A Question for T&I Shooters

[pworm14]

Hi All,
I’m not quite sure what I’ve gotten myself into here, but I landed a job doing T&I for one of our local Little Leagues and I’m looking for a little help selecting “extras” to sell to the parents. By “extras” I mean buttons, mouse pads, coffee cups, etc.

For those of you that do T&I, what are your best sellers when it comes to the extra stuff. Since this will be my first T&I job I don’t want to offer too much and end up getting overwhelmed.

Also, what kind of markup are you guys adding to this stuff? I realize that markup is very dependent on demographics, but I’ve been looking online at the various supply sources and this stuff is not cheap. Definitely not going to get the profit margin that you can with prints. And for some of the parents of this particular league discretionary income can be an issue.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[Alleh]

You don't have any online gallery and print ordering system?

[pworm14]

Alleh, I’m not really sure what your question has to do with my question, but, yes, I normally use my SmugMug site for my print sales.

[nwa2]

What is T&I, that is a bit of jargon that is new to me?

[alduin]

What is T&I, that is a bit of jargon that is new to me?

Team & Individual

[bwolford]

My experience is that I had very few sales. If it's easy for you to offer them, do it, but most of the prices from my supplier for the novelty items almost didn't make it worth it. I did buy a button maker and slashed my costs for those to 20% of the previous cost. I have sold quite a few because I could offer them at less than my previous cost with a satisfactory markup.

Bottom line, some interest, but not a lot. Some sports will have more interest in things like trading cards, but many don't.

It's not related to your question, but I would NOT do this without doing pre-order. Don't depend on your site to drive sales. When I pre-order, sales are 5 times or more depending on the event/sport than if I photograph on spec (shoot and then refer to the web site for sales).

Good luck and let us know how it's going.

[pworm14]

Thanks for the input Brice.

The extras will definitely be preorder only. Cash or check. I think I’m stuck with offering buttons since one of the board members has already asked about them. Can you elaborate a little on what actually sells for you? I realize that it's spotty, I just want to nail down what I’m going to offer so I can be ready to take the additional orders when I’m doing the T&I photos. I know most of the novelty stuff that I sell will only bring pennies on the dollar so I’m really trying to keep things to a minimum.

My big hope is that the parents may be a little more generous with the extras since they have already paid for the basic photo package as part of registration. This league includes a basic photo package as part of participation. In other words, the league contracts with the photographer to provide xyz photos and the participants get the photos as part of their paying to participate. The league pays the photographer directly for the basic package.

[MJPhotos24]

Novelty items are so-so at best, I think my best sellers are magnets and mouse pads and only a few would sell each season. The best seller the last few seasons has been digital memory mates by far, I offer them in a package and as a single 8x10. First season they were so-so and then exploded. They now compete with my previous best seller which was (maybe still is) the cheapest package that includes two 5x7's individuals, 8 wallets and a 5x7 team photo.

Markup on some of my novelty stuff was literally a nickel. The place I get my prints from is great but there novelty prices are high, for T&I I may change and lower my novelty product prices because I found a new place with cheaper print prices and cheaper novelty items (1/3 to 1/4 the cost), along with a bunch of other benefits.

I like how that league works - seen it a few times but none around here, helps the photog because it's immediate sales and every kid shows for photo day. Around here sometimes they won't show because they're not buying.

[pworm14]

I found a new place with cheaper print prices and cheaper novelty items (1/3 to 1/4 the cost), along with a bunch of other benefits.

Thanks for the insight MJ. Would you mind sharing your new source for novelty items? If not here maybe in a PM?

I like how that league works - seen it a few times but none around here, helps the photog because it's immediate sales and every kid shows for photo day. Around here sometimes they won't show because they're not buying.

Yeah, I like it too. Then again, what do I know? I've never done T&I before (not officially anyway). The basic package I submitted includes 1 8x10 digital MM and 4 wallets.

[DDCSD]

The place I get my prints from is great but there novelty prices are high, for T&I I may change and lower my novelty product prices because I found a new place with cheaper print prices and cheaper novelty items (1/3 to 1/4 the cost), along with a bunch of other benefits.

Mind letting us in on the secret? :lol:

[Rubi Jane]

My best sellers are trading cards, buttons, magnets, luggage tags & fun packs. I use MVP Cards (http://www.mvpcards.com/) and suffer with the shipping cost to Canada along with currency exchange. Regardless, it's still worthwhile.

MVP will preprint your envelopes for $0.12 a piece, well worth it for preorders. Have your team coaches handout the envelopes before photo day for parents to order with payment (cash/cheque). Package items with prints with a discount as well as offer prints and items individually. I have MVP do the prints and items, and package it all for me by team. All I do is send them my images along with an order log, they choose the best image for each order and proceed. Minimal admin time for me and it generates income that makes it more than worthwhile for me to take the photos.

I thought I'd limit my offerings but then figured why not offer a larger mix. It doesn't cost me any more in time or money so why not give them the choice.

[MJPhotos24]

Thanks for the insight MJ. Would you mind sharing your new source for novelty items? If not here maybe in a PM?

Yeah, I like it too. Then again, what do I know? I've never done T&I before (not officially anyway). The basic package I submitted includes 1 8x10 digital MM and 4 wallets.

For this I would ask what they are giving me per kid and then make the package. If they wanted a bid it'd be tough to do without knowing what the kids are paying in the first place.

As for the company, I hate to recommend a company before I've tried it in case they suck, ha. Another POTN'er said they are good so gotta give them a shot here soon, keep saying that and haven't done it yet.

[Tigershark]

I am not big on Spamming for a company but if anyone wants to know the name of the Lab I use send me a PM, It's the same one I recommended to Mike and they are very easy to work with and my costs have gone down significantly.

[MJPhotos24]

I am not big on Spamming for a company but if anyone wants to know the name of the Lab I use send me a PM, It's the same one I recommended to Mike and they are very easy to work with and my costs have gone down significantly.
Yup, PM'd and only reason I didn't mention was to not recommend a company I haven't personally tried. Soon enough when I knock a page or two off my to do list I will send them an order :)

[Palladium]

I am not big on Spamming for a company but if anyone wants to know the name of the Lab I use send me a PM, It's the same one I recommended to Mike and they are very easy to work with and my costs have gone down significantly.

Great Post - I only wish more posters would follow your lead. :lol: