> unveiled all the knowledge of the great
Sizsnak in message news:hLVLPZmAj4v6tz...@4ax.com...
>
> I agree $20 is peanuts for a piece of good, original art that someone has
> spent some time on. But it's still a lot of money for someone to pay for
> real crap. And I've seen real crap go for a lot more than $20 on Furbid.
> And when I say real crap, I don't just mean 'not of a really professional
> standard', I mean stuff by people who plain can't draw.
I have to agree on that. I would never say that the person is a bad artist
but sometimes it seems the time spent on some of the pieces might have been
a coffee break. It could take me two to eight hours depending on the piece.
Watercolors I can spend a few days to do one piece well enough were I don't
crumble it up and toss it. That is if I have that amount of time. Oil
paintings take a long, long time, six months to dry properly. I've been
offered on the spot several hundred for an original oil painting before, so
to sell it for twenty doesn't seem worth it.
I seem to recall a mouse girl selling for thirty that was done in pencil on
lined notebook paper. My really old peice
http://www.mindsync.com/Electriclynx/img_paintNC.html didn't sell at all. Go
figure :/
-MeW