Pics for Etsy

[unforth]

Today, after a fair amount of wandering around and feeling different grades of paper and noting down prices, I picked up the minimum supplies necessary for me to make a go at this selling cards on Etsy thing (except the envelops; I'll get those when I'm read to actually sell things). This involved card stock, and the purchase of a ruler, exacto knife, bone folder, and green cutting mat thing. The next critical step is to pick out the photos. For that purpose, I'm soliciting help! I'm putting together a list of the pics that I think are nice enough, but I'd love some outside input. Thus, this LJ post is both to help me organize my thoughts, and to get input! :)

It's worth noting first and foremost that the majority of my pics are not eligible for this particular project. I can't use any of my museum pictures, because every museum has a policy that prohibits reproduction for commercial purposes without permission. However, I was thinking it'd be worth explicitly checking the policies to confirm this, and it's a good thing that I did - the images I've taken at the New York Botanical Gardens ARE eligible, which is awesome.

Anyway, my goals are to
a. Highlight sets which I think have potential images
b. Isolate potential images
c. Get a set of potential images printed and sent to me
d. Sell cards!
(long term)
e. Recoup the cost of starting the project (currently about $60, it'll be closer to $100 by the time it's actually good to go)
f. PROFIT! (Make enough to buy a new camera)
g. ???
h. Steal underwear.

I don't really have a limit on how many potential images I want to select; the key is that I want to make sure that every single shot I pick is nice enough that someone might actually pay me money to get a card with it on it. :)

Money
By the way, speaking of money, not counting the one-time purchases (ie, the bone folder, etc.), here's how the price is working out to make each card:

Cardstock: Sold in various colors (white, gray, ivory, yellow, blue, pink, "natural"), Staples store brand, size 8 1/2 x 11, weight 199 g/m squared (110 lb.). Acid free, 10% recycled.
Price: 14.99 for 250 sheets

Self-sealing greeting card-sized envelops: 5 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches. White.
Price: 16.99 for 100 envelops

Price per photograph: Walgreens sells printed 4 x 6 photographs at 19 cents per images for fewer than 100, or 15 cents each for more than that. I suspect CVS and others are comparable. These are the prices for ordering through the internet; I haven't checked how much it'll cost to get them shipped to me after they are printed - or if shipping is an option - and I haven't yet found a place close to me that'll do that. In order to be sustainable, I'll have to be getting the pics printed relatively close to home, since I'll largely be getting them printed on demand (shipped would be okay too, though). There's a photo place on 231st just off Broadway, haven't checked the price there yet. Wait. Brain flash. There's a Walgreens on the opposite corner. That'll do...

Thus, the price per card is:
Paper: 6 cents
Envelop: 17 cents
Photograph: 19 cents
Labor: negligible (I expect it'll take about 15 minutes to make each card once I get it down, maybe 10 - that's a later step)
Total cost to create a card: 42 cents

Further, I get to charge the person buying them for postage, packaging, and shipping. I think my best bet in this regard is to buy 6 x 9 manila envelops and large cardboard boxes, and cut chunks of the cardboard to use as stiffener to protect the images. The cost of this is:

Envelops: 14.99 per 100
Box: Big one is $4.99; I estimate it could cut down into at least 50 chunks - they don't need to be as big as the envelop, just big enough to ensure that it won't bend.

Postage: I just ran a dummy attempt at this through the USPSs Postage calculator. There's a post office just down the hill, so that's not a problem. It looks like a "large envelop" that weighs 8 ounces (which will be high for only a single card + envelop + cardboard) would cost $2.00 to ship to California by first class mail and would take 3 days. That sounds very reasonable. Put another way, I can't believe this would weigh half a pound. Lets call it a quarter of a pound (still probably too high) - and postage is $1.00 (give or take depending on the exact weight), plus 15 cents per envelop, plus 10 cents for cardboard: $1.50.

I think I can ball park the postage cost as $2.00, including materials, and it wouldn't go up for the first few cards.

The remaining thing to note is the listing prices at Etsy.

It costs 20 cents to list an item for 4 months. This is regardless of the price of the item. If you list 4 of the same item, it costs 80 cents.

There is a 3.5% commission when something sells.

Thus, the price to create a card and list it on Etsy will be: 62 cents

FIRST THING I'D REALLY LIKE ADVICE ON:
I've been thinking that I would sell cards for either $1.50 or $2.00 each, and I'd offer "package" deals (people put up listings like "any 5 cards" and let people pick, which sounds fine to me) - obviously the price of the package would depend on what price I settle on. Either of these prices was, on a cursory inspection, less than what other people are selling cards for. Thoughts?

