Let's talk catalogs, Looneys!
 
Here's an example where these gals put 16 images on a PDF page and formed a nice clear 4-page short catalog of their Retail cards.  Your local printer (or yourself) could print these rather inexpensively, such as a 11"x17" double sided and folded.  You can create these in MS WORD if you have the knack.
 
http://www.marvelousmommies.com/order/marvelousmommies_catalog_2008.pdf
 
If you want qty, get 100 color at 21-cents/side and free shipping here:
http://mycolorcopies.com/index.htm
 
My local printer charges about 75-cents a side.
 
This can compliment the "Card party" idea mentioned earlier by Rhonda.

just noticed this was my 300th post.... it is very long.. but i hope very helpful  
 
next looney reporting... oh fun side note my great-grandmother had the family name of Byrd, she was adopted by a family by the name of French .. her given name was Looney Mae   so i am a true descendant of one  Looney Byrd.  
 
I have posted my experience with local sales so much that many of you are tired of hearing it I am sure.  I wish you all could find such a good store to work with, and that are as excited about you being there, as you are about being there.  My situation can require a good deal of involvement, not required by them, but I feel it is only right because they have been very good to me.
 
 But a few things I will add.  I started out with the local art gallery and that was not a good experience for me. Yearly membership and 30% commission and buying my cards caused me to start out in the hole pretty badly.   Photography did not go over well in the midst of artists who were painters.  After having ordered a good number of fine art linen cardstock cards and selling only a few ,I went to a merchant I knew, he directed me to the store I am now with.  I was introduced and that helped break the ice.  I was very nervous and did not come across as very confident.  One question he asked me was " If we do this for you and market your cards, what will you be willing to do for us?  What part will you play in promoting us as well?"  
 
We get a huge laugh out of this now because I do all their in store advertising signage, the blog, the newsletter, ordering gift items that I have images on, it is unusual for week to go by that I don't get that call.. "can you do this ?" sometimes several times a day... I hate to think how many texts we have.   I also designed outside banners and signs for the store.
 
Recently one of the owners began helping a homeless lady downtown and is now getting all her government work in order and tomorrow night he will move her into an apt.  He is the new downtown liaison for the homeless coalition and I am helping him with that.  So you can see it is a funny question that he asked 2 years ago.  
 
I did not expect any preferential treatment, did not let my artist ego get in the way.  If they displayed them in a basket, on a plate rack or laying on the counter I did not get huffy about it as long as they were able to be seen and not likely to be damaged.  We discussed the price they felt they could sell them for ( they know their market as someone mentioned earlier) , we came to an agreement on which cards they would buy outright at a discounted rate.  Now I only do consignment and they receive 20% on all of my items, cards, prints, ornaments - everything.  
 
What they do for me is this.. I am in the front window space a good 10 x 18 foot area that has my card stand, postcard rack ( which I purchased) and we have my art and gifts displayed, I have wall space for my framed art.  I do not pay rent on that area ( though the other merchants don't really know that)  this is barter for all the design work I do for them.  Most of the time if there is a storewide sale, my items are excluded..by their choice.  They promote my work, make sure it is seen by customers, do the merchandising on the window and believe me they do a very nice job with it.  Sometimes they have special displays set up for holidays etc, but they try to keep my work at the forefront.
 
Again I will say, local photos, local landmarks, points of interest are what sell for me.  Also they have input as to the type of card I brought in, my first order of cards was about 30 designs 5 of each and I  have almost all of those still.  They were all occasion and  even with a great clearance sale price, just didn't sell because we have card shops, cards in grocery and drug stores, several places in town.  Once I changed over to local cards and postcards my sales went nuts.  I have sold a couple of thousand dollars worth since Jan.  of course I have my costs to subtract,  but at this point I am in the black, all of stock is  paid for and I still have thousands of postcards I can sell and it will all be profit.  
 
It is a trial and error, take a risk, what am I doing sort of thing some days.  Other days it is a whoo hoo kind of day.  Again my situation is very different and two years ago I would have never dreamed it would be like this.  No we can't pay off the house and car with it... but i have made car payments and that felt good.  
 
Start small, you can always order more.  I have cards I ordered 3 years ago still sitting in the cabinet.  Don't order racks and displays until you know the store owner will be open to that, has the space for it, and is willing to let you take that space up in their store... that square footage to them is much more valuable than we think.  See if you have to have a business license... and taxes.. I have a tax number as a vendor in the store so mine is taken care of thank goodness.
 
I don't mean to sound discouraging with all the details... this has been wonderful for me and I hope it continues a long time.  But do your homework, find others locally who are selling and get their take on local quirks..every town is different.  Be realistic and park your ego at the door.  They are doing you a favor giving you a start... be flexible, grateful and have fun.  Don't let the compliments go to your head.. there are others dogging your footsteps trust me.. I am seeing it more everyday.. the more I sell the more the competition takes note.  You will get discouraged, but that will show you if you really want to do it or not.  Don't be afraid to say no.  Don't be afraid to take a risk.  Don't be afraid to try, you will never know until you do.

Denise,
 
Great info! Thanks for sharing. And great for taking a risk; what a pay-off! This topic reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:  A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are for. In order to grow and improve, artists need to put themselves in a position to receive feedback, good, bad, and indifferent. Personally, I find indifferent worse than bad!
 
Pattiann

i have them printed, plus i do primarily postcards, with greeting cards being second.  i started out with 5 greeting cards in each design, but i had a big card stand to fill.  if you are going to be exclusive somewhere like i am I would ask the owners what they recommend.  If you are going to go several places i would order one or two of ea. design for each place or type of place.  then reorder when you see what is selling.  you have to stay fresh and remember shipping costs , packaging, eat into your profit, so try to maximize the number of designs and factor that shipping and handling charge, packaging, signage, displays, etc into the cost of each card.

This may be a dumb question, but here goes, since I have been toying with this venture for some time.  
 
Are we at liberty to use our shop url on the back of cards/postcards that we have not purchased from GCU? For example, 'Also at http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/pamjarts'
 
The reason is this. I am able to produce quality cards from home, it would allow me to add features at home that I cannot do on GCU at this time, eg, add info to the inside about a photo/scene or on the back of the card. These things would make my cards more competitive in a local venue.
 
I figure any advertising of my store at GCU would be good for business for both my store and GCU...am I right?
 
Pamela
 
 
 

Thanks Tom and thanks for the suggestion about the wording on the back.
Now....to find the time
Pamela

@Tom i think for your offer to do custom work you should say no EXTRA charge...cause it sounds like they will get free cards...  good luck with your catalog... you will have to find your niche stores, but i am sure you will.
 
@ Elizabeth.  yes i have them printed just for the sake of consistency.  look online for some great printers, depending on your area you may have some local printers that can work with you and meet the online printer prices, i unfortunately didn't, so i did my research and found some i like.  they will nearly all send out samples so try a few and see who you like.  every body has different tastes.