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Selling Greeting Cards Through Stores
by Jo O'BrienRecently the topic of selling greeting cards out in the real world has come up in the forums. Having sold greeting cards before throug…
Recently the topic of selling greeting cards out in the real world has come up in the forums. Having sold greeting cards before through shops and at markets, my humble opinion and experience may be of interest. I’ve got a lot to say on this one so I’ll use headings :) Be a Business- Not Just an Artist / What I mean by this is consider yourself a business supplier and demonstrate a level of professionality. Yes it is great if you promote the artistic merits of your work but greeting cards are a very common product and so being organised with an ABN, professional looking invoices, online ordering facilities, fast turn around etc will put you ahead of the (always growing) pack. Like all good businesses, know your strengths and show them off. Provide Good Quality Products / It might sound obvious (I hope it does) but when people are starting out in business they tend to cut corners. In the greeting card business quality is a big deal. This is where RedBubble becomes a huge advantage because the quality of the card printing is so exceptional. Packaging is Important / Have you considered what your cards will look like after 20 or so customers have handled them? Some people like the ‘no plastic’ look and who am I to tell them otherwise. I always individually wrap my cards and make sure that if the packaging prevents the card being openned, that “Blank Card” is printed either on the individual packaging or nearby signage. If you put together gift packs, wrap them beautifully and make sure people know what images they are getting in the pack. / My little tip: leave one copy of each card unwrapped on display and when you check up with the store, see which ones are the grubbiest to identify the favourites Displaying your wares / The things people want to see are the images, the quality and the price. Where possible I use clear perspex stands that do not cover the front of the card. By leaving a few sample cards out of their packaging people can pick them up and feel them to check the quality. I also make sure each card has a visible price on it, on the back, on a removable sticker. Some hints would be not to have too many of a particular card out on display at once. Keep a box of ‘top up’ cards out of sight. If you have a series that belongs together, display them together and perhaps highlight them with different packaging or a small separate display rack. Cards should be displayed with the image facing the right way up where possible. Always put your name and contact details on your card stands- so often they ‘magically disappear.’ And if you are providing your own stands, try to ‘claim’ the space so that other people’s cards don’t get put in over the top of yours. This can be hard to police but for example, having “Cards by Artist ABC” on your stand makes it harder for the retailer to stick any old stuff in there. Get Your Pricing Right / Like all things business, a lot of small shops will heckle with you over money and prices. My advice to you? Know what price you want and stick to it. Think about it in perspective, in a typical shop, greeting cards will be close to the cheapest item in there. If the business can’t fork out $30 to try 10 cards then you don’t want to be doing business with them! But also think realistically about your prices. Most retailers will start saying ‘no thanks’ at about $4 a card so to make RedBubble cards (with a base price of up to $3.50) a financially viable option you need to sell them as premium art cards worth that extra dollar or two. Considering the quality of them, I believe this is possible. Depending on where you sell them, you could get $4 to $8 or even more per card. It will depend on the clientele for that particular store. / Common Mistake: Too many people give their cards different prices when in the eye of the customer they all look pretty much the same. If you want to have a premium range, make it obvious Profite Margins / I should add as a separate but related point, most stores will want to mark up by about 100% on greeting cards. Most people sell there cards for a set wholesale price and then let the store charge whatever they like. The only time in my opinion, you should intervene is if you seriously believe they have overpriced them to such a point that they are not affordable. But think about it before setting your price. If you ask for $4 per card, can the store onsell them for $7.95? How to actually get them into stores / Here’s an idea for you- send them a card! Of course a rigorous follow up would be required. I would ‘door to door’ with a small sample or my stuff and it worked really well. I also had a bit of a tactic. I’d show a selection of cards worth $20 total. Then when they fell in love with a couple I’d say. “How about you buy this $20 worth from me right now and you keep that one you like for yourself, I’ll replace it with this one” Then I’d pull some other random card out of my bag and add it to the pile. Worked 9 out of 10 times. The other thing I did was band together with a