Manufacturing Costs between Pictorem and Fine Art America
I’ve written a post about my experience in creating an Etsy store to sell metal, canvas and paper prints on the Etsy platform. The process would be that someone buys a print on Etsy (I hope!) and I get the order. I then place an order for that print on either Pictorem or Fine Art America and they ship the item to the buyer’s address. Easy!
But how to price those prints on Etsy?
I decided to focus on just three types of print and I’m also working out how best to list them, but my starting point was the cost of manufacture and shipping so that I could build my price list for Etsy. So, I went through both sites with a set of eight standard sizes from 12×8 inches to 60×40 inches, and found the price that I, as the artist, could buy the item at. Pictorem includes free shipping, which makes the process easier, but for Fine Art America I had to keep putting items in my shopping cart and checking what the additional shipping cost would be.
I also remembered from a previous order of my own from Pictorem that they offer people who sign up for the Pro account, an extra 15% discount off their prices and I confirmed in my own invoices that I did actually pay 15% less than the price shown on the website. If you are interested in signing up for Pictorem, please use this referral link – I will get a small reward for introducing you!
So, onto the facts! I created a spreadsheet to help with my pricing, but this is one table out of that:
I’ve highlighted the lowest cost in the table. This is the physical manufacturing cost plus shipping cost in the USA and Canada and it clearly shows that Pictorem are less expensive than FAA for all Canvas sizes, all Paper Prints and metal up to 24×16 inches, although the 48×32 inch print is less expensive than FAA. Probably because a higher shipping cost kicked in on FAA.
What might swing the whole thing for me is that their Pro drop-shipping account allows you to have your logo printed on the back of prints and also ensures that it appears that it comes from you instead of Pictorem. That is quite an advantage, I think.
I hope this helps you if you are thinking of moving into this stage of selling Fine Art prints. I’ll get to the full article about selling on Etsy shortly, once I have completed satisfied myself that I understand the process and the best way to list multiple sizes and types of print. If you want to learn more about selling your photography online, don’t forget my two books available here!
Sounds good Steve. I’m really interested in hearing what you find out.
Thanks Rich! I hope it works – certainly seems to be some sellers there who are making enough to make it their full time job.
Steve
Steven, have you compared quality and packing for some of these products?
I ordered six large acrylic prints from Pictorem last year. https://www.backyardimage.com/where-to-see-my-work-in-person/ Not only did they print them quickly, they shipped very securely and I took the unopened boxes to the gallery with my exhibit and opened them there. Every image was perfect. It’s been some time since I ordered anything from FAA, but I have been in touch with two people who did order things – one was a large 36 inch metal print, and they were very happy with that, and I’m not aware of any returns to FAA. So I think both are very professional.
Thanks for the info., Steve. I’m surprised by the big difference in pricing between FAA and Pictorem for some items. It seems that you could make the most profit by selling via Pictorem. That said, I find the Pictorem interface somewhat confusing and I wonder if potential customers would feel the same. What is your opinion on that? Also, where do you find pricing on Pictorem? Do you have to first join before it becomes apparent? Thanks, again.,
I was surprised as well to be honest and my experience with their quality has been very good. I had an excellent experience ordering six large acrylic prints in a rush last year. Even with these lower prices, I still sell more via FAA and I noticed that Pictorem don’t collect an email address until you are actually ordering something so if the buyer leaves it in the cart, they can’t remind them of the opportunity to complete the order. When you have an account with them, you can see the prices as your customer sees them and also see them if you are going to purchase for yourself.