The stars have noting to do with sales success. They show how many posts the person has made to the forum....As for photos vs illustration...I have no idea which is more successful. Good question though.
 
Cheryl

I think it really depends on where your talent lies... Out of over 900 cards sold, less than 30 have been my watercolors or what I created on Print shop... however, my sister is by far a better photographer than I am an artist! I think you really have to experiment to see wgat works best for you. On the other hand, I love to paint, so I'll keep trying!

Wow!! Linda....900 sales??? That's amazing. I shall be very happy if I can get just one more sale....have sold 3 in just under a week of being a new member and one of those was my free card  ....I just wanted to get it so I could check the kind of quality GCU paper and printing is like.
 
And Cheryl...all the best with your sales..I'm sure you will do very well

Thanks to all you folks for your responses!  I used to make a living out of Analysis work, but always had a Photography business of some kind on the side.
 
After reading your responses, I have to agree that Quality and Quantity work very well together.  It is also obvious to me that we must work within our personal gifts and talents.  That aside we can view this from the buyers side.
 
Folks who can do both Photography and Art/Graphics well have a great advantage and position.  It is difficult to admit that we are mediocre at anything; however it is also beneficial to eliminate all mediocre work from your potfolio.  Given that a contributor does that and there is a fairly equal amount of Art and Photogra[hy remaining, the buyer will probably go for a clean, crisp graphic over a photograph.
 
When I used to exhibit in Fine art and Photographic shows (In the days of Film) the consumers tended to purchase the Watercolor over Photography.  The reason being that the consumers would often coment "I can do that" or "I have a picture that I took like that" as they reviewed some of the photographers' work.  In my case, a woman really liked the 20"X24" shot of a Siberian Tiger I had matted and framed, but her husband pulled her ito the artist's space next to mine.  He bought a Water Color of somes geese - very nice painting.  At the time I was in one of the top shows in the country - Wings and Water Show.  Drawing that experience to mind causes me to wondeer if building up my portfolio with an equal amount of graphic work will help to generate some sales.
 
Angela seems to have a nice mix going, and Linda is doing well with graphics.  Linda your comment did have a good point.  The point is - someone with mostly graphics could very well do better than someone with mostly photography.  But it definitely has to be of a fine quality.
 
Christine - thanks for your encouragement!  I'll keep plugging.

I don't know about the question, as i have mostly photos on my card site, but I do know that my ones with longer verses or poetry inside sell far better.
Tracy

Teri Francis,
I just read your response and you certainly nailed it on the head as I think of my own card-buying.   The cover image does have to pull me in -- and it can be through beauty, humor, or anything that tugs at something inside of me.    Then, it is usually, but not always, up to the words inside to seal the deal.