For reference, here's a few options (rounding up the fractions of cents):
Sell card for: Cost to produce and list: Net Profit per card:
$1.00 66 cents 44 cents
$1.25 67 cents 58 cents
$1.50 68 cents 82 cents
$1.75 69 cents $1.06
$2.00 69 cents $1.31
$2.25 70 cents $1.55
$2.50 71 cents $1.79
$3.00 73 cents $2.27

I don't think I could reasonable charge less or more than that. And obviously, the key question is how much will people actually be willing to pay? Also - interim amounts are possible, but these seemed the most likely to me. And remember - they'll have to pay for the shipping, too - it looks like the minimum I could charge for shipping is $1.50, considering all the factors I've now plugged in to the USPS.

Of course, shipping will cost less if they buy more than one...

Sets of Pictures
I've isolated the sets on Flickr that I've got that I think have potential (and don't violate any copyright/usage laws/rules. :) )

Note that I've made the following assumptions:
1. pictures taken in public and/or national parks are fair game
2. pictures taken by me of random stuff I've encountered are mostly fair game
3. pictures taken in stores, at hotels, or of window displays are assumed off limits
4. baseball games are assumed off limits.
5. most museums are assumed off limits
6. most outdoor spaces are considered fair game
7. if I paid admission and I'm not sure and don't feel like looking it up (or am worried that the page will be in a foreign language) I'm going to assume it's off limits for now.

And looked up the following permissions:
1. NYBG pics are fair game; Shedd Aquarium appears to be fair game;
2. Smithsonian buildings are off limits; the Met is off limits; the AMNH is off limits; MoMA is off limits; Bronx Zoo is off limits
3. National Parks: On the list of things that require a permit, is "Commercial Photography/Filming" which specifies: "(a) Commercial filming of motion pictures or television involving the use of professional casts, settings or crews, other than bona fide newsreel or news television. (b) Still photography of vehicles, or other articles of commerce or models for purpose of commercial advertising." Neither of those is me, so I think I'm good. Indeed, it appears that even items from in the museums at the NPS sites is fair game. I'm skeptical of this one, though.

This initial list of sets involves no culling beyond the above assumptions - which is to say that I haven't removed the ones that I think contain only crap:
Chicago, December
Christmas in New York (note that all of the shots in this set of store windows are assumed off limits)
NYBG 2009 Chrysanthemum Festival
Halloween, 2009
Shedd Aquarium, 2009
New Jersey, October 09
Boat Tour of Amsterdam
The Mayor's Thames Festival
London, 09
Aqueduc d'Arts
Eiffel Tower
Jardin des Plants
Paris, 09
George Washington Bridge and Environs
East River Boat Trip
Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield
Wilderness Battlefield
Chancellorsville Battlefield
Monocacy Battlefield
New Market Battlefield
Shiloh Battlefield
Chickamauga National Military Park
The Blue Ridge Parkway
Shenandoah Skydrive
San Juan, PR
San Cristobal Fortress
El Yunque Rainforest
Aids Walk
Airplane Shots
Alcatraz (not sure about this one, but I believe it's a National Park
Park Pics
The Amishville Horror
Amsterdam, 08
Antietam National Military Park
Chicago Architectural Cruise
Asakusa and Ueno
Barack Obama's Inauguration
Bear Mountain
Bloomington
Boston, 07
Brooklyn and Coney Island
Buttermilk Falls
Central Park
Central Park 2
Central Park Conservatory Garden
Central Park Pumpkin Festival
Charles Bridge
Chicago Botanic Garden (permitted, as far as I can tell)
Chinese National Day Fireworks
Christmas, 06
Christmas, 08 (not store windows)
Victoria Peak
Coit Tower
Cologne, Germany
Conservatory Garden 1
Conservatory Garden 2
Conservatory Garden 3
Conservatory Garden 4
Day in Japan
El Morro Fortress
Enid Haupt Garden (this is a public park)
Fall in Central Park
July 4th, 07
Fredericksburg Battlefield 1
Fredericksburg Battlefield 2
Fun Frolic
Gettysburg National Military Park
Grass Valley
Halloween, 08
Hanayashiki
High Island Reservoir
Cedar Bluff
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Park
Ice Everywhere
Jamaica Bay
Josefov
July 4, 06
Jonie Dog (whose cuddling with me as I write this)
Cologne Cathedral (not the shots inside the church)
Japanese Tea Garden (not sure on this one)
Lincoln Park Zoo (not sure on this one)
Long Day in Japan
Macy's Fireworks
Macys Turkey Day Parade (not sure about this)
The Mall, Washington DC
July 4th, 07 (2)
Memphis
Miscellaneous Travel PIcs
Texas
New Hampshire 1
New York Botanical Gardens 1
NYBG 2
NYBG 3
NYC Irish Dance Festival
Visiting Binghamton
Roppongi
Sensoji
Sensoji 2

