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Wolfy
Jul 13, 2009

tuyop posted:

I agree! I did a lot of reading on setting up etsy shops in the last couple of weeks and I have to put up a slightly different set of pictures to appeal to the market, but I am Le busy and etsy takes forever.
I'm not familiar with buying prints but is this actually how much these things cost?

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tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

Wolfy posted:

I'm not familiar with buying prints but is this actually how much these things cost?

Well Etsy is way cheaper than a store, and my prints are right in line with 5x7s and 8x10s on that site. They're like 10% cheaper than most.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

I'm going to reiterate that you should look into printing these up as 4x6's, mounting them on card stock and selling the nature photos around town as little hand-made note cards. Why in the hell would anyone buy "Generic plant photo #46" online?

BUT, if you have any spots with tourist trade, or anywhere that has works by local artists, the rules of the game change entirely. I've bought cards from local photographers to send around because the prices were decent, the pictures reasonable and it was nice to support someone local.

Sorry to badger on this topic but speaking as an amateur photographer I don't see anything in your pics that really jumps out and screams "Holy poo poo, I've got to have this on my wall!" Now, don't take offense, you have some nice shots of flowers and stuff but I really think that if you want to sell your work you need to get it in front of people in a format that's going to work with your strengths.

coolskillrex remix
Jan 1, 2007

gorsh

CuddleChunks posted:

I'm going to reiterate that you should look into printing these up as 4x6's, mounting them on card stock and selling the nature photos around town as little hand-made note cards. Why in the hell would anyone buy "Generic plant photo #46" online?

BUT, if you have any spots with tourist trade, or anywhere that has works by local artists, the rules of the game change entirely. I've bought cards from local photographers to send around because the prices were decent, the pictures reasonable and it was nice to support someone local.

Sorry to badger on this topic but speaking as an amateur photographer I don't see anything in your pics that really jumps out and screams "Holy poo poo, I've got to have this on my wall!" Now, don't take offense, you have some nice shots of flowers and stuff but I really think that if you want to sell your work you need to get it in front of people in a format that's going to work with your strengths.

The problem is non-studio based photography simply isnt profitable unless theres a niche. Selling "neat photos" on etsy is difficult for INCREDIBLY talented photographers, let alone those who are selling what amounts to slightly artsy vacation snap shots. Thats just the reality of it.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

coolskillrex remix posted:

The problem is non-studio based photography simply isnt profitable unless theres a niche. Selling "neat photos" on etsy is difficult for INCREDIBLY talented photographers, let alone those who are selling what amounts to slightly artsy vacation snap shots. Thats just the reality of it.

Well, I don't take pictures as a job, I'm just trying to make a little bit of money with pictures that I've taken as per recommendations from this thread. So yeah, I'd have to sell A LOT of generic Grand Canyon snapshots to make my trip to the Grand Canyon worth it. Profit is not really a concern here.

Also, have you looked at what's selling on Etsy? Not that I'm some kind of photography genius (obviously), but most of it is just over-processed, boring pictures with boring subjects that some weird cat lady is going to stick in her cat room. Hardly incredibly talented.

I happen to have TONS of macros of flowers, so I just have to over-process them and profit I guess!

Briantist
Dec 5, 2003

The Professor does not approve of your post.
Lipstick Apathy

tuyop posted:

Also, have you looked at what's selling on Etsy? Not that I'm some kind of photography genius (obviously), but most of it is just over-processed, boring pictures with boring subjects that some weird cat lady is going to stick in her cat room. Hardly incredibly talented.

I happen to have TONS of macros of flowers, so I just have to over-process them and profit I guess!
Are you sure those are actually selling? I've never really used etsy so I don't know if there's a way to distinguish between items that are selling and those that sit there and never get bought, but it's a pretty important distinction.

80k
Jul 3, 2004

careful!

Briantist posted:

Are you sure those are actually selling? I've never really used etsy so I don't know if there's a way to distinguish between items that are selling and those that sit there and never get bought, but it's a pretty important distinction.

Etsy shops list how many sales have been made. Under shop info, it lists how many items for sale and how many sales have been made (and you can even see the original listings of the sold items).

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

Briantist posted:

Are you sure those are actually selling? I've never really used etsy so I don't know if there's a way to distinguish between items that are selling and those that sit there and never get bought, but it's a pretty important distinction.

Let's see... this is the top seller in the world for photography. 7142 sales.



