Coupons

Those appear to be codes that individual artists/galleries posted. It just gets tagged under FAA. FAA cannot take 50% off of your commission without your consent. They don't offer coupons on our behalf. I know this because when people ask FAA for one, they send them straight to me.

OK. I see. Thank Sharon! By the way I love the images I have seen you sell!

Still in my opinion it's a poor business tactic for any artist to offer a discount at any time.

Thanks Vincent. Selling prints....no problem. Originals...no discount. Two different animals to me. I view them differently. To each their own though! We all do our own thing.

it only affects those artists that offer them. some people thinks it helps, and for some it does help, but yeah it looks chincy.

---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

There is a box in the check out process for coupon codes. Many shoppers have been taught to search for codes when they see such a box. Likelihood of them finding one that matches the work in their cart is slim since there are no site wide ones. Most likely they abandon the cart, distracted by something they find on the net.

On the other hand it gives artists something to offer on their blogs or email or social media to create some attention.

15 sales yesterday with my code. Most are past collectors that know my work. I kinda think they help me. My followers also know I don't offer them very often. So when I do, they better snap it up!

If it looks chincy then the whole site does. Box is right there for every buyer to see when they check out. Maybe being online at all looks chincy to many. Only gallery representation is "good enough".

I am here to earn a living and not to get approval from other artists or art snobby buyers. Everyone has their own life and does their own thing with it. We all have different goals and aspirations. I've never sought or needed approval from anyone but my buyers. And I've got it. :)

i never had a sale work, i can give it a try again, but i kind of doubt anyone's really looking.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

did you mark a certain amount off, or was it like - a find out the discount at end kind of thing? and how much was it off?

---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

They see the discount at the end. I don't tell them how much. It's a surprise! I don't explain my percentage off because it would only confuse people. They would think it was off of the total price no matter how carefully I explained it. If people ask (very few do), I tell them to go shopping and put the code in at the end and if they aren't happy with the discount, just abandon the cart.

I go back through my emails for the past 6 months. I have a "maybe" file. These people showed interest and we emailed, but they never bought. If I offer a coupon, I send it to them. Many of them buy. I make a sale I would have otherwise not. Now my work hangs in their home/office and their friends/family/coworkers can see it. A lot of my sales are by referral now. A coupon didn't hurt me...It just improved my business exponentially!

In these threads I just see an endless way that creatives "judge" each other. Oil is superior to acrylic. Canvas beats paper. Limited edition prints are better than POD. Digital art isn't real art. This camera is better than that camera. Blogging is a waste of time. Social Media doesn't work and those that think does are fooling themselves. You are on a POD with your art so you suck. I only hand sign my work...I only sell originals....I only use FAA as a portfolio because good art should only be in galleries. Art must be appraised to have any value and the list goes on....Meanwhile as the condemnation goes back and forth and I watch the circus of judgements, I am over here making sales like never before. Seriously, being supportive is a better way to live.

I have to agree the way to do it is make no promises on the value. Just give it and they can see how much it saves.

I have code listed on a coupon site, simply for those coupon clippers who don't buy anything without a code.

I've had 5 sales with coupons at 25% off.

Now these ones I don't understand - Site wide 50% off? http://couponfollow.com/site/fineartamerica.com

BTW - search in for "FAA" brings up the Federal Aviation Agency. Searching for "Fine Art America" brings up this site. And interesting the suggested searches are the following:

Searches related to fine art america
fine art america prints
fine art america paintings
fine art america review
fine art america coupon
famous artists america
fine art america free shipping code
folk art america
fine art america phone number

Lots of people looking for coupons and especially "free shipping codes"

Here is my latest Fine Art America code good for any purchase on http://edward-fielding.artistwebsites.com/ "DXPSAM"

The "About Us" from that site mentions a "beta period", and at the bottom of that page it states "Page last updated 4 years ago".

Interesting. Comes up first on a search.

There are FAA gift cards so discounting those would create a site wide discount.

FAA will not discount your markup without your consent.

Obviously, there are the programs that you sign up for that can lead to a discount, DP and the Great Frame Up stuff, but you have to sign up for those.

And that is what makes FAA so great! You get to choose if you want to discount.

Looking at the couponing sites - there are a lot of misleading coupon codes. People are posting things as site wide and then the reviews and feedback says "member only code" or "didn't work".

Seems to be a lot of confusion on how this all works. And these sites seem to require a % off amount in the headline.

I assume if FAA ran a deal on gift cards they would be eating the discount. Which isn't a bad bet since such a high percentage of gift cards go unused.

BTW - these coupon sites are so competitive that if you post a coupon to one of them, the others often grab it. Other people blog about it etc.

Discounts is one more tool we can use or ignore. I am doing a charity fundraiser this weekend and I am definitely discounting my already made matted prints. I am also discounting online orders. The prices are already high enough to warrant it and it will spur sales. I know what works. I usually won't discount prints at shows but eventually you have to clear out inventory and I am not going to go to a flea market.

I am clearing out stuff that is old, has slightly damages mats or just doesn't sell. I am donating all proceeds of that to a friend who is undergoing chemo now and also lost her apartment due to not being able to work.

