This article originally in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the Summer/Fall 2008 issue of Snapshot, the project b Newsletter by Barbara Levine. 

Q: How are the prices of snapshots determined - why do they vary so much?

A: Like many questions about snapshots the answer varies depending on who you ask and current collecting trends. Standard criteria sellers use to determine price include rarity of subject, historical significance and condition. There are many reasons snapshot prices fluctuate so much including that education such as books and exhibitions on the topic are a recent phenomena, supply still outweighs demand and, there have been no high profile auctions to establish values beyond prices set by dealers and active buyers on ebay.

I asked Stacy Waldman, a well respected dealer of photographs and ephemera both on eBay (houseofmirth) and at antique and paper shows, to share her views on snapshot prices and the impact of recent vernacular publications on buyers. According to Waldman, "The one photo that has skyrocketed is the photobooth/photomatic, which I really attribute to Nakki Goranin's book, American Photobooth. There are several new buyers in this area. For snapshots, when I determine a price, it's based on what I've sold something like that in the past for, or just a feeling on what I think it is worth. I do have to say that snapshots can be a tough sell at a show. I do sell either very expensive ones or dollar snaps, but a lot of people will pick up a snapshot and say 'You want $10 for this?' Recently, on ebay I sold a snapshot of someone in a Halloween costume of a Skeleton for over $250 while another snapshot with a masked creature sold for just $20. Personally, I think the second photo is more interesting than the first one, and if I had the two at a show, I would have priced the masked photo for more than the skeleton. Thus is the power of ebay - you never know what is going to happen."

Update: in May 2010, Ms. Waldman sold on ebay a circa 1950s snapshot of a nun covering her face with a book for $124.00 and a 1920s photo of two women kissing for $255.00.