Debut of coin picture set up at the Marrieta Show
FC57Coins
Posts: 9,140 ✭
As some of you know, I took a leap of faith and decided to set up a picture taking operation at the Marrieta Show this weekend. It actually went pretty well I think. Lots of people stopped by to ask questions, some people thought I was grading coins, some of the old collectors just kinda looked at me funny (that's ok - I get lots of funny looks anyways) and I even had a few people employ my services! Fellow board member Toners stopped by with a nice collection of toned coins to have me make some images for him, and a couple of dealers had pictures taken of some of their special coins, with promises from others that they'd be bringing their coins to the show next month. So all in all a very encouraging start 
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and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
Cameron Kiefer
Pricing for the pictures starts at $15-20 for single pics, and then I discount based on volume. I don't know if I see a McPug's franchise in the horizon yet, but as I mentioned, this exercise does have promise.
The set up I use is simple, 4 lamps of different varieties, to compensate for the type of coin that I may be taking a picture of, a gizmo that holds the camera in place while I'm taking pics (though I did wind up taking pics without the camera fixed in place too) and of course a laptop to process the pictures. I was thinking of taking a printer to actually print some pictures, but dot matrix printers take too long, and really don't give the best image possible. So I wind up showing customers their pictures on the laptop. I give customers their photo's on floppy (I'll probably go to CD on request) and I wound up giving them the raw unprocessed pictures as well.
As far as I could see, the biggest glitch that I ran into was the amount of time it takes to process each order. You want to write down all the coins that you are given, and take a look at them, especially raw ones. Some coins are just so tough to photograph properly that I would want to discuss this with the client prior to attempting it.
But as far as I could tell, everyone seemed pleased with the end result, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes at the next show.
<< <i>As far as I could see, the biggest glitch that I ran into was the amount of time it takes to each person a free leghump! >>
Maybe you can get the little greyhound to help!!!
Thanks
Allen
Proud member of TCCS!
I think that is an excellent idea and you might have some competition in the near future. Another board member and I were discussing the financial opportunity last week...
Good luck with it!
John
siliconvalleycoins.com
If I were going to a show and saw a service like this, I think the price point that would interest me would be $5/coin, even if there were a minumum, such as 5 coins.
One suggestion is that you may be able to provide prints by obtaining a compact photo printer. I know Sony makes one (Link) but I am sure there are many others out there. This would allow you to provide nice printed images as well as digital ones.
As for the pricing, you have to consider the all that's involved in the setting up of the shot - the editing and getting the final product just right. Unlike a lot of the shots that I take for myself or to post on here, I have to take special care to get shots just right in a relatively short period of time. Maybe the service isn't worth it to you - but trust me - any cheaper, and it wouldn't be worth it to me either.
Coinlieutenant - I think there's plenty of room for us at the Inn right now. Hope your venture goes well! I think we can make a nice go of it if I do east of the Mississippi and you do west
Congratulations and good luck. Sounds like you had fun and provided an excellent service. I have seen examples of your work, and they are first rate.
Have you considered taking your show on the road? Affluent collectors (regrettably, I do not all under this category) may be willing to fly you to their home location to photograph their collection for them. You may even have to meet some of them at a bank and set up there. Obviously, this would require a greater time commitment but may also be more financially rewarding and get you to see some amazing collections.
Robert