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Jai Johnson

8 Years Ago

Using An Ipad To Help Sell Your Work

My husband wants an iPad. I'm trying to figure out how I would possibly use such a thing. My main thing I would want to use it for that I can think of right now is to pull up my website and show people my work. At the eagles nest, where I spend a lot of time from January til June, I meet a lot of tourists, many who ask for my website. I hand them a business card. Would this iPad be helpful to have in this situation to possibly create more interest and maybe even a sale right there on the spot? My artist website from FAA is a part of my website, and I'd like to be able to bring that up when showing them the images, so they can see all the products and print types/sizes available. Would they be able to buy right then and there on my iPad? Would I have to set them up an account to buy? I'm assuming I'd have to enter in their credit card info or have them enter it in?

Do any of you actually use an iPad to help sell your work on the spot like this, and if so, what are your experiences with it? Any tips or suggestions for me would be welcome...keeping in mind I have zero experience with this. I can't stand pulling up things on my phone...1/2 the time it doesn't work right. My husband has an iphone and has no trouble, so I'm assuming the iPad would work okay. It would mostly be used outdoors.

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Melany Sarafis

8 Years Ago

No, I've used it and the Pixels app to show my stuff to my Mom. That's the only use I've found for the app. People CAN purchase off the app, but you'd need wifi or 3G to connect to the 'net. I can't really speak on that though, I know I wouldn't use it.

I do use my iPad a LOT - I drink coffee on the patio and surf the net each morning, catching up on email, FB, twitter, etc. I use APPS to plan my astro photo shots with my iPad (it's bigger and easier to see than my phone)

I actually use the iPad to surf more than my computer. It's smaller, battery lasts longer, and I like the touch screen. I have the iPad mini, hubby has the regular sized one. We both prefer it over our laptops.

 

Greg Jackson

8 Years Ago

I don't have an iPad, but have used my Kindle HD7 tablet to show shop owners my images on my AW site, using their wifi of course. I also have a number of my better images loaded into a photo folder on the tablet to show people if there is no wifi available, plus they get a business card also. I used to have a selection of 8.5x11 prints in clear sleeves in a binder. That got cumbersome, and with today's technology everywhere, I feel people more readily accept looking at images on a screen, plus, you're not spending money for photo paper and printer ink.

On a side note though, I did just print some 8.5x11 images that I gave to two shop owners as a thank you for allowing me to get some shots in their respective establishments.

 

Jessica Jenney

8 Years Ago

I also have a Kindle Fire I use as my portfolio. But with an iPad you can get a plan and accept credit card payment.

 

Jessica Jenney

8 Years Ago

Many use these at art shows:

https://squareup.com/

 

Greg Jackson

8 Years Ago

Good point, Jessica. The Kindles do not (currently) work with the Square payment swiping device. Until they make it possible, I have the Square app on my wife's Galaxy phone if I ever sell anything "on the go". :)

Note self: Check on Square site for updates. :)

 

Susan Maxwell Schmidt

8 Years Ago

If you move your favorite pieces to your iPad, there are MANY awesome gallery apps to show off your work in style. You can of course use it to create art, too. I use mine for EVERYTHING, I even access my PC from my iPad using VNC, I literally haven't sat in front of a PC for more than two years. I live in an electronic wonderland (read: uber geek husby) but it's the last piece of electronics I'd give up. I even cut the cable cord mostly because of the iPad. I'm thinking of having it permanently attached.

 

Frank J Casella

8 Years Ago

I use the Pixels app for iPad every day. I can do just about all except access groups. I'm editing images on the iPad now that Apple Aperture software is no longer supported, so uploading to Pixels through the app makes it easy.

I also have meetings at the local coffee houses which have wifi ... When the conversation comes up about my art I show them via the Pixels app ... and encourage them to download the app too.

In fact, I've been considering to put a call to action on the back of my business cards to downlaod the Pixels app and look me up.

Finally, when the retail agreement was announced here, I walked in the The Great Frame Up in town and showed the manager my work via the Pixels app as the kiosks where not functional yet. Instant sale!! Too, the first Saturday of the month I spend three hours at the local frame shop meeting people as my work in on the gallery wall there. I have my iPad in hand ... you know the rest of the story ...

