How I Started Selling my Photography Prints
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- Want to turn your photography passion into a profitable print store? Join me on this journey as I navigate setting up my own print store from scratch, from buying a printer to creating a website that attracts buyers. Subscribe to see if I can overcome the challenges and finally start selling my prints!
Get 10% off at Fiverr - go.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=9856...
My Print Store - www.rickbebbington.com/shop
Vlad's Fiverr Profile - www.fiverr.com/vladislav_bond
Resources from this video:
Canon Pro 1000 Printer - tidd.ly/3yC2AWS
Fotospeed Paper - fotospeed.com/nst-bright-whit...
Packing Paper - geni.us/GwSD
Paper for Certificates - geni.us/c7Ixmru
Packing Boxes - www.graphicsdirect.co.uk/coll...
The Kit I Use:
Sony A7SIII - tidd.ly/3W4k6wQ (UK)
Sony A7RV - tidd.ly/4aGUYR4 (UK)
Fujifilm X100 V - tidd.ly/3TWL72k (UK)
Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 ART - geni.us/ljvkYI
Sigma 60-600mm - geni.us/d49h
Sigma 16-28mm - geni.us/AhAhM
DJI Pocket go 3 - geni.us/AT53e
DJI Ronin RS - geni.us/HKxD
Freewell VND V2 - geni.us/IPaqiq5
Benro Tortoise - geni.us/cFJAEB
Peak Design Strap - geni.us/VAk7Vu
Lexar Memory Cards - geni.us/1XoDTDd
All the music for this video was from Artlist - artlist.io/Rick-12174
More stuff I Use
Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo - geni.us/SOAOBd
16-35mm f2.8 - geni.us/trD4EFL
70-200mm f2.8 - geni.us/fi3GSq
24mm - geni.us/Ka0jo
35mm - geni.us/5eCd
50mm - geni.us/YTEV5
85mm - geni.us/SK482J
BENQ 32" SCREEN - geni.us/iRQD6aV
The Best Keyboard - geni.us/IkzGrw
An Even Better Mouse - geni.us/tGJXn1
WHERE I GET ALL MY GRAPHICS AND STOCK FOOTAGE
Envato Elements - 1.envato.market/yRLQNN
0:00 - Intro
2:23 - What Printer
2:52 - Printer Vs Lab
5:02 - Website
6:57 - Branding
8:33 - Prints
10:41 - Marketing
13:18 - Fulfilment
14:02 - Launch
14:36 - Results
Your artwork (photos) are incredible. The reason your prints aren't selling is because you're marketing them to other photographers, and this is the same exact problem I've seen from literally every other photography CZcams channel and then they complain about how it's so difficult - but that couldn't be further from the truth. The people who want to buy your art are NOT interested in photography. They may not even be interested in going on adventures. Who buys art? That should be the question that leads you to finding your audience, and we can say straight off the bat it could people interested in things like interior design who like wall art, or local businesses like bars and salons who want framed artwork on their walls. Remember, you will be looking for people who have enough disposable income too. You already hinted at how people would be interested in prints of their local area, so start with that - run some some Facebook ads to target people in those areas. Boomers especially love their local history and landmarks. You have photos of Chile on your site, so who is interested in Chile? Who is interested in Punta Arenas? Go find those people. I wish you the best :)
As a full time photographer who makes a good living off of print sales I second this! @PixPete nailed it with this comment.
Thank Pete - I really appreciate you taking the time to answer this. I think you hot the nail on the head re. photography YT. A lot of us are basically selling to other photographers which isn't going to work a lot of the time. I'll explore what you have said and will take it from there. Thanks again.
"Who buys art? That should be the question that leads you to finding your audience"
Yep I think art is a smaller niche. Pastry or coffee shops perhaps can be easily enjoyed by greater audience. But art? Thanks for the hints: people who like interior design, bars and salons which put framed artwork on their walls...
Your comment is right, but don't underestimate other photographers.
As a photographer with many friends in this field, I buy 5-10 images a year and almost every other photographer I know does the same.
When you buy from others, you can market it and sell a lot more.
I have been trying to sell my prints for over a year now. I've tried Etsy, my own website, and a little of ebay. I only sold 1 after several months on etsy. I haven't given up but I did ran out of money to continue investing on these services. My next try would be the local market but honestly I dont know now if its even worth it. Maybe my photos are not that great?
