A brief survey for those who stock prints

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R

Ron's dog's flea's brain on acid

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Jan 19, 1999
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canine skin
Hi all,

I'd like to ask a few questions of those of you who stock prints. I felt this would be a good time to ask since we all have just done year-end inventories. Please feel free to ignore anything you want to keep proprietary. Thanks.
  1. About how many prints do you normally stock?
  2. How many $ retail does this inventory represent?
  3. Have these #'s increased or decreased in the last 5 years?
  4. What is your mix of open vs. limited?
  5. What is your best selling $ range for prints?
  6. Do you feel the internet has commoditized prints?
  7. What is your view of the future for print-stocking retailers?

We are seriously reconsidering our dedication to being a large print-stocking retailer.
 
We stock posters only, and my inventory is just shy of 400. I've tried limited editions and originals, but I have found posters sell and the rest just take up space. The posters we stock are mostly decorative-landscape,floral,contemporary, etc., things people can use in their home. I sell many high-end framing jobs, anywhere from $300.00 to $950.00, because of the decorative nature of these posters. I am not kidding! Also, instead of displaying them in sleeves, I have backed all of them with cardboard and shrink-wrapped them. Sales increased dramatically when I did this. I will continue to increase my selection.
 
I have three sleeve type print bins that are full. After 25 years in business I also have a huge amount of posters and prints up in my storage loft. Most of those date back to the 70s and 80s when posters and prints where a profitable thing to stock. I have more than a thousand prints up there.
I hardly ever sell from the print racks at all any more. I would guess one or two pieces a month.
The only reason I have them now is people seem to like flipping thru them and it's good shill for the front of my store.
I think, but I'm not sure, that a lot of the print volume has been taken over on the internet. It's possible that prints and posters are loosing their appeal altogether.
We don't seem to get all that many in for framing any more. At least not as many that came in a few years back.
I hardly ever buy prints any more. It's like insurance, you think you need it, but do you need that much?
John
 
My good cyber buddy John- We carry a ton of prints and every so often we end up with what we call"barking spyders". I have a clearance bin that we put them in at deeply discounted prices (688, 8.88, etc). we protect them with clear bags we buy from Impact and cardboard (finally a use for the stuff). It keeps us clean and turns those proverbial lemons into lemonade. There is always some bargain shoppers in our store, and once in awhile, we'll actually frame one of them
 
I forgot to mention that we havehad a Greenwich Workshop dealership for years that we are now going to discontinue. The stuff just doesn't sell anymore.
 
Posters only. There are a dozen or so hot sellers that I can hardly keep in stock: Wyeth's "Master Bedroom"; Vettriano's "The Singing Butler" - you know the ones. I browse the catalogs frequently and if I see a piece that makes me want to frame it, I'll order it for the store and put it in the flip rack. If it's still there when I have time to deal with it, I frame it. They sell better framed. Once had two customers get into a fight over a framed piece - the poster had been in the rack for months. It was an easy fix. I promised to order another poster and frame it for the second customer - although I don't like duplicate framing. Kit
 
I've had these dogs for years and years. I think I'll put a rack on the sidewalk and give them away if someone will pay for the framing. If that works I'll order more to give away.
 
Wow! What a great topic. I feel like I'm looking in a mirror when I read these responses!

I, too, have been a Greenwich and MP dealer for several years. Currently have about 1000 limited edition prints and another 250 porcelain figurines!

Nothing is moving anymore!

We've gone from annual sales where 50% was prints to about 5%. I've laid off most of my employees (just me and 1 framer now).

Can not seem to figure out if the public is still interested in art and -- if so -- what??

We are slowly moving away from an emphasis on art and moving more and more to being the best place around to get your framing done (trying anyway).

Thanks for listening. I feel a little better now.

OJay
 
We stocked about 2 dozen prints, mostly from Wild Apple, and sold maybe 1 a month. We're in a small rural-based southern town. We began to have a few African-American customers who we welcomed with open arms. I suggested to my wife that we stock some ethnic prints after seeing our Black custs looking thru the bin and finding nothing of interest. I asked them if they would be interested in prints that reflected their culture. I got an overwhelming YES! We sat down and ordered a dozen or so. After a month the word spread and they're the only prints we move now. If it weren't for our Black customers (I don't know if Black is PC anymore) we'd be out of the print business. As it is, we are able to sell a few prints, the accompanying frame jobs, and add to our customer database. It seems that there aren't many places that stock cultural art bt ethnic artists. I'm glad we picked up on that. We have some very happy customers, and they're the ones that keep coming back.

------------------
Charles Lowry
 
We stock apx. 700 prints and posters. This includes limited edition and open edition. Retail value around $20,000. The turn over is not what it ahould be and we are currently cutting this inventory back.

The internet has come into play in a large way, as we have customers who buy on Ebay and the other sites and bring them in to frame. Also, I've seen the large box stores (Walmart, Linen and Things, K-mart, etc.) carrying the same items we do at 20% to 50% less.

I do think framers need to keep stocking prints that sell strongly but stay away from the ones that don't. I'm also very interested in printing images to order if the quality is there.
 
Does anyone here with all those dogs lying, laying or just sitting around happen to have a

BEACH HOUSE by Romanello. Discontinued item.
 
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