fellow card maker (she did printed ones, I did handmade) so that we could show a greater range and cut our door knocking time in half. Can I also suggest not interrupting businesses during busy periods such as weekends or lunch hours. That happens to me in the gallery all the time and it’s a real pain. Also, if you’re talking to staff and their phone rings or a customer comes in, invite them to deal with the more important thing first and come back to you. Rotate Your Stock / Basically, if it isn’t selling, get rid of it yourself before the store owner decides to get rid of you! I’m exaggerating but the point it still valid. People will stop looking if your display always looks the same so keep it chaging. Make a fuss. If you have a new range, stick a sign up saying “New Farm Yard Range On Sale Now.” And remember, what works well in one store may go really badly in another so if it’s not selling, try somewhere else rather then giving up and throwing the lot in the bin! Consignment / This is particularly just my opinion but I’m against consignment on cards. Especially if you give a choice of what is ordered. Seriously, cards cost so little compared to other things, if a store can’t find $50 somewhere to buy some outright, there is something suss about that right away. It might be good to offer consignment on your first batch which will encourage the store to stock your stuff but don’t get into a habit of it. I would drop off say 50 cards and get someone to sign a consignment form saying how many they were given. Then after a few weeks I would go back, count them up and invoice for however many were missing. Then I’d also give them the choice of buying the remaining ones, or me taking them back. Most would swap a few that they didn’t like and then buy up. Payments / Again I hope this sounds obvious but ask to be paid. So many people get lost in a world of politeness and assume that eventually someone will do the right thing, Most small businesses using MYOB or QuickBooks accounting software will automatically lodge your invoices to be paid within 30 days. Agree on your terms and then chase up late payments. No need to be mean or nasty but a follow up letter and then a follow up phone call is fair enough. Also, be flexible in how you can be paid. Some businesses do everything with a cheque (or for you Americans, a “check”), others will rely on Direct Debit. So know how the business wants to pay you and don’t make it hard for them! Promote your Cards / The beauty of RedBubble cards is they have the URL of your portfolio on the back which shows off all of your work. But also remember to promote your cards out in the real world. Recently I bought a bunch of RedBubble cards and gave them all to friends. The response was amazing. They all got online to find more! Next step for me is to buy a bunch of my own cards and find excuses to give them to people. webgrrl had this awesome idea too. The cards really do speak for themselves so get them into circulation. - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - So if anyone is still breathing after reading all that, I hope you found it useful! / I do tend to ramble when it comes to retail related things- it’s my passion in life.
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Mixed medium collage on various papers. Photograph of bird’s nest printed on Japanese rice paper with gouache staining and chinese calligraphy. Red square collage with bird head. Japanese block printed tree paper. Two leaves collaged onto Kinwashi paper. A fortune reads ” A pleasant surprise is in store for you”. The characters mean: love, trust, dream, and fortune.
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Langfords Store – Bainham / Historic General Store and Post Office, located in the beautiful Aorere Valley, the Gateway to the Heaphy Track, South Island New Zealand. / From toffee to t-shirts Storekeeping was no new venture for Eleanor, wife of Edward Bates Langford, when Langford’s Store opened in 1928. Prior to their 1900 Boxing Day marriage she had worked in her parent’s ‘Waimea Road tuck shop’ for Nelson College. / When E.B.L. relinquished dairy farming to become Postmaster in 1924 and began selling stationery to go with the stamps, he invested in a printing press, while Eleanor sold her famous homemade toffee. After trying unsuccessfully to persuade the Government to finance a Post Office to replace the locally-owned building, he turned his attention to retailing. / Lorna Langford began working for her grandfather in 1947, in the days of tinned loose biscuits and vinegar in wooden casks. She continued to work in the store until 2008, when Sukhita Langford took on the position of Storekeeper and Postmistress. Today’s shopper is likely to be a Heaphy Track tramper wanting insect repellent or postcards for home. / Enjoy delicious tea and coffee served with sublime sweet treats whilst you write a postcard home and soak up the sunshine and surrounding scenery. / Open: / 10am – 6pm Mon to Fri (during winter months) / 8am – 6pm Mon to Sun (during summer months / This image was taken on film and reworked in PS. / Enjoy /
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Perfect gift for those who love gardens, or owns a greenhouse.
