Looking for advice
May. 19th, 2008 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silverthorneFrom anyone who has tried to sell their art.
Okay. As everyone knows, I have a Cafepress account with a total of one print put up on various items. I've sold...a shirt and a mousepad (heh) in the past year and a half.
I am starting to do art again, and although my focus has changed, essentially from figure drawing, to, well, not sure what you would call it, (Concept art, maybe?) I could probably sell it if I put it on the right medium (probably t-shirts, small prints, etc.).
Now, here's the question. Going through Cafepress means that they'll actually do the printing and shipping, thus saving me the cost and hassle. But it also means that there's a high base cost for each item that I have to tack more money onto in order to make a profit of any kind on it (since the base costs all goes right back to cafepress). I'm also 'in competition' with thousands of other people drawing the same or similar concepts, which really cuts down on my chances of selling something verses the other 500,000 guys with a dragon (or other) print.
So what I'm looking at is pretty much what's most cost effective, what approach I should take, and whether I should continue to use Cafepress (and wind up gouging potential customers just so I see at least some return on my investment), or kill the account and find a way to make my own online shop (and yet still be able to produce the product on my own and not collapse my potential income by having more outgo than income).
And of course, there's also that nasty little thing called...business tax.
Anyhow, any suggestions (other than 'NOOOOO DON'T DOO EEET! EEET'S A TRAP!!!!')?
Okay. As everyone knows, I have a Cafepress account with a total of one print put up on various items. I've sold...a shirt and a mousepad (heh) in the past year and a half.
I am starting to do art again, and although my focus has changed, essentially from figure drawing, to, well, not sure what you would call it, (Concept art, maybe?) I could probably sell it if I put it on the right medium (probably t-shirts, small prints, etc.).
Now, here's the question. Going through Cafepress means that they'll actually do the printing and shipping, thus saving me the cost and hassle. But it also means that there's a high base cost for each item that I have to tack more money onto in order to make a profit of any kind on it (since the base costs all goes right back to cafepress). I'm also 'in competition' with thousands of other people drawing the same or similar concepts, which really cuts down on my chances of selling something verses the other 500,000 guys with a dragon (or other) print.
So what I'm looking at is pretty much what's most cost effective, what approach I should take, and whether I should continue to use Cafepress (and wind up gouging potential customers just so I see at least some return on my investment), or kill the account and find a way to make my own online shop (and yet still be able to produce the product on my own and not collapse my potential income by having more outgo than income).
And of course, there's also that nasty little thing called...business tax.
Anyhow, any suggestions (other than 'NOOOOO DON'T DOO EEET! EEET'S A TRAP!!!!')?
