What to sell?

Hey everyone, I just got in my business cards, I am very excited. I shoot every youth sport you can think of. I usually sell the actaul prints to the parents. I had a parent ask me today to sell me a CD with all the images copied onto it. I have never done this before. Should I sell the CD, just give it to her, or not sell CDs at all? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Stephen

My bad, I meant to put this in the "business of photography" section

A sale......is a sale. Have your "Copyright" logo on it, as for the price cant help you, but I'm sure others can and will.
Good Luck.

khall wrote in post #5596733
A sale......is a sale. Have your "Copyright" logo on it, as for the price cant help you, but I'm sure others can and will.
Good Luck.

Yea I agree, sell the CD. Don't overtax yourself. I would either copyright the pic for a lower price or no copyright for more $$. Let us knw what happens

I sell CD's all the time. It saves me the hassle of creating a contact sheet or proofs. Plus, most of my shots are adequate "as is" ie. no need for post-production, so they get a whole bunch of pics and can print their own if they so choose. Plus, it's not like anyone besides myself is making money off them.

You should try and get a lot of money for it if you're putting full size photos w/ no watermark on the cd...since one person can then distribute the images at will. That could cost YOU a lot of money.

That's assuming that each person receiving a copy would otherwise pay for it had they not gotten it for free, which isn't likely.

But, if you're like me, you want to leave your options open to possibly make future profits on sold pics: offer them a "Licensing Argeement" for an additional fee.

Of course, you could just reject the CD idea altogether, and only deal with prints.

SnapLocally.com wrote in post #5600988
That's assuming that each person receiving a copy would otherwise pay for it had they not gotten it for free, which isn't likely.

But, if you're like me, you want to leave your options open to possibly make future profits on sold pics: offer them a "Licensing Argeement" for an additional fee.

Of course, you could just reject the CD idea altogether, and only deal with prints.

If one person gets a free picture when they would've gladly paid even $10 for a print from the OP, it cost him money. That's my point

You could always use a site like photoreflect.com and load up the pics there. That way they can see each shot and order the shots and sizes they want and pay per shot. I think they may have packages too.

Then they pay for them and the money gets taken out of what they paid and you get the rest. Don't give away your pictures. We all work hard to take good shots, spend money on gas and wear and tear on the vehicle. It all adds up. Good luck.

Myself as an example, I shoot MMA, and I can take 1000 pics per event. Most of my customers, the fighters themselves, have a limited income, so I've got to offer them a fair price, or I just won't make the sale. If I nickeled and dimed every transaction, I'm spending more of my time than it's worth trying to squeeze that extra buck out of someone.

I let my work shine, and if a shot's good enough, I add it to my portfolio. I've got plenty of pics in my portfolio that I haven't made a dime on by direct sales, but they sure do help me get future clientele.

SnapLocally.com wrote in post #5601096
Myself as an example, I shoot MMA, and I can take 1000 pics per event. Most of my customers, the fighters themselves, have a limited income, so I've got to offer them a fair price, or I just won't make the sale. If I nickeled and dimed every transaction, I'm spending more of my time than it's worth trying to squeeze that extra buck out of someone.

I let my work shine, and if a shot's good enough, I add it to my portfolio. I've got plenty of pics in my portfolio that I haven't made a dime on by direct sales, but they sure do help me get future clientele.

That sounds good for your particular situation but it sounds like the OP already has a clientel and he's wondering if he should give something away when it appears that someone WILL pay for his work.

I didn't mean to imply my way was the only or best way, I've just weighed out my options, and figured out how I'd maximize my profits with the least headaches.

Q: What's the going rate on your price packages, and how much do you make on average per event?

I'd like to come in here and ask if people who sell CDs in this sort of context can give us an idea of price. I personally would be quite happy to sell a CD of say 2mp Jpegs suitable for printing at 7x5 for the same sort of cost as say a single A3 print.

Any opinions on whether I am in the right ball park or completely mad?

I recently completed a karate portrait shoot at our Dojo. I offered packages ranging from $20-$48. I also offered a CD for $55 and sold 2. Easy profit.....no choosing which print/pose, no heavy processing, no shipping and delivery. $1.00 for the CD with about 15 pictures. Don't get lost in printing profits...count your time involved with the process....I created a CD in minutes. I discussed printing with them and the merits of quality printing, let them decide. Maybe some may buy an 8X10 for $10....but they don't buy 6 of them!!!!

jcpoulin wrote in post #5601405
Maybe some may buy an 8X10 for $10....but they don't buy 6 of them!!!!

I completely agree, and your price sounds reasonable. Plus, I don't want the hassle of procuring the 6 8x10's, spread over multiple transactions.