| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| earthyvirgo |
How much would you pay (approx) for a greetings cardA hypothetical question to a large degree I imagine, as so many people here are more than likely to make their own BUT, if you were going to buy an 'artist's' card, with envelope, to send to a special someone, (or frame, or whatever) what price would you expect/be willing to pay for it.I'm currently costing producing some of my original prints as cards and some sort of inkling would be useful. I occasionally splash out on the odd one here and there simply because I fall in love with the work. Costs seem to be anything from £1.50 upwards, which seems like a quite a lot but my research so far is showing that they're going to cost me a fair few pence each. Any thoughts much appreciated. EV |
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| Effie |
I think the more 'arty' cards sold by greetings card shops and the like can anything up to the £2.75 mark.
I think the thing with yours is that they are the kind you'd keep, and pin up or put on the fridge to look at after getting one. (As opposed to the tat category of greeting card which gets recycled after checking who it is from) I want you to do them so I can not send them to people, but have them for me. So, I'm biased 
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| Louisdog |
When I buy cards, if I get one for just a quid, that's cheap, but I almost always have to pay £1.50 for a bog standard mass produced one - so I imagine yours should definitely retail for at least that much, and you do see cards for as much as £3.50 so really good ones ought to command a better price.
Cheers Alex |
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| earthyvirgo |
Thanks Effie. You are biased but I really appreciate the support and feedback. In fact, in return for your encouragement and "go do it woman" attitude, I might have to send you a few free samples to say thank you 
EV |
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| tahir |
Re: How much would you pay (approx) for a greetings cardI reckon you might be better off working with a card maker that does cards for wedding invites etc. You could submit a folio of images to choose from that you'd then get printed and delivered to the card maker. The missus has a mate who specialises in weddings if you need to chat to someone. |
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| Ian33568 |
I think the question you should be asking yourself is what market are you aiming for?....
If you want mass market - i.e. turn them out cheap - sell many then price as low as possible - sales outlets might be difficult unless you are prepared to hawk them round yourself. If you want the more 'special occasion' or one-off card then package it well and market it appropriately. Either option (or both) would need costing out to cover costs and get at least 100% mark-up. (IMHO) Good luck. |
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| earthyvirgo |
Re: How much would you pay (approx) for a greetings card
Thanks Tahir. I'm currently having a bit of a crack at that too. Sending a couple of samples to 'arty' publishers and the likes. Getting them printed myself, Abacus still seems to be the best of the bunch ...based in Fee's home ground, Ulverston. EV |
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
I have just had a quick look on Etsy and the first I came accross was £9 for 12 (14cm x 10cm) which I thought was a very low price
the next one was about £7 for 3 cards (5 3/4 inches square). Lots of variation 
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| earthyvirgo |
Definitely not mass market Ian. More for folk who can't quite afford original art, just yet. I'd use them for promotional purposes too, use them as exhibition invites etc - I'm also sounding out the handful of galleries who have my original work, to see if they'll buy direct, or want sale or return. Lots to think about but I'm feeling pretty positive and determined
EV |
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| resistance is fertile |
We buy cards as corporate greetings, thank yous, invitations and announcements so working with a printer that would allow our message to be included makes alot of sense.
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| Chez |
£3.50-ish doesn't make me wince at all. More than £4 does, a bit; but I'm quite tight 
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| earthyvirgo |
Really useful ...Abacus are pretty flexible in this area. They'll pop a logo and text on the inside or back and they'll take it off half way through a print run which is pretty useful if you want some as invites and some 'blanks'. EV |
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| resistance is fertile |
I forgot to say, we often get ours done through a charity (Unicef or amigos) and I would always be happy to pay more if a bit goes that way.
I have a good friend who is in an excellent printing business (and they do alot of cards) if you PM me the details I will get a quote if you like. |
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| earthyvirgo |
Flip me, Chez ... must be my Cardiganshire upbringing!!!. Deep pockets and all that. I dither over £1.65, having said that, I'm just looking at a couple at £1.95 that I bought a little while back - but they were exquisite
EV |
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| stumbling goat |
£2.99.
i would readily pay £2.99 for a nice hand made card. kj |
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| Chez |
But remember that you are going to be selling to people who *don't* come from Cardiganshire .
