Why I don’t do Black Friday Discounts

Black Friday discounts have become a kind of rule in the commerce world and everyone is patiently waiting for this day (or week) to start buying their Christmas presents, even in Luxembourg, one of the richest countries in the world.

In this article, I will explain why I don’t jump on the Black Friday train.

You may have seen over the years my calendars, fine art prints, books and other products that I produce and advertise as possible Christmas gifts ideas. But you have never seen them discounted for Black Friday or any other sales period. There are many reasons why you won’t see discounts on my online shop:

• My products and services are unique. Meaning that, if I’m the only one creating them, I am the only one who can sell them to you. I’m not buying TVs and laptops from a wholesaler and selling them to you on retail, with a profit. That’s not what I do. I create the images, I’m designing the products and I(‘m trying to) distribute them. Sometimes, I even deliver them myself. You can buy from someone else somewhat similar products or services, but those will be theirs, not mine.

• If my images and products are selling or not, it’s not that important to me. Sure, if they’re selling, it’s a good confirmation that I’m producing good work or at least I’m on the right track. If they don’t, it’s a good sign that I should probably improve something. But what matters to me the most is to create them in the first place. I made it easy for people to find and buy them, however, the selling process doesn’t bring me the same satisfaction as the creative process. What makes me happy is to create.

• I don’t think it’s fair for people who bought with a full price to see the exact same product on discount, even for a short period of time. I could understand this for electronics and clothes, because they have a moral depreciation factor, they may not be “hot” after a while, or there may be much better products launched for the same price since their launch. But I try to create timeless images as much as possible and, if anything, from what I have seen so far, older images usually get more expensive, not cheaper.

• I believe in fair prices all year round, not just on Black Friday. What’s fair can be, of course, debatable. But my prices seem fair to me. If they seem fair to you as well, then great, we may have a deal! There may be lower or higher prices for somewhat similar products if you look around at my competition. We all have our reasons to set a certain price for products or services and I won’t discuss them in depth right now. What matters is that I can work with these prices. I hope you can as well.

• My products are always available in a very limited quantity or made on order. I can’t afford to produce and keep large stocks, I wouldn’t even have enough space to deposit many products, so there’s not much clearance for me to do, at any moment of the year. I would love it if people would buy photography and prints the same way they buy phones, flowers or pizza, I could afford to keep large stocks. But the reality is, people would buy pizza and beer in a snap, while they would think about it for a month before buying a book or a calendar for the same amount. And I know this for sure, because every year I get messages from people who took too long to decide and they feel sad that I don’t have what they want anymore. It’s just the reality of these days, I probably do the same.

• My job is being a photographer. If I would do a Black Friday discount, it would just mean that I’m willing to accept a lower payment for my work, even if my work hasn’t changed. Now, think about when you last went to your employer and said that you want a lower salary. Never, right? Would you like to earn 50% less in November, but work the same, just because it’s Black Friday? So, that’s how I feel when Black Friday comes around and I get a message or two about my prices. No, I’m not willing to reduce my “salary”, which is already low enough. And it’s been low enough in the past 18 years since I’ve started doing this, because photography has never been a high paying job.

• Photography is not just a business for me, it is my life. And I take it seriously. Photography is all I’ve been working on for all my adult life. And my life is not on discount. Would you offer yours on discount?

I could go on forever, but the bottom line is, I’m a photographer, not a souvenir shop. I’m a real person with a real life and a real family. I have an online shop, where I display my images of Luxembourg and products that derive from them, because I’m hoping to get paid for my work and efforts, or at least to recover some of my expenses, but my primary occupation is to take pictures, not to sell shiny products made in bulk.

So, when all these Black Friday or Cyber Monday or Winter Sales are over, I will still be here, with or without my calendars, books, fine art prints or greeting cards, patiently waiting for the right moment to shoot another picture.

Happy shopping, everyone! I’ll see you later 🙂 Don’t forget to subscribe here below!