Good question - I will give it a try.
This is a very complex subject for those involved with making and selling photographs. And judging by the comments on this thread and others threads about rarity, archival aspects, many
here on APUG do not give a rats ass, and I can understand for some of them photography is just a casual friend but for me its an extremely important life passion.
I actually kept a silver gelatin fiber lab open these last 25 years and I can assure you it has been tough, and I could have done much better financially by dumping this process.
Therefore I must have a very poor marketing plan for my business. I am even crazy enough to try to sell pt pd prints and pigment over as my future plan.
Prints are only a rarity if people are wanting to buy them --- Marketing Ploy is very funny description --- coming from a Continent (North America) where every one is selling something and every one has a ploy for their product I do not think edition ones work as a ploy but actually a business, artistic decision that needs to be made by all of us producing prints for sale.
There are many ploy's but I think the most telling value of ones work is the resale value , I know many people who edition large #'s of their work and got away with selling the prints at what I considered high price. 1/100 for example 30 x 40 print selling for $4500 with absolutely no track record.
(look into the potato or Lik image debate) - what is the resale value of any Lik print?
Some people that bought an edition print try to resell the print on the open market and find they cannot get even half the price they paid or anything whatsoever. In fact in
some cases the photographer is selling the same print for less years later.
This is why one must be careful on how they want to approach a selling market. For those who do not care to sell their photography, everything I am saying here means nothing.
By having a low edition - and being loyal to the number - if people actually like your work there becomes a resell market and your work is considered of value, now
by saying this I do understand it takes over 25 years to be known and for a lot of us that resale value may only benefit our children's , children.
I understand many here on APUG are hobbyists , fans of photographers, technical geeks who love the process, or gadget freeks, so when this topic comes
up a lot of uninformed opinions start flying around. (personal favorite are the dumpster and pizza box solution for ones life work)
I would much rather own a Brett Weston print than an Ansel Adams print- basically because Brett did place a limit on his prints- and if rumors are correct he destroyed his negatives.
I am not sure how many Brassai prints are out there but they are certainly rare and valuable.
I am the proud owner of a Vivian Maier pt pd it was made in edition of 5. - I can pretty much assure you the value of this print keeps going up due to its rarity (is this a marketing ploy or is it just an artistic business decision)
As a printer and exhibition space owner I get asked this question every week, and over the years I have came to the low edition numbering system as being the best option for myself and
I advise this method for my clients.
Another method I see being just assigning a number to a print and just keep on printing if the image is desirable. I actually know a photographer who IMO will hit the world market
and this will be his Marketing Ploy. I can guarantee the commercial galleys that he will need worldwide will have a different view and it will be fun to see how he approaches this matter.
I am rambling now so I will leave it but IMO editioning prints with a low number is not a marketing ploy but rather a smart business move.
Bob
And how is this not a marketing ploy?