After 20 years of selling prints I think I know how to manage my business. All businesses need a way to clear out excess inventory. Even artists. To say never discount ignores the reality of the costs of storing what may never sell. I do what works for me which may not be what works for others.

"After 20 years of selling prints I think I know how to manage my business. All businesses need a way to clear out excess inventory. Even artists. To say never discount ignores the reality of the costs of storing what may never sell. I do what works for me which may not be what works for others.'

Sometimes it is just better to repeat what someone else says when the say what you are thinking and probably better then you can say it yourself.


Thank you for that Bradford! LOL

Agreed. That is why it is so sad to see so many judgements placed on others for how they run THEIR business. There is no right or wrong way to make it work for you. If it works that is all that matters!

Many years ago, I used to get upset with other artists for having sales and selling their originals really cheap. I thought it was taking away from my business and that people would go buy their cheap stuff instead of mine. Never happened. The price of others work...their coupons...their discount sales does not affect me at all.

My holiday sale.

Floyd I used a LOC image for my Santa.

https://davidbridburg.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/holiday-savings/

Sharon, Thank you for the ideas.

Dave

Sharon,
Your view is like mine about individuality of being an artist.

Floyd,
Makes reasonable sense to clear out the older inventory for sure. I have recently sold work at auction without too much regret.

Guess any activity out in the public view is better than none.

Many years ago, I used to get upset with other artists for having sales and selling their originals really cheap. I thought it was taking away from my business and that people would go buy their cheap stuff instead of mine. Never happened. The price of others work...their coupons...their discount sales does not affect me at all.

This is absolutely true.

For that matter, one way to differentiate yourself is with higher prices. If you want to buy an Apple product, generally you are going to pay retail and a fairly high one at that. They really don't care is Samsung runs a sale and it really doesn't affect them.

i've been trying the higher price thing with mixed results. since i can't see the main reason people are not buying i can't tell if its the price or what.

with apple they built in the hype, if you don't have the latest thing your a loser. and while samsung and all are creeping up, they don't have that pull that apple does. in general i don't like coupons, i think people buy things with or without them, i don't think that's what attracts people to a site. so far no takers for me, i experiment with them every year. i think the buyers right now are in some kind of stasis.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

Mike,

In econ there is a thing called price inelasticity. That is the price where volume drops off a cliff.

For instance with a perishable like milk getting a dime is a lot of profit. Many convenience stores
sell milk at a slight loss to get people in the door and get rid of the milk. So a dime higher and no one
will buy it.

Then you have Porche that could always go $5000 higher in price....to some point...

I can not tell you anything particular about your prices and would not attempt to. I am far too inexperienced to say.

But there is that price that Apple does not dare charge. High priced or not regardless of Android.

Dave

Mike,

You might consider a different way of looking at the whole thing.

You still have what 2000 views or more per day. And at those rates of viewership some 400 prints
used to be sold every year roughly. Those viewer numbers are still there, but the 400 clients are not electing to buy or
have slipped from what you are saying.

Dave

Mike,

My goal now that I advertise far more for viewership outside of FAA is to try and build up the counts with Designers
and their hanger ons as my target. That is mainly women shoppers.

The reasoning for me is simple. I want a larger volume of prospects. Then I want some of them to buy.

So the next question is what price can I bring my art up to later next year where they are still generally going to buy...if at all. I am not proven.
Right now I think my prices are set low for volume.

Dave

"In these threads I just see an endless way that creatives "judge" each other. Oil is superior to acrylic. Canvas beats paper. Limited edition prints are better than POD. Digital art isn't real art. This camera is better than that camera. Blogging is a waste of time. Social Media doesn't work and those that think does are fooling themselves. You are on a POD with your art so you suck. I only hand sign my work...I only sell originals....I only use FAA as a portfolio because good art should only be in galleries. Art must be appraised to have any value and the list goes on....Meanwhile as the condemnation goes back and forth and I watch the circus of judgements, I am over here making sales like never before. Seriously, being supportive is a better way to live."

Exactly, Sharon.

I'm one that is offering 50% off site wide. It's my decision and affects no one else, so why would another artist even question it? On my thread I just closed, the same thing was said...why did I want to offer such a large discount. If it's a bad business decision I guess I'll "pay" for it. I just thought it would be nice to pass down some savings to prospective customers during the holiday season and possibly gain some exposure. I rarely even visit the forum any more because there is so much bickering. Along with increasing my stress level, I think "what on earth do the customers think?" And we all know they do come on here from time to time, so I'm sure they do have an occasional look. I remember when we were first informed about the framing franchises and there was a lot of arguing back and forth...the head guy from one of the frame shops popped in and started posting. Anyway, there's just too many real problems in everyday life and no need to create more, JMO.

Sharon,

Good luck with your sales.

Dave

Thanks, David. I did sell three t-shirts a few days ago. And I've had another 9 sales the last five months, so I'm not complaining since I rarely post on SM.

Sharon, I like your spunk. There are some very critical artists on this discussion board, so I am glad to see that you are standing up for your own decisions, and it seems to pay off. I have been trying to engage more and use my Facebook, but I am not having any luck. If you have any suggestions, I would be happy to hear them. I've tried a lot of different things just to see what people are interested in, but I still have not had much luck. Your work is great! thank you. Christal

Thanks for the input!