OMG Bokehs :swoon:



Genius... :barf:

Here is the second best seller. 5594 sales.



Must you have this on your wall? 25 bux.

So yeah, I think I can do this. I have the talent software.

More incredible photography if you care to look: http://www.craftcount.com/category.php?cat=3&subcat=29

The real money is in pins anyway. http://www.etsy.com/shop/beanforest 41086 sales at 1.30 each after posting costs...

tuyop fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Aug 17, 2011

Wolfy
Jul 13, 2009

I can't wait for you to get out of debt by selling lovely, over-processed photos of hearts and then plunge right back by taking 6 consecutive vacations to Costa Rica.

cheese eats mouse
Jul 6, 2007

A real Portlander now
The general public has pretty bad taste. This is well known in the art world and the subject of many rants. Welcome to the world of art I guess?

Also, I can see why that person's prints sell so well. They're very Etsy and they probably self-promote constantly. They are also interesting pictures of beautiful places. Where's all your travel photos?

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

cheese eats mouse posted:

The general public has pretty bad taste. This is well known in the art world and the subject of many rants. Welcome to the world of art I guess?

Also, I can see why that person's prints sell so well. They're very Etsy and they probably self-promote constantly. They are also interesting pictures of beautiful places. Where's all your travel photos?

I'll probably add a few on the weekend. With the appropriate photoshop actions, of course. I've also got to do a big shop revamp. Maybe Etsy works on the work computers...

Financially,

I'm on track to spend $20 on gas this week to chip in for the carpooling on Friday. I spent my $40 bucks cash already on a haircut ($13), replacing a multitool that was stolen last week ($25), and I've got a toonie in my car. Should haircuts come out of my cash? I know they're 13 bucks every two weeks.

The girlfriend found a job at a warehouse making 300 a week. It's brutal, the hours suck and she barely has enough money to pay the bills. She wants me to come camping with her family this weekend. She's paying the gas, and I would pay for another site which is 28 dollars. I'm saying I can't afford it, but she really wants me to go.

KarmaCandy
Jan 14, 2006

tuyop posted:

I'm on track to spend $20 on gas this week to chip in for the carpooling on Friday. I spent my $40 bucks cash already on a haircut ($13), replacing a multitool that was stolen last week ($25), and I've got a toonie in my car. Should haircuts come out of my cash? I know they're 13 bucks every two weeks.

The girlfriend found a job at a warehouse making 300 a week. It's brutal, the hours suck and she barely has enough money to pay the bills. She wants me to come camping with her family this weekend. She's paying the gas, and I would pay for another site which is 28 dollars. I'm saying I can't afford it, but she really wants me to go.

Yes, haircuts should come out of cash but I can't at all fathom why you need one every two weeks. Are you doing $40/wk of spending money? If the girlfriend wants you to go and it's important to her and you want to go, you can always use next week's spending money on this weekend and then only have $12 for next week. Personally, I do my spending money by month rather than week because there will be weeks with lots of things I want to do and weeks with nothing, using a weekly amount as a guide but the monthly amount as a firm line, but that may be dangerous for you if you feel you'll spend it all in the first week.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

tuyop posted:

Let's see... this is the top seller in the world for photography. 7142 sales.



OMG Bokehs :swoon:



Genius... :barf:

Here is the second best seller. 5594 sales.



Must you have this on your wall? 25 bux.

So yeah, I think I can do this. I have the talent software.

More incredible photography if you care to look: http://www.craftcount.com/category.php?cat=3&subcat=29

The real money is in pins anyway. http://www.etsy.com/shop/beanforest 41086 sales at 1.30 each after posting costs...

I will agree with you that those are pretty terrible pictures. Maybe I just don't have an aesthetic sense but I couldn't imagine hanging those in my living quarters let alone spending money for them.

Nam Taf
Jun 25, 2005

I am Fat Man, hear me roar!

KarmaCandy posted:

Yes, haircuts should come out of cash but I can't at all fathom why you need one every two weeks.
Yeh, what the gently caress? You can go for a couple of months without a haircut. It won't kill you.

Did you need the multitool too, or was it just nice to have?

You can't just go spending poo poo and keep going 'whoops, over budget again :shobon:'. That's not how poo poo works.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

Nam Taf posted:

Yeh, what the gently caress? You can go for a couple of months without a haircut. It won't kill you.