Hey Rick great video! I just wanted to say, I had the same mindset in the beginning of wanting my own website to sell my prints but I didn’t want to limit myself to just my audience/ following. I ended up opening an Etsy and it’s been relatively successful. I’ve only been open for a little over a year now and have made profit. I’m by no means retiring off this income but I get a lot of joy seeing random people across the country/world purchase my photos for their home.
Thank you Rick for such a genuine retelling of your situation and attempt.
Interesting video Rick and I admire your honesty. Don’t despair, I’ve been selling prints for about 3 years and have sold well over 2000 and none of them bigger than A3. In my opinion you need a bigger range, a handful isn’t enough. I think a shopper wants to be able to see a range of images and I find sets of images sell well.
This is the video CZcams recommended to me. Thanks for being genuine and helpful.
You gained technical skills and wisdom from this experience which is probably worth more than the revenue from the print sales. Thanks for all the tips as I am thinking of getting the same Canon printer you have.
You can’t be a failure because you are creating, you are doing and others are not. I admire your honesty. From what I saw your work looks very inspiring and professional. Thanks for a video full of hope and achievement.
Thanks, I appreciate that. Not seeing it as a failure, I really enjoyed the whole process and learnt A LOT!
Good luck Rick! I just launched my print store about 3 weeks ago. We’re on the same journey around the same. Only 3 sales so far. I’m a little under 1% conversion rate for site visits.
It’s a hard business so far! But I’ll keep at it. Best of luck friend.
Job done - your vlog has lead me to your web and sales site for a nose around.
Great and honest video. Really well done!
Best of luck with your project!
Honest guy! Thank you so much…..YOU keep going!
Thanks, I will!!
Thank you sir for sharing your process.
Very good and honest video. Congratulation for starting the printing adventure!
A good advice I saw is not only offering photos that we love but also photos that are going to suite people walls: Having some B&W is always a good choice, but I recomment going to a shop like IKEA and ask ourself what photo could suite the different showrooms.
We also need to ask ourself: what other photographers photo did we bought, what we love about thoses and how we display them.
This is a long long journey.
Thanks, that's great advice. Ikea is a good shout actually, they only have what ships in volume. It might not tie in with my view on what I want to sell, but that's part of the learning I guess!
Fingers crossed for the future of your store, Rick. I thought your choice of images reflected the trip well, I hope the only way is up from here!
I hope so too! Thanks, appreciate it!
I just finished watching this video while walking on my treadmill and I surely wish you success in this endeavor. I have a thought you might consider: I'm an amateur photographer and have been, off and on, for more than 60 years. On my walls here in my den there are 46 photographs. Three of them are gift pictures of family and one is an aerial of a place where I worked over 20 years ago. The rest are mine. I very much enjoy your channel and those of some of your compatriots, but I've only purchased one print from the four of you. I wonder if photographers who watch CZcams may not be the best market targets. I would be happy to be wrong.
I wonder that too....! I'm going to keep at it and try different things, hopefully I'll learn enough to enlighten everyone but I do feel that there is quite a bit of misinformation out there in terms of what people have sold. I may be wrong though! Thank you.
This is a super helpful video as a photographer looking to do sometime similar! Great video as always, thanks for posting!
Thanks, glad it's been helpful!!
Just stumbled into your channel, so I'm a first time viewer. Not a photographer, nor do I buy photography, but from the experience you describe it seems like the piece of the puzzle missing is the audience. Who are you trying to sell to? Who is looking for the photos that you've taken? Simply that they're well composed and visually striking won't make the magic happen in terms of sales. In the same way as identifying your audience to build a following on social media, including CZcams, is the key part of the process, the same is true for selling anything.
Where you have an strong starting point is in having followers already. In each of your future videos, find the one shot that you think nails the experience and offer it for sale within the video. Also, it's worth offering limited quantities for those who maybe see it as an investment. "There'll only ever be 5 prints of this photo" adds incentive to your audience to pick it up if they're on the fence.
Fundamentally, try to get a read on who is following your primary marketing channel, whether that's CZcams, Instagram or wherever. Are they following you to get ideas for their own projects? Because they love your end results? The better you understand them, the more likely you can convince them to make a purchase.
Good luck.
