Jennifer Loeber print sale

Copyright © Jennifer Loeber

Jennifer Loeber is the latest photographer to throw her hat in the ring with a blog-based print sale (here). I think it’s interesting to see different photographers try different models for this. Her print is in an edition of fifteen, and she’s selling for only forty dollars, as opposed to my edition of one hundred for twenty dollars. She’s also taking pre-orders, for only one month, at which point it’s closed. If my image didn’t do it for you, maybe hers will. Go, Jennifer, go!

The bull and I

So I’m gonna let you in on a secret, just between you and me: The print sale . . . a total bust.

After my experience in May, where my edition of twenty-five prints sold out in nine hours, and given the number of people who’ve asked me to bring back the print sale, and the number of people who read this blog, I honestly thought that the print would sell out in a few days, a week at most. The idea was, sell a hundred prints every February, May, and August, and earn enough money to produce a yearly zine, as well as fund my photo projects. Other photographers go about it in other ways, but this seemed like an option worth trying.

I’ve been praised in some blogs for taking the bull by the horns, but I have to tell you, I may not have been gored by the bull, but I’m standing at the other end of the ring trying to figure out how to win this one. Many people—complete strangers, as well as people whose work and careers I emulate and respect—suggested that doing these editions of a hundred would only hurt me in the long run. That would’ve been bad enough. But the damn thing hasn’t sold worth shit, so I can’t even console myself with having enough money to produce the zine I wanted to do for November.

The one encouraging aspect of all this is that, despite the mild embarrassment at having so misjudged things, my reaction hasn’t been at all what I would’ve thought it would be. If you’d told me that I would go live with a print sale and sell only a handful of prints in over a week, I would’ve guessed I’d be really bothered by it in some kind of deeply personal way. Instead, I’m wondering what the hell’s wrong with everyone. I love this photograph, and I know I’m biased but I don’t love everything that comes out of my camera. The fact that I’ve been rejected and come out with my confidence stronger than ever makes me feel like I have some hope of actually lasting in this crazy art world. Now I just need to get off the ground.

P.S. Given the counsel I’ve received, I won’t be doing any other twenty-dollar sales on my blog or Web site. (If Jen Bekman wants to include me in 20x200, I won’t turn her down.) So if you’re struggling to fund your own projects and don’t have thousands of dollars to pay for art, and you’d like to own one of my prints, now’s your chance.

Print sale: Cara’s Bed, Guilford, Connecticut

The print sale is back! And this time around, I’m changing things up a bit: I’m increasing the edition size, and I’ve gotten wise to the woes of Google Checkout and switched to PayPal (which should be much easier for everyone outside the United States, and plenty easy for those inside, too).

My plan is to make this print sale a quarterly thing, or at least every February, May, and August. (I have something special up my sleeve for November. Stay tuned.)

I offer up for you this time around Cara’s Bed, Guilford, Connecticut, an image of my little sister’s bed at the Comfort Inn, the day before she got married. Here are the details:

Print size: 8½ x 11 inches (with a ½-inch border to allow for framing), signed and numbered on the verso
Edition size: 100
Cost: $20 plus shipping ($5.50 U.S., $6 Canada, $7.50 Mexico, and $9 everywhere else)

Copyright © 2008 Liz Kuball

Note: This print is no longer available online. To inquire about availability or purchase a print, please e-mail me. (You can find my contact information here.)

20x25: My first ever print sale

I crunched some numbers over the weekend, and I have good news and bad news: The good news is, I’m just shy of having enough money to buy a lens I need. The bad news is, I have to pay down my credit cards before I can buy anything that big.

So I’ve decided to print one of my photos (see below) in an edition of twenty-five and sell them for $20 each. Jen Bekman sells her $20 prints in editions of two hundred, so think of the bargain you’re getting here in such a small edition for such a low price. Plus, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped out a photographer. And you’ll get a cool print.

Here’s the really cool part, though: When the edition sells out—when all twenty-five of the prints are sold—I will buy the lens, and upon doing so, I will send each of the twenty-five buyers an additional free print of a photograph made with the new lens. So two prints for the price of one! All the more reason for you to tell your family, friends, neighbors, and anyone else you know to get in on the action. The sooner the edition sells out, the sooner you get your second free print!

This is all being done through Google Checkout. The cost of shipping is $2 within the United States. For all orders outside the United States, shipping is $5. The prints are archival pigment prints on 8½-x-11-inch paper, signed and numbered on the verso.

Thanks, guys!

Copyright © 2007 Liz Kuball

SOLD OUT