Did you need the multitool too, or was it just nice to have?

You can't just go spending poo poo and keep going 'whoops, over budget again :shobon:'. That's not how poo poo works.

Both those things are necessary The multitool needs to be replaced because it's issued kit, so one way or another it has to be replaced. Usually they dock your pay 75 bucks for a multitool, but I got one for 25 because I have connections.

Having long hair won't kill me, but my company sergeant-major will.

I took out 40 bucks on Monday for cash spending this week. I spent it on a haircut and a multitool, both had to be done. Am I over budget due to these things somehow? Am I missing the point? I'm not spending any more than that cash because I simply don't carry any money on me.

Wolfy
Jul 13, 2009

CornHolio posted:

I will agree with you that those are pretty terrible pictures. Maybe I just don't have an aesthetic sense but I couldn't imagine hanging those in my living quarters let alone spending money for them.
But you see the lights, they're shaped like hearts.

Chin Strap
Nov 24, 2002

I failed my TFLC Toxx, but I no longer need a double chin strap :buddy:
Pillbug
Cant you just do your own hair?

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

Wolfy posted:

But you see the lights, they're shaped like hearts.

HOLY loving poo poo *purchases ten*

Nether Postlude
Aug 17, 2009

His mind will keep
reverting to the last
biscuit on the plate.

CornHolio posted:

I will agree with you that those are pretty terrible pictures. Maybe I just don't have an aesthetic sense but I couldn't imagine hanging those in my living quarters let alone spending money for them.

Hey I like the second one but without the little banners. Also I think the one with the green chairs is so popular because it's got a reflection of the Louvre in it. (I only found that out from the description - I never would have spotted it myself so who knows if other people are more astute.)

KarmaCandy
Jan 14, 2006

tuyop posted:

Having long hair won't kill me, but my company sergeant-major will.

Hair just doesn't grow very much in two weeks and if you're buzzing it, that's something that you or your girlfriend could easily do yourselves. If you're not buzzing it, maybe you should start since its DIY and your short hair will stay short longer.

Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

Chin Strap posted:

Cant you just do your own hair?

My sister cut my dad's hair once. When he went back to his barber Lenny, he knew immediately someone who didn't know what they were doing had messed up his hair. But she did a better job than when he decided to cut his own hair when he was a kid. His grandmother used to cut it and after she did he went in there and decided to cut holes in it and claim she didn't know what she was doing. That went over like a lead balloon.

tuyop, could you go three weeks between haircuts? I want you to look nice and not get in trouble, and it's not like $13 is that much money, but over a year that's about $120 in savings.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
Guys, it's 26 dollars a month. I'm an officer in the military, I can't look like a lovely scruff 1/4 of the time even if I could figure out a way to not break the rules. It's the same with razors and cream. I could shave once or three times a week, but it would be unprofessional and it's an insignificant cost too. Same with boot polish. I'm also not buzzing it, I'm not a recruit in the marines.

CanadianSuperKing
Dec 29, 2008
I'm also an officer in the CF. I keep my hair longer than average for a military person, and I wouldn't get it cut more often than once every four weeks. YMMV.

I love how BFC harasses people for things like haircuts and recommends people clip their own hair. $13/haircut is a pretty reasonable price.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal
Man I go three months between haircuts. And my hair grows like a goddamn weed.

edit: and I shave once a month if even.

(Granted I'm not in the military so I don't have to abide by their draconian laws)

vv you can be pretty. I'll be manly. :colbert:

CornHolio fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Aug 18, 2011

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
/\/\/\ I'm a bit more pretty than you, CH. No offense.

Yeah I toe the line pretty much constantly as far as legal hair goes. That's why it's every two weeks, any longer and I'm in college student territory.

I haven't seen you in the CF thread, what trade are you?

KarmaCandy
Jan 14, 2006

tuyop posted:

Guys, it's 26 dollars a month. I'm an officer in the military, I can't look like a lovely scruff 1/4 of the time even if I could figure out a way to not break the rules. .

Well it's $26 dollars a month but as you're figuring out, when you only have $40/wk to spend, those two weeks that you get a haircut will be a little bit tighter in your fun/miscellaneous category since haircuts aren't super fun but make up 17% of your monthly fun budget. If you feel that an extra week would suddenly make you look scruffy then so be it, but an extra week could also give you some extra money to do other things like go camping with your girlfriend. It's about balancing things. For most of us, a cut every two weeks is excessive and would be an easy way to squeeze in some extra discretionary money by just going one week longer without, but if that's where you want your spending money to go then that's where it should go.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Haircuts are part of his job. I don't see that as a negotiable category because of his military status.