If u have the support of your family then keep going. Perservance yields success. All the best.
I watched this before heading to work this morning and its been on my mind ever since. I too have thought about ways that my own photography could start paying for itself and its tough to find an answer. One of the subjects I enjoy photographing are endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals that often haul out for a nap on the island I live on. I send all my photos to NOAA so they can monitor the health of the population of seals on Lana'i and gather data points on where the seals are traveling too. This made me think of setting up a nonprofit business where I can sell my prints to raise funds for habitat studies and population monitoring where I live. I've not fleshed out the concept to even think about pulling the trigger, but people might be more keen to invest in prints if a portion of the profits go back to aid or benefit the subjects we shoot. Nat Geo's Photographer series inspired this thought and maybe this concept could work for you. Just my 2 cents. As always, great video!
Thank Rob. Might you be well placed to sell to the tourist market? I like that idea, I'll have a think about how I can give something back.. thanks for the idea 👍🏻
Well you know I’m a fan and soon to be proud owner of those prints! 🙋🏻♀️
Loved the journey and honesty in this video, also incredibly helpful having just got the same printer myself.
Looks like you’ve learned lots and enjoyed the process, I’m sure the sales will follow, but even if they don’t 1. My piece will be even more valuable 😅 and 2. You’ll have beautiful prints for your home!
I know, thank you again :)
I have, it's been great! Hope you are enjoying your printer!
You forgot about packing supplies as well. I have tried both methods. For me, I order from the lab and then drop ship from lab to the customer. I then have a separate series called a Signature Series. That contains my signature. I use Shopify for my website. I sell a huge amounts of prints. Please let me know if you need any help. I can give you some really rock solid advice.
Good luck. I guess it is all about perseverance. 🤞🤞
Rick, I'm an American here to offer one explanation for not getting many sales in the US: we don't use the metric system, so our stores don't sell frames to fit standard metric paper sizes, like A3. Our standard paper/ frame sizes are based on Imperial inches. Inversely, I once moved to a metric country and could not find a single frame to fit my standard Imperial-sized art because all they sold was metric "A#" frames. There really was not even a close approximation that could sort of fit. People buying an 80-pound print probably don't want to spend another $80+ to order a custom frame for it. And even if they don't want it framed, they still might want the size to match the size of other prints they already own.
The photo can be mounted on a larger board that fits the local frames. People may be matting the print anyway, so the mount board and mat will fit local frames.
@@aeromodeller1 What I meant by the sizes not even being close is that it wouldn't have looked good with a mat because the vertical borders would be a very different width than the horizontal borders. And you'd still have to pay extra to get a custom mat cut because precut mats are also sized for metric or imperial. I also tried to get a frame shipped in from the US, but the shipping cost was just as bad as a custom frame. So that piece of art sat rolled in a tube for years until I moved back the US, and now it is finally framed on my wall. :-)
@@OwlzzZRelaxation Paper size and print size are not the same. Perhaps he could size the print area for imperial markets to standard imperial mats. This complicates the ordering process.
@@aeromodeller1 yes, if it was printed at a standard imperial size on metric paper, that might be the simplest and most affordable solution for buyers and Rick. Anyone with scissors could cut the excess white paper off to fit an imperial mat or frame. But Rick would have to create different crops of all his images because the height to width ratios aren't close to being the same.
what i observe in the comment section is that we all are struggling with PRINT thing. I am also trying to mail different people for my print sale and so far i haven't heard from anyone even though the Presentation, price, paper option and sizes are really good. The thing i notice is that only the architecture has to buy prints for their clients (hotel, shops, offices) but when i visit a top tier hotel, i notice there are lot more paintings than photo prints. The value of photo prints is still lower than paintings for sure. seems like a Photographer has to been a famous or legendary photographer to sell their work.
Good luck. Selling prints is extremely difficult to do nowadays do to the digital age. I also own the Canon prograf pro 1000 printer. Have owned it now for five years. I pretty much print for myself and family. If I sell a print I consider it a plus.
Once again. Good luck.
Thanks, it really is!
Rick excellent video and advice “Don’t lose 💰” ….its not you nor your work …which is excellent…people’s lives are soo complicated and fast paced that I think they sometimes just click past opportunities they otherwise would have jumped at . Keep being you …real , honest , and sincere and your talent will shine through and your niche followers will jump at the opportunity to buy your work !🤩Best -Art
Cheers Art, I will!!
