So… yesterday I discovered I still had some of my 2012 Views of Victoria calendars in stock. I put it out on FB to see if anyone wanted one and someone suggested I update the listing to add 2013 calendar and just keep the photos. So I did.
But, somewhere along the line, Lulu upped its pricing for the calendar. Last year, it was $14.99 per, so I listed them at $17.99 allowing for a modest profit per print. This year, they cost $18.99 per, so listing at $19.99 I make a whopping $0.80 per sale. Not terribly happy with that so I checked Cafe Press — cheapest option for a 12 month calendar there was $30. UGH. Zazzle Canada no longer offers calendars as an option… so I started looking elsewhere.
One place I checked was VistaPrint. I’ve always been happy with the promo materials we’ve purchased there so I thought I would try their calendars. I whipped one up pretty quickly (as it allowed me to select from a set on Flickr) and ordered two copies at $7.49 each plus shipping — they’ll cost me about $12 each. If I am right I can keep the project on file there and order more as needed… if that is the case and the quality is acceptable, I will create and order one copy in future then take orders for more.
I really love the idea of print-on-demand but at no point has the pricing seemed reasonable to me — this is especially true of calendars. So, time to change our plan. If the VistaPrint ones are not up to snuff, I’ll check other small print runs for cost. Anyone else out there run up against POD costs? What was your solution?