Sets I've looked through:
In and Around the Intercontinental
Amsterdam Churches
London, 08
Medieval and Roman Cologne
NYBG 4
National Mall
NYBG 5
New Hampshire 2
Roppongi Hills
Prague 1
Prague 2
Views from the Star Ferry, Hong Kong
San Francisco
Shedd Aquarium 2
Shinjuku
Singapore
Prague Astronomy Clock
Staten Island Ferry
Stonewall Jackson House
Syracuse
The Presidio
Temple in Tokyo
NYBG 6
NYBG 7
Tokyo: Random Pics - I've gone through this set
Tokyo Jidai Matsuri - I've gone through this set
Tokyo Tower - I've gone through this set
Train Station Mosaics 1 - I've gone through this set
Staten Island Ferry 2 - I've gone through this set
Walk in the Park - I've gone through this set
Vysehrad - I've gone through this set
Walk to Queens - I've gone through this set
Bloomington - I've gone through this set
Washington DC - I've gone through this set
NYBG 8 - I've gone through this set
Park Pics 3 - I've gone through this set
Park Pics - I've gone through this set
NYC - I've gone through this set
Park Pics 2 - I've gone through this set
Snow in Central Park - I've gone through this set
Central Park - I've gone through this set.
Central Park 2 - I've gone through this set
NYC - I've gone through this set.
Flowers 1 - I've gone through this set.
Flowers 2 - I've gone through this set.
Long Walk in London - I've gone through this one
New York: Random Pics - I've gone through this one
Prague Castle - I've gone through this one
NYC 3 - I've gone through this one
Tower of London and London Bridge - I've gone through this one
Snow in NYC - I've gone through this one
NYC 2 - I've gone through that one

Okay. I know it looks like a lot, but I'd estimate it's less than half my total sets - surprisingly manageable. And many of these contain individual images that I don't think it would be okay to use.

I had hoped to start going through some of these sets seriously - that's not something I expect any one but me to do - and post some of the images I think are best (and emphasize some of the sets that I know are highest quality) but I'm now pretty tired, so I'm gonna jump to the images I already knew that I wanted to highlight rather than go through any new ones. I'd love confirmation on if these images are nice enough to use!!

Set:
Long Walk in London - this set represents one of the only times I ever set out on a walk with the purpose of taking as many neat, interesting pictures as I could. I think I met with fair success. I ordered these roughly from best to worst of the ones I like enough to consider at all:

Thames Sunset:


Graffiti:


Big Ben and Parliament:


Sunset Over the River:


Architecture Along the Thames:



Set:
Prazsky Hrad (Prague Castle)
Some of these are off limits, unfortunately, but others aren't.

Angel Over Prague:

I know it's a cliche, but if asked, I would say that I feel this to be the best picture I've ever taken.

T.C. Masaryka Statue:


Statue Outside the Main Courtyard:


Tunnel:



Pics from sets not worth highlighting:

Sunlight on Spires (Prague):


Favorites I Can't Use:
Since it's fun to highlight images of mine, I thought I'd highlight the one image I know of so far that I'd love to use, but I think I have to call it a no go:

Elevator up the Starmetska Radnice (Astronomy Clock Tower), Prague:


Anyway, as probably shows, the only sets I've gone through with any effort were some I took in Europe last year.

I'm beat, so I'm gonna stop, but I think this gets the ball rolling, both in my mind and for others...I'd LOVE input on pics...I mean, I want people to give me money for these things... :)

Comments

[nekomata.livejournal.com]

I agree with trying some photo manip, some of these will print better if you fiddle with the contrast.

Also, I like your cliche picture. :}

[unforth.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm gonna have to see what I have in the way of editing software. :) It sounds like it'd make sense to pick one photo and try a few different things, and print all of them, and see which looks best....any software you'd recommend?

[nekomata.livejournal.com]

Photoshop Elements is pretty good but costs a bit. And IU has a thing where students can get a full DL of Photoshop for free. I don't know if you'd still qualify for that but you can always try. I've never tried Gimp, but I've heard decent things about it.

[unforth.livejournal.com]

My IU login hasn't worked in a couple years, unfortunately. :( I'll give Gimp a try!