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Exactly the way it looks…it was a busy shopping day and I peeped into the PRADA store in Soho, NYC and captured this one. :) Sold 1 matted print to a RedBubbler.
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“Caffee Grocery” appeared as the Avatar for the group “Rural America” 4/08. / !
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one of the few times I was actually glad somebody got in the way of my shot! totally adds to the hustle n’ bustle feel of NYC :)
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I took this shot today while I was at Enniskillen Orchard in the Grose Vale region of the Hawkesbury district.. / The orchard is located on the Sydney Farm Gate Trail. It is a wonderful place and the nostalgic country-style shed really sets the scene for an orchard.. / Hopefully one day soon I will get the opportunity to photograph some of the wonderful sights that can be found in the orchard itself.. / I would definitely have to encourage anyone passing through, or living in, the Hawkesbury to drop in and try some of the local produce, it is a great place.. / I couldnt really think of a title for this one so any suggestions would be great, and as usual comments are more then welcome :) / Thanks for having a look!! Best viewed LARGE! Uploaded 13/02/2008
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This was taken on a walk through the back streets of Nimes in France. It had so much atmosphere, you could picture horse drawn carriages and crinoline dressed ladies Featured in Full Frontal Facades Group 7/4/09
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Old Bethpage Village – Oct 2008, handheld, hdr
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2007 – NJ – HDR
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Oct 2008 – HDR – It almost has a mystical look. Like these brooms should fly or something. / Suburban Scenes by Mike Savad
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www.archann.net Produced for the Just Jam Collective
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A display that cost. 1799.99:) as is image:)) from The Sony DSC H 7 Butterfly Estates Garden store fort Myers, Florida AVATAR of the Week at Peace love Tranquility June 8 2009 and sold! to the beautiful amanda witt won a top spot in a challenge at just Butterflies
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same as previous upload
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Voice Box (The Music Machine)... after all, most music starts off here! My entry for the Music Machine challenge. Details: /
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humm .. one of the best type ? ... yeah … one of the best type :-)
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Asheville, NC. Olympus E-3. Zuiko SWD 12-60mm @90mm. B+W CP. ISO 100.
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One Store - Five Winners - One Hundred Shirts
by RedBubbleRight, please stop biting your nails, Demo have made their selection. I can try and get you all worked up with some excellent words bu…
Right, please stop biting your nails, Demo have made their selection. I can try and get you all worked up with some excellent words but as you can already see the winners below, I’ll just ask you to excitedly wave your arms in the air for goaferboy, douglasbot, Greg Wade, rubyred and Naf4d. Good work peoples, your shirts will soon be hanging in the delightful Carnaby Street. Look here see: You can view all the excellent entries from the competition here. One of our best yet I reckon. Happy Wednesday. Minister of Shirts
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The hole in this paint with all the cracks reminded me of a heart and veins..the is a wall on a very old antique store. Nikon D90 / 18-200 mm VR Lens
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Best on Full Size Image taken at Old Bedford Village, Bedford, Pennsylvania on October 10, 2009. There’s a wonderful sense of having stepped back in time here. Camera used Nikon D300, 18-200mm vr Nikon lens, shutter 1/250, ap f/10.0, exp 0.00, iso 640. Post processing included a light hdr from a single hand held image duped to evals of -2 and -4; a faint Orton; dodging, burning and a texture. My thanks to Ghostbones at Flickr for the texture.
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The Selfridges building in Birmingham / Taken with a Pentax K100D and 18-55 lens / /
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