You work is incredible and the pricepoint for what you are offering I think is pretty good. I was hovering over buy there on an image and then your video mentioned Yellowstone and the Tetons so I have paused for now. I will absolutely buy from you but for really personal reasons I would love to know if you are likely to offer something from Yellowstone in your print shop. Thank you Rick for this video, great content. I will look forward patiently for what is to come.
Just subscribed. Thanks for sharing your experience. 🎉
Thanks for subbing!
Good Luck!! I love your work. I would like to see how it works out for you, watching from New York. Remember that everything always a learning experience.
Great Video!
Such a fun watch as I’ve long thought about setting up prints as well! Now I’m wondering…does this mean we can look forward to a book from you then?? 😂
I recently had an exhibition. I had over 500 visitors and I’d say that at least half of them were properly interested in the subject matter (does that overcome the localness aspect?). I recon that if I’d been selling the pictures (A2 and over), I’d have sold at least 2. My thoughts though - being there in person enabled me to quickly develop a relationship with the audience (I don’t have an on-line presence which seems like a massive hurdle to me). Maybe if the pictures had been clearly for sale then things might have been different (but I didn’t want this to be a sale, but rather it was a chance to enthuse about the subject - which I’d say was successful). I did have a book sitting around and this got a lot of eyes time - problem is there a whole different level investment to sell books. All that I can say is that getting the printer and bringing my photos to life has been a fabulous experience. Breaking even seems like a truly lofty goal and I’ve all but given up thinking that this could be an income stream. I do wish you well, and I look forward to receiving a print.
Thanks Jon, that's such a positive amount of visitors - well done! I totally agree with you on bringing your photos to life with a printer - it's so rewarding. Thank you, I really do appreciate it. Print in the post tomorrow 🙏🏻☺️
Hey,
Thank for such an honest video on the whole process. I have been thinking of opening my own store as well and this has been an honest inspiration. I tried to order on your website and realised your cart option after adding items to cart appears really far down to the bottom. It wasn't obvious to me at all, maybe consider changing the design slighly to make it appear near the add to cart button so the transition from 'add to cart' to the 'cart' page is quicker and smoother. Maybe this is hindering the sales as customer can't find the button quickly. Just some thoughts.
You've done a beautiful job on the shop, I wish you the best. You made great choices, so I don't think you need to worry about the quality of the images. One thing I would be interested in is an electronic magazine or "zine" of your images. I don't personally need more physical things. Shipping and boxing are pretty cheap and easy for that too :-) I think Sean Tucker does those. One thing I saw on James Popsys' store is "Nothing at all." You can buy them in one-pound increments. Looking forward to the Tetons and Yellowstone videos.
Thanks Brian. I have actually been contemplating electronic 'zines' recently so I'm glad you mention it.... Similar to James, I did have 'buy me a coffee' on the website but it seems to have gone (I'd love to say i ran out of stock!!). I'll get it reinstated! Thanks again.
RE: success/failure: printmaking is its own art form. Just like you can't just flip a switch from photography->videography, prints represent a completely different artistic challenge. There are so many factors at play to make an excellent print... and then you're ultimately at the mercy of an interior design problem.
Though I think we're coming into a resurgence of physical media, I also think the average person has very little artistic experience with print artwork of any medium... so it falls on artists to not only make great art, but educate their audience about the value and experience of this physical art beyond the screen.
First time viewer. Your photography is phenomenal. The problem isn't your photography, it's that there's only five photos we can choose from. I like the light and airy tree ones on your website but I can't buy those. They go with the art I have in my house already. (Wall space is limited, so choices shouldn't be). Also, I've bought photography from a CZcamsr for $29. My max would be about $50 if I REALLY connected with the photo. P. S. Keep your chin up! I would love to be as far along in photography skills and in the business side of it as you are! Keep going!!
Thanks for the insights - I've had my own experience with selling prints in person where I sorta broke even 😅
From my perspective people buy prints if the have a connection to the photographer AND the subject. Just liking one is usually not enough.
I think you may be right..... maybe a wider spread of locations will work a bit better. I'll keep testing! Thanks Valentin
Step 1: have a successful CZcams channel
100%. No money in it for us mere mortals. Also Etsy is a disaster now for print sales due to AI shit saturating the market.