Going camping with your girlfriend *is* negotiable and talking her through why spending any money at all is a bad idea for the short term will hopefully bring you two together as you both buckle down to work on monetary issues. Soon, you'll build up a bit of breathing room thanks to being on the same page with your financial goals and have developed a communication skill that will serve you two well if you end up getting married.

Or, you'll go camping, blow your budget, resent her for "making" you spend money and she'll feel bad and the cycle will repeat forever and give us a lovely thread for the next few years till Zaurg returns.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe
Well I called the campground. It's 15 bucks, there's no haircut next week but I just ordered a pair of boots. 130 bucks that will come out of my paypal balance from a pair of boots that I returned as defective. I have about 40 bucks left over on paypal from those which will cover the gas needed to go to Houlton and pick them up.

Boots, y'all. :c00lbert:

Referee
Aug 25, 2004

"Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday."
(Wilma Rudolph)

tuyop posted:

Boots, y'all. :c00lbert:

You're a troll and not a very good one at that.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

IllegallySober posted:

You're a troll and not a very good one at that.

My last pair fell apart and the issued ones ruin my feet. What?

jabro
Mar 25, 2003

July Mock Draft 2014

1st PLACE
RUNNER-UP
got the knowshon


You're an officer. You don't do poo poo all day that requires special boots.

RheaConfused
Jan 22, 2004

I feel the need.
The need... for
:sparkles: :sparkles:

jabro posted:

You're an officer. You don't do poo poo all day that requires special boots.

I guess you haven't been reading this thread.

Vomik
Jul 29, 2003

This post is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan

Wolfy posted:

I can't wait for you to get out of debt by selling lovely, over-processed photos of hearts and then plunge right back by taking 6 consecutive vacations to Costa Rica.

There are a million worse ways to live than that.

Referee
Aug 25, 2004

"Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday."
(Wilma Rudolph)

tuyop posted:

My last pair fell apart and the issued ones ruin my feet. What?

Let's recap:

tuyop on August 1st posted:

And my TV just sold. 400 bucks!

Edit: What's the most prudent thing to do with this 400 dollars right now? Should I save it or buy those boots ($165) so I can break them in this month or what? I could use a wireless card for my computer ($30). Or should I just dump it on the Mastercard this month? I was hoping to get the boots with my cash, gas and grocery overflow, if possible.

IllegallySober posted:

Put the money towards your debt. That was the point of selling the TV.

KarmaCandy posted:

I'm not sure how this is even a question, but debt obviously - the TV could pay off almost all of your laptop or a decent portion of your high interest credit card. The point of selling the tv is not to get more money to gently caress around with, you already have a ton of that - $240/month - which makes the boots easily affordable next month.

tuyop posted:

I made the mathematically correct choice and put it on the mastercard, so that's down to 1950.

tuyop on August 4th posted:

I sent a pair of boots in for warranty repair last month. ($22 shipping) and they just refunded my money ($245. Got screwed by exchange here, there was a rise in the USD when I bought them so they cost 275, but the USD is down now so I only got 245. ), so that's going towards new boots but the money has already been spent so I'm not considering it as income or expense. Hoping to find a deal and replace them with two new OTBs. Or a set of trail runners (just realized that running in slushy poo poo in my vibram fivefingers this fall is not going to be an option) and combat boots. What do you guys think?

So you already knew you'd sent in boots to be repaired, yet you wanted to take more cash and spend them on more boots. Okay, whatever. So now you get your refund money of $245 and...

tuyop on August 18th posted:

Well I called the campground. It's 15 bucks, there's no haircut next week but I just ordered a pair of boots. 130 bucks that will come out of my paypal balance from a pair of boots that I returned as defective. I have about 40 bucks left over on paypal from those which will cover the gas needed to go to Houlton and pick them up.

$130 + $40 doesn't equal $245 even if we assume you started at a $0 PayPal balance. So where's the other $75?

In addition to that, you can tell us the issued boots (presumably for free) "ruin your feet" all you want but I'd probably find a solution that was cheaper then buying all-new boots if I was in the same debt situation you're in.

