How to charge and my approach

[kona77]

I have been approached by the promoter of a tuner show, the little fancy cars with lights and sound. There will be some models there as well as other entertainment. I can take pictures of anything I want and sell anything I want.
I would like to take pics of the cars and sell an 8 x 10 mounted on a presonalized plaque online for $25.00 each. My cost of the plaque is $9.00 and the $3.00 for an 8 x 10. Any suggestions as to how well this will work would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike Panic]

having worked in the import car industry for some of the larger magazines and covering these types of shows... i don't think you'll do very well

your MUCH better off taking photos of all the cars and having a laptop and a high quality printer, like an epson 2200 or r1800 in the car w/ a power invertor and offering prints on demand.

this could work out REALLY well if its a two day event. shoot on the first day, organize and edit that night and the 2nd day sell prints. group them together by car type (all civics in one folder, all accords in another, etc)

have business cards for when your shooting, shoot the car and give one to the owner and let him know you'll b back to tomorrow offering prints on demand or they can order from you online or via email at a later date.

[kona77]

having worked in the import car industry for some of the larger magazines and covering these types of shows... i don't think you'll do very well

your MUCH better off taking photos of all the cars and having a laptop and a high quality printer, like an epson 2200 or r1800 in the car w/ a power invertor and offering prints on demand.

this could work out REALLY well if its a two day event. shoot on the first day, organize and edit that night and the 2nd day sell prints. group them together by car type (all civics in one folder, all accords in another, etc)

have business cards for when your shooting, shoot the car and give one to the owner and let him know you'll b back to tomorrow offering prints on demand or they can order from you online or via email at a later date.
Excellent advice, thank you. I can set up everything except the Epson printer. I have an HP 7700 and an HP 7900. Do you think these would do the trick? I get nervous about printing due to the quality of the print, paper, etc. I always shoot for the absolute best. I do not feel comfortable charging for something that I might think is below par even if the customer likes it.

If you were in my shoes what pricing structure would you use?
Thanks again.

[Joe R]

You've figured out your product and the cost of the product. Now you need to figure out what all of your other costs are, how many prints you expect to sell, and what your profit will be. Let's say you sell 40 prints with a profilt of $12 each - that's $480 gross, but how many hours did you work, what were your other expenses like transportation, etc.

Here's a resource to chew on for figuring out cost of doing business:
http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/cdb/

I can't recommend the book "Pricing Photography" enough:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/1YN3BKAHL9WXK/ref%3Dcm%5Faya%5Fav.lm%5Fmore/103-1114595-0649446

You might also check out the Event Photography boards on robgalbraith.com

For onsite printing you may need a helper. I also recommend using a service like printroom or shutterfly to sell additional prints after the event.

[kona77]

You've figured out your product and the cost of the product. Now you need to figure out what all of your other costs are, how many prints you expect to sell, and what your profit will be. Let's say you sell 40 prints with a profilt of $12 each - that's $480 gross, but how many hours did you work, what were your other expenses like transportation, etc.

Here's a resource to chew on for figuring out cost of doing business:
http://www.nppa.org/professional_development/business_practices/cdb/

I can't recommend the book "Pricing Photography" enough:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/1YN3BKAHL9WXK/ref%3Dcm%5Faya%5Fav.lm%5Fmore/103-1114595-0649446

You might also check out the Event Photography boards on robgalbraith.com

For onsite printing you may need a helper. I also recommend using a service like printroom or shutterfly to sell additional prints after the event.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have copied all of your text onto a word file for my records. It is greatly appreciated. I will let you know how it turns out.