It's the whole 'are The Arts worthwhile?' discussion, isn't it? You're not just selling them a card - you are selling them your time, your skill and your creative energy. People who appreciate that will be prepared to pay. If you are going to sell online, then you will have access to a wide market of people, some of whom will be prepared to pay what you are worth. If you are going to sell in galleries, you will be preaching to the converted. And if you are going to sell in local shops, you will be selling to tourists who will be looking to take home mementos of their holiday and price will be less of an issue. Don't undervalue yourself 
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| Louisdog |
That's a really good point Chez - on holiday, in the right little shop, I would definitely pay much more for a special card
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| Bebo |
Anywhere between 2.50 and 4.50 depending upon the card | ||||
| Frewen Feltmaker |
Personally - about £2 unless there was an exceptional reason when I might go to £3 | ||||
| Effie |
I'm really impressed how proactive you are being in getting your work out there. It can be really hard work trying to sell yourself, but your work is really worth getting out there as it is amazing. |
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| sueshells |
Agree with SB - £2.75/£2.95/£3.25 for a good quality, well printed card depending on size. The materials are very important to me - decent, heavy card and smart envelope. | ||||
| welsh veg grower |
How about £2.00 and a jar of onion marmalade
Sure they will be lovely and to be honest I think it depends on the galary / shop. A little one of the beaten track maybe £2.50/ £2.75 but others £3-£4. Must talk to you about some we have moved house cards
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| earthyvirgo |
Thanks for you feedback everyone - that's been really interesting and helpful.
Looks like something worth doing. Next job is to work out how many I need to sell to cover my costs, then get my selling hat (Frewen, do you do 'Selling hats'?) on and ring the 3 galleries where my work currently is and ask them how many they'd like ... not if they want them
Diolch yn fawr EV |
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| Chez |
That's it, get going, that woman
Also, what about local theatres and Arts Centres? |
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| vegplot |
They don't come available for sale very often but good profit margin in the right market.
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| woodsprite |
Realistically I would baulk at paying more than £3 for a card but anything up to that is fine.
FWIW I would consider approaching your local tourist Info office, ours sells loads of local artists cards/postcards and holds the occasional exhibition of works too. Arts centres are fab, they are always looking for work to exhibit, the cards on sale alongside go like hot cakes and the occasional piece of art is sold to. I know a couple of galleries in Ludlow ( very touristy, high footfall but also reasonably wealthy and arty locals) and I would be more than willing to help in anyway I can locally. This gallery is also good, sells lots of cards/postcards as well as original stuff, has quite a following. It's on the black & white villages trail. http://www.oldchapelgallery.co.uk/ |
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| Fee |
Re: How much would you pay (approx) for a greetings card
How funny! I would pay anything to about £3.50, perhaps push £4 depending on the card, FWIW. |
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| earthyvirgo |
Yes miss
Oriel Tegfryn - yes Galeri, Betws y coed - yes, but they're gonna haggle for a low price, I can feel it Royal Cambrian Academy - yes Oriel Bangor - yes, more than likely, bring in to show us Oriel Môn - quite likely, send us some screenshots of your work So, no no's out of the first (easy) targets. Can I do the Theatres etc another day Chez? Doing that lot has got me all hyper, but happy hyper
EV |
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| Fee |
I've bought cards from the Ucheldre centre in Holyhead before, might be worth an ask there too?
http://www.ucheldre.org/ |
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| earthyvirgo |
Oh yes, thanks Fee, I'd forgotten Ucheldre. There's Plas Glyn y Weddw on the Llyn Pensinsula too .... I'll add them both to list No. 2. EV |
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| sarahloo |
I sell handmade cards at £2.50 each or 5 for £10. Mostly at art markets and craft fairs. My costs are low - probably less than 50p per card, but it takes a fair bit of time because I do all the cutting and sticking myself (I enjoy cutting and sticking though)... |