What a timing, I printed my first pictures today haha. NIce video Rick and good luck on selling prints, I would love to do thesame bought an Epson ET-8550.
Thank you!! I'd love to say it's worth doing 😂 have fun on your printing journey!
Selling prints is the long game. You just have to keep doing it until it breaks for you. I have found doing local shows will help.
Thanks, I will!
I hope it works out for you in time. I tried selling framed A4 prints in a local cafe. All of the photos were scenes that were local to the cafe, which is close to a beach and a harbour. In 18 months, I sold 1 print and a customer knocked one off the wall breaking the frame 😂. I was only doing it to try to supplement my pension, rather than relying on sales, so it was no big deal for me.
Thanks Paul. It's a tough gig isn't it?! That's similar to me, it's more to supplement rather than there being a reliance on it, so at least there's zero pressure on this venture
I’m sorry to hear that. I have my images in a local cafe. I offer a few sizes and find that my A3 matted prints sell the most. I’ve also had one frame broken by falling. I enjoy hearing people’s comments on the images. Good luck
Thank you for your honesty. I've come here accidentally or as some say there is no accident. That was my big dream to take shots and sell them as some people say I should. But I bet some would say don't even try this. So I will only dream having my secure 8 hrs/day boring job. I wish you luck, take care.
Years ago I tried out selling prints in a lot of different ways, and local restaurants etc was the worst, which makes sense in hindsight - people aren't in a restaurant/cafe to buy art.
I found the mindset of the people has the most to do with how successful I was with selling, and had the most success with holding an exhibition in a local gallery, even though it wasn't very busy - people walking into a gallery have the right mindset, and are also ok with higher prices.
I also did local markets for a time, which was very hit and miss. I feel sure I'd have done better if I'd had more easily identifiable local scenes, however, there is still the issue that here in Australia people go to markets expecting a bargain...it's not the place for selling high priced items. From the sounds of it, the art fairs they have in the US are quite different.
Well done on trying pal, it is the hardest thing to do.
So many people don't understand buying from an artist is expensive and for a good reason.
When they can simply go to one of these generic picture websites and buy something or get a framed print from IKEA.
However this is not your target audience and this is where it gets really hard, getting the right people's eyes balls in front of your work.
Thanks mate, you're so right. I need to find the market that finds meaning and value in the work I suppose
You could also print for other people. I would pay for some of my wildlife photos to be printed just to see what they looked like initially.
That’s a great shout, I’d not thought if that - thanks 👍🏻
Interested in your journey. It has been interesting to read the comments and I must confess I see a lot of photographers selling to other photographers which is nice but you never going to make money out of it. To me the key is accessing people who are interested in art, galleries seem the initial answer but I guess access to galleries is very limited and you really need to be a named artist to be able to command their attention. I hope it goes well and will watch your journey.
for sure a photographer wont be interested buying one. I have been mailing Architects. I have made a good presentation and I have good paper options, price and sizes but i think i need more of marketing.
And lateral thought - you might find a market for Patagonia images in North West Wales (Wales) due to the cultural and Welsh language ties. 👍
That's a great shout actually!! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Many of us have considered doing the same. Question: Did you need model or property releases?
if there are more than 5 people in the photo then no need of Model release and if the Private property is clearly visible and is the only property visible then only you need a release.
Best of luck Pal! A Challenge might be an audience of togs wanting images other than their own on their walls ?
Cheers Darren!
Ansel Adams supported his family with his commercial work. Edward Weston gave up his commercial studio for Art and was notoriously poor. Both families have continued to market their art photos online. Visit their sites.
There are several CZcams videos on pricing art. Basically, look for work of similar size and quality to yours.
Selling art is a game of chance. You are doing well if your advertising has a 1% return rate. You want to post as many photos as you can so the buyer can find the picture he wants. At the same time, you don't want it to be overwhelming. You want to make it as easy as possible for the buyer to find something he wants. Major categories with thumbnails works for me as a buyer. Also, you want the ability to make the purchase right on the page with the image.
To get an idea of how to present your work online, look at the many photographers online. What works for you as a possible buyer?
Look forward to seeing if your "rb" logotype and your "Rick Bebbington" logo are reconciled. It's like your face shaved and with a beard. Identity is hard. Good luck! Printing is the best.
