Hello all.
I am new to Folksy and would be interested to hear the views and experiences of other arty folk.
I have been fortunate in that I have managed to sell some of my originals through a local gallery (at a huge mark up for the gallery!). I tend to digitise the majority of my work, to produce prints and cards, which have been well received at craft fairs and country shows.
I am starting to stock a shop here and have so far just opted to sell prints and cards. I would be interested to hear the experiences of other sellers. Have you had more success with originals or prints?
I know everyone’s experience will be different and I am not seeking a definitive answer. Hearing other’s experiences is always useful though.
My work is possibly a bit niche so I know I will have to target the right market if I am to achieve any significant online sales.
Thanking you in anticipation.
I’m not an artist but I see no reason why you shouldn’t list some of your original work as well. That way people can see that the cards and prints come from ‘real originals’ if you see what I mean. There’s not much to lose by trying it. Good luck. xx
Hi Chris
I list all three - cards, prints and originals - obviously at different price levels - which might attract three different buyers. Hopefully someone who likes one of the cards might buy the original … or someone who likes the original might buy a couple of the cards.
To date, none of the originals have sold - but if they are languishing in my portfolio they certainly won’t, so I think I have nothing to lose and plenty to gain by listing them.
Good luck
Helen
Thanks to both @JOYSofGLASS and @HelenCliffordArt. I suspect you are right. It think a little part of me likes holding on to the originals, but no one made any money from art by holding on to it!
Your shop is splendid by the way Helen.
Thank you, @ChrisStoneArtist!
Hi CHris…I only sell originals…for my own personal point of view I would not want to sell prints…you can buy those in shops or cut pictures from magazines…if I want art, I want original art.
I know I am the minority but I cannot understand people paying for a print unless the subject matter is some that is personal to them…
Good luck…i have been her for ten years and do quite well…
Hi Chris - I sell all three too, it’s def worth putting your originals up as you have nothing to lose, just a few pence in the listing fee. The very first item I sold in my old shop was an original, and then nothing followed (original wise) for a fair while, over a year. In my new shop (my current one) the first two items I sold were originals and whilst I sell mostly cards, which are low margin, I do sell an occasional print or on very rare occasions an original.
My biggest hindrance to selling original art is that it is very hard to photograph and do each item justice. Without exception, everyone who sees my work (and even some who bought it online) say to me, your stuff looks nice in the photos but is so much better in real life! Which is nice to know but disappointing too for obvious reasons!
So yes, go for it! Hope you do well 
Hi Chris, I sell cards, prints and originals, I sell more originals than prints and a lot of cards. I also agree with Heidi, things are hard to photograph well, they are much better in real life.
I have a few prints available but I normally think they’re more effort than they’re worth. Because I try to do affordable originals then a lot of my paintings are under £50 and fairly small, I only get prints done of the bigger, more detailed and more expensive pieces. I normally order 10-20 prints at a time to keep costs down and so I always have some ready in stock… but they still don’t sell that quickly, so it can take a while until I’ve broken even on them. For my cheaper pieces I just don’t see the point, there’s not going to be that much of a saving for the customer so they might as well just buy the original (especially as I don’t normally paint on canvases that are standard print sizes). Sales would probably be at the same rate as the originals and I’d be putting extra time and money into getting prints done when I could just as easily paint another similar original (which is much more enjoyable).
I think cards are worth it because they have an extra use and are usually a cheap price point to add to your shop. There are always going to be a few occasions a year when people want to give a card so there’ll be more demand for them.
For prints… I sell more originals than prints but that’s because of the type of work I do. If my shop was only full of big, detailed originals that cost hundreds of pounds then I’m sure I’d be selling more prints and it would be more important for me to stock them, so what’s best for you will depend on your own art and prices… but I would definitely try adding a few originals to your shop. Whether they sell or not it’ll be nice for the customers to see where the print came from and understand how much they’d have to pay if they wanted an original (that’s very useful for me as I offer custom work, if someone wants a picture of their own pet they’re not going to be buying a print).
Thank you all for your most helpful replies. I will definitely go with the consensus and try some originals on here. As pointed out, what is there to lose? I take on board the possible difficulties in photographing them, thanks for the heads up on that too.
I agree, Kim @konyskiw, getting prints done is a bit of a pain, not to mention an extra cost. Painting is indeed more fun.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I like it here!
Hi Chris, I only sell original work, have never sold a print. I have considered prints, calendars etc. but I just don’t have time, I have two other curated online galleries I sell through and that’s about as much time as I can spare. Good luck!
It probably also depends on how large/expensive your originals are. Mine are priced quite highly so prints are affordable alternatives - if your originals can be priced at a lower level, then it’s not worth having prints as well.
I agree with @HelenCliffordArt and @konyskiw - that’s always the main thing to think about when considering prints i.e. how much/ affordable are your originals? With my bigger pieces, it takes hours to plan and create each textile (including the time it took to hand dye any fabrics which I have used within the art), and then I have the process of stretching, mounting framing etc, which also adds on time. Plus the cost of the materials.
If I work out how much I should charge in order to pay myself even min wage, the price can get eye watering lol! So I do try to charge a decent amount for originals (the big ones or detailed ones anyhow) and so a print makes a good affordable alternative.
A gallery owner once told me prints from textiles don’t sell because someone who likes textile art will want the original, and whilst a watercolour print can look as good as the original if scanned in/ printed well, a reproduction of a textile won’t work.
From my experience however I found that there are plenty of people who buy art because ‘it’s a nice picture’ or ‘the colours go well in my lounge’ and they are less bothered about the merits of owning original work. They are the customers I like to target with my prints.
So I have found whatever you do, there is always a target group somewhere who will love your stuff.
The biggest problem for artists is reaching that group…!
Well done Chris @ChrisStoneArtist for joining in on the forums…it is the best way to get known and seen and you are doing a great job…People will get to know your name and then if they want a card or painting, they will remember to go to your shop to see if there is anything there that suits what they are looking for…
Well done !
Thank you Brenda @teabreaks. The advice and encouragement here has been much appreciated.
I have a lot of printed products as well as original artwork, but quite honestly, the originals are far more popular. Especially the custom options. People like to have something that is not just unique but uniquely tailored to them.
Thank you all again for your useful contributions. I have listed some of my originals in my shop now and have reduced the number of prints. It’s looking all the better for it, so thanks again.