 

Carol C

8 Years Ago

Check to make sure that there's not too much of a difference between the look of your photos on the iPad versus your PC or FAA. I always edit my photos on my PC. But I find that they look way better on my iPad. The customer could be disappointed if they purchase something after looking at it only on the iPad and it doesn't look the same when they receive it.

 

Jai Johnson

8 Years Ago

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I could log into Paypal from the iPad, send the customer an invoice, and then I could have the print/product shipped to them that way. Or if they are buying something small {t-shirt, pillow, etc} and have cash, I could do the same thing...buy it via my account but have it shipped to the customer.

In this location where I'm meeting these people, it's outdoors. I often have trouble seeing things on my phone screen outside. How is it viewing the iPad screen outdoors?

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

PayPal offers a free credit card reader. You can use it on a variety of devices including phones. If you are going to make a sale right there and then, it makes sense. But a business card is good for later reference. Just make sure it is a great looking card that people would feel bad about tossing.

But are you really interested in having lengthy home decorating discussions in the woods? I don't even like talking to the equipment buffs when I'm out shooting.

The iPad will still be hard to read in the sun but it is larger than a phone. Maybe have an umbrella ready.

 

Paul O'Toole

8 Years Ago

I have had an IPAD since they first came out and prefer to use my MacBook Pro laptop for photo work and editing. IPAD is a decent tool but way to cumbersome for photo work on a regular basis.

 

Greg Jackson

8 Years Ago

I believe with the Square CC device if wifi is not readily available, you can still input the customers CC info and still make the sale on the spot.

Some of the locally owned shops we frequent downtown do all of their transactions using an iPad and the Square device, and do not have cash registers as you would normally expect.

 

Bradford Martin

8 Years Ago

I use my iPad mini around the house every day for web browsing. I even take phone calls from it via wi-fi. I have loaded some images for quick offline viewing. I sometimes take it to my local watering hole and show off some photos. I have a paypal swiper and I could use it on my phone if there was no wi-fi. The mini is somewhat underutilized out of the home, but I do have an iPhone 6+ which can do almost everything my iPad can do, even if there is no wi-fi.

One thing I did was to copy my previews off my FAA pages to my ipad, using the quick and east image saver. That way i can quickly show off images anywhere..

 

Greg Jackson

8 Years Ago

Looking at the Square CC reader site just now, and saw the notice concerning the new CC's that have the chip in them. If any of you are currently using the device, and haven't updated it, you might want to read this:

https://squareup.com/emv-liability-shift

 

Edward Fielding

8 Years Ago

My bank allows checks accepted via photo. So maybe that's another way.

Interesting about the chip. Only store I've come across that uses it is Walmart. Everyone else seems to be using older equipment.

 

Greg Jackson

8 Years Ago

Concerning CC's with the chip, aren't all credit cards eventually going to have them? I've heard it's pretty much the standard already in Europe. Supposedly, it provides better theft/fraud protection than a regular card with just the magnetic strip.

 

Melany Sarafis

8 Years Ago

Yes Greg. To use an ATM in Italy, I had to get one from my bank ( called an International card). They are supposed to be more secure than the magnetic bars, and we will all have them eventually.

 

Greg Jackson

8 Years Ago

That's good to know. Thanks, Melany.

 

Vanessa Bates

8 Years Ago

Kyle Lambert is an incredibly talented artists who fingerpaints with his ipad using a program called procreate. If you're concerned about using too many farm raised trees, an ipad could serve as a great sketchpad substitute as everyone has mentioned here already. Unfortunately, neither of these vidoes include any footage of the artist in the process of creating :(


 

Jai Johnson

8 Years Ago

Thanks Edward - I didn't know PP had a credit card reader. As for discussions in the woods....we are sitting in a wide open space right beside the tree where the eagle's nest is. There is plenty of time while waiting on the eagles to bring a fish in or do something exciting and that's when we have these conversations. Lots of us {photogs} are there for hours, sometimes all day long. And tourists come through all day long - we have lots of lengthy conversations with many of them. :)

 

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