At least you've got a nice printer. Printing your photos is more enjoyable than just storing computer files.
You said only a few sales in the first week, that's great! When we setup our online retail business it looks weeks of varying the marketing and targeting until we started getting orders. Keep at it.
Thanks David - I think I probably had quite unrealistic expectations 😂
selling photos today is equivalent to trying to sell ice in the arctic.....the market is absolutely saturated. just one website, fine art America, has some great photos on the first page, and it states that there are over 14,600,000 photographs for sale...one website among hundreds...maybe an established art gallery can get you started, but on your own? this is the golden age of learning and the result is that there are thousands of new photographers trying to do what you are every week. It seems that the road to success in the arts now days is to make instructional videos and run workshops all around the world, get well known for that, then maybe sell prints on the side...the equivalent of selling t shirts at a rock concert...just selling photos? good luck being just another grain of sand on the beach....
Do you sell the prints in a frame.? Or just the paper print.
Frames are a big cost, and I guess you would need them in stocks.
Good initiative, but the final price is too high for the vast majority of people.
It's a premium product, obviusly, but it not for everyone.
Most people don't ever place a value on photographs any more, on a recent holiday a fellow traveler said to me "oh thats why you take good pictures you've got a proper camera" , & the only other person with a picture of mine on there wall is the sister in law who used an image my partner shared on WhatsApp & didn't even bother asking .
Rough 😂
I hate it when people say the good camera thing. I think a lot of people still place value on it, but your are right. Most don't.
😂
I think it's really hard to compete with a lab on a per-page cost. Yeah, you can technically get some savings (~15-20%) once you're running... but it's very hard to compete with the economies of scale. Though I think this is kinda moot since, as a photographer, the bulk of the price customers are paying is for the art, not the materials.
Which paper did you use?
Work is not crap buddy, to me it's price, went to support on site and price got me, lol.
Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it. Out of interest, what would you be prepared to pay?
@@RickBebbington I would max out at $50 myself.
My apologies for previous comment. It wasn't intended for this video. Not sure how my comment went onto this video. I appreciate a fellow photographers work and I wouldn't intentionally insult your work.....again.....please accept my apology
FEAR
Yup
That’s
Me
How would one get someone to their online store if they don't already have a following of any kind?
I have yet to see anyone break even selling prints, let alone turn a profit. I bet even the big CZcamsrs in the photography game aren’t even selling prints. Hell many admit to a minor loss or breaking even with a book or zine.
The longer this goes on, the more you may be right..... 😅 Not something that get's mentioned all that much though!
Explain this to me. How do you expect to lower your print cost over time? Not to mention paper cost, ink cost and most importantly time cost.
I don't expect to lower my costs, I mean over time printing at home will be cheaper than using a lab...
If I'm printing at home, I have the initial cost of my printer plus the cost per print (paper + ink + time + packaging). So say £1000 for the printer and £40 per print for arguments sake. So if I sell one print, in theory that costs me £1040. If I sell one print and get it done at a lab, that might cost me £60 and that's it - a lot cheaper than printing at home.
However, if I sell 100 prints, the cost for printing at home then goes up to £5000 (£1000 printer + 100 x £40).
The cost from the lab will be £6000 (100 x £60). So assuming I one day get to a certain number of prints sold, my costs will be lower by doing this at home than by using a lab.
Hopefully that makes sense!!
@@RickBebbington you are better off using cheaper lab for prints. Prints will actually look like photographs on offset printer. And you will save ton of time, headache/stress/anxiety, and useless paperwork for taxes. Trust me, you will thank me in the long run. I can think of a couple of cheap and amazing printers in New York.
better sell cute dogs n cats pix ....such is life 😫😫
Haha!! Funnily enough, I spent 4 years photographing dogs and cats when I worked in-house!! Never again....
Don't sign your photographs with a ball point pen, its not archival and it doesn't look professional or quality which you are trying to portray.
How many people are buying your prints and how many are stealing them from your website? Nobody is going to pay for anything that they can steal.
You have two choices - either make them harder to steal or, like the big retailers, pass the cost on to your customers.
Neither option is cheap. The first one costs you money and the second costs you customers.
And don't undervalue your work - if you think it's worthless, so will others.