An entrepreneur at heart, Mark Waterman founded History America after the tragedy of 9/11 filled magazines and newspapers with pictures of brave firemen helping their country. Seeing these pictures gave Mark the idea to show a history of American firefighters and create prints depicting them. Five of Mark’s great uncles also fought in the Civil War, which inspired him to expand his prints to include soldiers and various other important members of history. History America’s prints “make a lot of people happy. Whether they are a firefighter, member of the police force, veteran, or even a kid, it brings joy to their faces” explains Mark.
History America offers a variety of prints. Their latest product is a History of American Football and four new prints are currently in the works. Their established top sellers feature marines, firefighters, and soldiers. For first-time buyers, Mark suggests a display stand that holds 54 prints. “We recommend all prints and give buyers a ratio of our top, middle, and lower tier. 95% of our accounts carry all the prints,” explains Mark. As far as merchandising the prints, purchasing a display stand is encouraged and “if you can, get samples up on the wall, that will catch the buyer’s attention.” History America is made in the USA and attracts a specific niche, but it holds a deeper meaning for buyers and “strikes a cord.”
Providing a friendly price point and quick turn around time, History America has more to offer than patriotic and heroic prints. Prints wholesale for $7.95 each and retail for $15.95. There’s no minimum for orders and take one to two days to ship. Shipping is at cost with no extra handling or hidden fees. If you order a full rolled display stand you get one free canvas and if you order a sleeve display, you get two canvas prints free. Offer your customers something that will pull at their heartstrings and sell quickly.