Marking the price

[NicoleIntrovert]

Just a quick curiosity... what do you folks do regarding the price of zines at a zine fest if the price is not already marked on the cover of the zine?

Do you write it on the zine?
Do you tag it?
Do you have a sign with all the prices?
Do you just let people ask?

[Erin H]

I make a list with all the prices and tell people when they ask. But sometimes I just say $1 if the person is especially awesome.

[NicoleIntrovert]

i snagged an 8 1/2 by 11 acryllic sign from work that we weren't using anymore and put up a "price menu" at the two fests i have participated in so far as a distro.

I am hoping that people find this any easy way to see prices when browsing. I know sometimes people don't like to ask out of shyness and such.

[ciaraxyerra]

i just let people ask. paper trail has like 150 zines--that is way too many to put out an easily-scanned public price list at a table. & some of the zines i carry don't have an obvious title, like if there are a lot of words on the cover, or no words at all, so it might be hard for folks to find the zine they are looking for on the list. i know what all the zines are & more or less have the prices memorized, so i just let people ask. it also gives me another chance to talk with people who come to the table. people can be like, "how much is this zine?" & i can say, "$2, but this is that zinester's newest issue, if you're interested," or "if you're into zines on this topic, i really recommend this other zine over here," etc. we can make more of a connection that way, & i typically sell more zines too.

[NicoleIntrovert]

I was worried about the price list thing, since i am up to 50 titles and still have more on the way. I really don't want to mark prices on things, because i am not into taking away from the asthetic of the zine covers. I probably will still do a price list but just keep it to myself as a reminder and possibly use it for tick marks for things i sell.

[lizzy / marching stars distro]

I write on the top right corner in pencil. And if the top write corner doesn't have a suitable spot to write on, then it gets a tiny price sticker with pink writing on. I've never had anyone comment that it bothers them. I also normally have a list of sentence descriptions of all the zines and that also includes what country it's from and the price.

[Taylor-Parcell]

I usually can remember the prices for every one of the zines or comics or books in my catalog, but sometimes I can't. So, I've always tagged stock with a little sticker on the back, price in pencil. If the cover is handmade or wold be ruined by a tiny sticker on the back, I put it on the inside back cover, or I just write the price in pencil. People browsing at zine fests don't necessarily need to be able to see the price (though it is definitely helpful). The most important thing is that you know what it is when they ask. My goal is to make it easy for the browser and for myself.

[Colin Tedford]

I hate asking about prices, so as a courtesy & convenience I bought a stamp with changeable numbers and stamp the price somewhere on the cover (or sometimes inside - anyway, I try to locate it visibly but "naturally"). Stores seem to appreciate this, too, when I sell/consign to them. I like the suggestion to write it in pencil, since it's removable. My favorite local bookstore writes prices in pencil on the corner of the first inner page for used books & books with no price.