Forum: Community Center


Subject: Digital Art Prints!! Coming July 1st!

ClintH opened this issue on Jun 23, 2002 ยท 68 posts


hauksdottir posted Tue, 25 June 2002 at 6:30 AM

I will have to step in here. For more than 16 years, I sold prints of my own work at Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions all over North America. (Don't get me started on customs... and Canada is supposed to be a friendly neighbor.) My price range on prints was $3 to $50, more for hand-colored, well within the fannish budget. I know something about inventory and record-keeping... useful when being audited. I also sold the originals at Art Shows. Patricia Davis is a member here, and she can certainly confirm what I say about this enterprise, because she was also selling prints from her dealer's table and originals in the art shows... and for probably as long a period of time. We know what it is like to be burned, and to burn out as both producer and proprietor of our own businesses. If you allow returns on prints, I'll buy stock in Kinko's and KwiK Copy Center. With the enhanced state of color photocopying, people will not only xox the print, they'll probably make copies for all their buddies, too. Even the cheap places can do a good enough job. If you hold returned prints in the hopes of selling them at a later convention, you will have to deal with inventory at the end of your fiscal year, as well as the hassle of shipping and displaying them properly. You are already dealing with some inventory in the form of hats and t-shirts, but that is your own merchandise... you don't have obligations to other people for its display and sale. You are probably going to subtract production costs before sharing any proceeds with the artist. You should specify up front what all those costs are going to include, and a likely amount. Are the sales going to be handled as royalties? Or what? There are slightly different tax treatments (the numbers go on different forms at tax-time). Are you going to provide statements/checks on a monthly or quarterly basis? This isn't meant to discourage you, but to let you know that there are issues which ought to be recognized and addressed before you throw the doors open. Carolly