The One and Only, ~Splendid Cornflake~

This probably isn’t the answer you wanted, but it’s the most helpful one we can give based on our 9-11 years of experience doing artist alleys.

Here’s what I (maiji) did when I started out.

I printed about 9 to 15 of each print design depending on how well I thought something might sell. Where did I get the number 9-15? I don’t remember. I either looked around and saw people mentioning some numbers like that, or I thought they sounded like nice and reasonable numbers for a beginner.

I chose the print number for each print based on whether I thought people would know the fandom and how good/popular I thought the picture was.

I kept track of inventory so I could see what was selling at an event and how it was selling over the course of the conventions I go to. 

Based on my past sales performance, I adjusted my numbers and used it to help predict how I think future prints may do. For instance, at my first event, my print sales of each design ranged from 0 to 7 copies. So at my next event, for new prints I printed 4 to 11 instead.

I wish I could say that over time I developed a finely-tuned understanding of how many prints I should print. Sometimes, maybe. But usually, not really. I am still surprised every year.

For example: Think fanart sells? Great! But fanart of what? Popular series? Are you sure you know what will be popular by the time the convention rolls around? And don’t forget - if it’s popular, you definitely won’t be the only one there drawing and selling it. Therefore, more competition.

That’s just one very simplified factor. There are many others - you can read more on our post about increasing sales/profit: http://aatoast.tumblr.com/post/55741463822/here-it-is-rebloggable-version-of-this-original And even regarding the fanart aspect, I have drawn fanart that has sold, fanart that has done terribly, original art that didn’t do well, original art that did great, fanart that people bought because they didn’t know the character(s) and thought it was original art … and on and on.

What’s true for one artist isn’t true for another isn’t true for all years isn’t true for all events isn’t even true for the same event over different days. It’s also not true for prints of different images, nor even different print sizes of the same image. I think that I “know” a print is a hit or a dud - and then next year rolls around, or even the next event, and suddenly it’s selling (or not selling) and I’m all, “huh?”

Here’s another example:

phaena:

I get one print that tends to sell 1-2 per con, another that would sell 5 another sells 20, another 30. So, that’s pretty much my experience. I can’t even give averages.

This past Anime North, phaena made a silly print as a joke and sold out of them (hence her comment in the screenshot at the beginning of this post). She was even trying to ration them for Sunday, and there were still people looking for it when they were gone. She’s been doing Artist Alleys for over 10 years.The fact is, the number of prints you bring will be a complete guess. You can do all the research you want to make it as educated of a guess as possible, but you won’t know how accurate or well-informed of a guess it was till after the fact.I apologize as I’m probably beating a dead horse at this point, but so many people have this question when they start (and it is a perfectly reasonable question to have!). So I just wanted to underline it.

Our guess (or approach) is as good as yours. And moreover, our guess/approach may not be appropriate for your work/the area where you are selling. Let’s say, for instance, phaena says she sold 20 or 30 of a single print. That could be a very low number for some people. To me, that’s wildly successful. Printing 20 of something to me means I’m stocking up for two or three events.

In summary, don’t be discouraged! Just make sure you don’t stress out or spend a ton of time wondering about getting something absolutely right when it’s not possible to. What I would suggest is that you do something similar to what I did when I started (and probably what most artists do when they start). Pick a number and print some prints. Keep track of your inventory, and go from there.If it makes you feel more confident about picking that arbitrary number, read some of the artist alley guides in our printing and selling tags, and take a look at comments on some of the artist alley forums to help you decide what that number will be. For those interested, this question was also posted on the AN Comic Market forum, where om-nom-berries also responded with her approach, and brings up some very logical points on developing a system to lean on to help you make a decision. The following is what works for her:

Is it fan art or original art?  If fan art, print more. If original art, print less.

Is it fan art of a current series? (example: a few years ago, Avatar was the huge thing. I sold lots of Zuko, Katara, etc. This year? All about Attack on Titan and Kill La Kill. Next year? You’ll have to see)

Is there someone attending this year that is connected to the series?  Voice actors can mean you sell way more prints to people who want to get something signed. Toph’s VA was at Anime North one year and I got cleaned out of Toph prints)

If I hit all three points above, I’ll probably print 10-15 copies of something. Hit two points and I’ll print 8-10. Hit one and I’ll print around 5. Some things I’ve only ever done 1-2, and that’s for original or obscure stuff.

Source: http://teahousemaplemoon.proboards.com/thread/1291/help

We’ve mentioned this before, but some artists will bring their digital files with them so that they can run out and reprint/restock during the convention at a nearby print shop. If you don’t mind the stress that can come with running around, or the potential for inconsistent product quality, this might work for you!

On a related note, orangisque actually did scientific research (okay, detailed calculations) a few years ago about whether it is more or less profitable to print a lot of prints and risk having too many, or to print fewer prints and risk not having enough because you sold out. Please publish your findings, orangisque:

scientific orange:

From a pure printing cost VS selling perspective, it’s better to err on the side of printing more than less. Here’s an example:

Say it costs you $2 to print 1 11x17 print and you are selling that print for $10 each. If you print 5 of them, it will cost you $10 to print (nevermind tax, it makes the numbers hard to read). Sell all 5 and it’s $50 and you make $40 after you subtract printing. Now, if you printed 10 of them for $20 and “only” sell that 5, you’d still make $30. If though you sell out all 10, that’s $100 and you make $80! That’s $50 you potentially have left on the table because you printed 5 instead of 10 and sell out. Lose $10 VS lose $50, hmm. 

Now, that’s only from one perspective, looking at printing costs only. Obviously, no one likes looking at left over prints. It also does you no good if you don’t sell any or if you price your prints at $3 and it took you $2 to print.

Also keep in mind that if you have left overs after a con, you can just carry them over to future events so you still have the potential of earning more money. But as orange points out, if you don’t sell anything the above doesn’t really help.

The ship flip of the century ✨

Viktor: @jessikara Yuuri: @shyency

Commission for @gabapple for their amazing fic together with @mamodewberry, “Never Look Away” It’s great! Go read!