But hey,

tuyop posted:

Boots, y'all. :c00lbert:

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

IllegallySober posted:

Let's recap:

$75 = Xbox live membership and eBay fees from something I sold awhile ago, math detective.

And I'm going to assume you've never had a 40 km day of marching carrying your bodyweight on your back with boots literally full of blood, so I don't think you know what you're talking about regarding alternative boot solutions. 130 (+gas) for those boots is an awesome deal, the pair I destroyed last year were almost 400 bucks. This is an improvement.

Eris
Mar 20, 2002
I think what people are trying to say is that you don't really get the concept of a budget.

If you know you need new boots all of the time, and regular haircuts - budget for them. Save specifically for them. That doesn't mean "oh, I spent what I wrote out I was going to spend and blew extra money on entertainment, but I need X, Y, Z, all of which was necessary and foreseeable, so ... oh well!"

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

Eris posted:

I think what people are trying to say is that you don't really get the concept of a budget.

If you know you need new boots all of the time, and regular haircuts - budget for them. Save specifically for them. That doesn't mean "oh, I spent what I wrote out I was going to spend and blew extra money on entertainment, but I need X, Y, Z, all of which was necessary and foreseeable, so ... oh well!"

I get it, maybe I'm not explaining it correctly.

I bought the boots in May, they broke in June and after trying to repair them I returned them as defective in July. The need for boots that I had in May didn't go away, neither did the money spent on boots. It's still boot money, just half as much spent on a better product now.

The other expenses, such as the xbox membership and wireless card, are absorbed by the spending money that didn't get spent at the beginning of the month. I used my budgeted money to pay for the haircut. The same way I'm going to pay for the camp site. I went four days this week with 0 spending money and it wasn't a big deal, I'll be able to do next week with ten bucks left over no problem.

Maybe I need to post a screenshot, but I've been OBSESSED with my budget, and I'm actually hundreds of dollars under this month.

Psycho Crusher
Aug 3, 2011

tuyop posted:

Maybe I need to post a screenshot, but I've been OBSESSED with my budget, and I'm actually hundreds of dollars under this month.

That's great news. Have you taken a minute to visualize how you'll feel in about 2 years from now, when you're 100% (besides car) debt free? You'll have an extra $17,000/year to handle. Are you going to start taking vacations like mad again? Where is the debt repayment money going to go every month, the day the debt hits 0?

Edit: Are you not able to cut a better deal for your credit cards?

How's your emergency fund doing? I don't want to open this thread in 2 years and find out that you're completely screwed with a broken car/baby/teeth/etc. because you spent all your money on vacation boots

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

Psycho Crusher posted:

That's great news. Have you taken a minute to visualize how you'll feel in about 2 years from now, when you're 100% (besides car) debt free? You'll have an extra $17,000/year to handle. Are you going to start taking vacations like mad again? Where is the debt repayment money going to go every month, the day the debt hits 0?

Edit: Are you not able to cut a better deal for your credit cards?

How's your emergency fund doing? I don't want to open this thread in 2 years and find out that you're completely screwed with a broken car/baby/teeth/etc. because you spent all your money on vacation boots

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a debt-free celebration vacation to SE Asia to surf two to three months after the 0 point. Then I'll focus on paying down the car so that I can start saving a down payment for a nice used one. That's the next long term large purchase I can see. Depending on my salary and attitude, I might forget about a new car and start saving to quit the army and pay for a Bachelor of Education. I want to teach high school. Do you guys have any other ideas? I never want to own a house so I don't need a down payment. At the most I'd go for a condo.

My visa has already been negotiated down. I'm going to call mastercard at some point and talk to them. I would close the card and negotiate a payment plan for the balance, but I use it to pay my monthly bills and collect grocery points.

Regarding the emergency fund, I'm not sure I really need one. I have about 200 in savings right now, and I put 50 a month in a TFSA right now. The military pays all of my medical, dental, and vision bills 100%. I almost want my car to get stolen so that insurance will pay out and I can replace it with a beater. I don't have anything in my apartment that's irreplaceable. Am I missing something that I might need more than 1000 dollars for, which is what my chequing account will sit at?

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Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

tuyop posted:

Well, I'll focus on paying down the car so that I can start saving a down payment for a nice used one. Then I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a debt-free celebration vacation to SE Asia to surf two to three months after the 0 point.

I fixed this for you. I'm sure what you originally wrote was a typo.

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