Original article re-posted with permission from from
OC Designer Source Blog
Written by Michele Preston and Tien Frogget
When
it comes to your art, figuring out a price that works for each market
can sometimes feel like walking a tightrope. You don't want to sell your
work for peanuts, but at the same time you don't want to price yourself
out of a sale. How much should you charge and how much is acceptable
when someone offers to sell your work for you and give you a commission?
First,
you need to remember that every kind of sale is unique in its profit
structure. A fine art sale has more than one way that it is priced
depending on where you are marketing it. For instance, if you are
selling it yourself at a show vs. selling it through a gallery, it will
be structured differently in your profit margin. This is also the same
with licensing which you can spend the money and time out of your
creative process or you can work with a professional who does this on
your behalf and keeps you creating.
Let's
start with setting your own prices. For an original, the first thing to
think about is how much it costs you for the materials needed to create
the piece and the amount of time you spend on it. For a reproduction,
you'll need to take into consideration how much it costs for the paper
or canvas and the printer to do the work. Then you figure out how much
is a reasonable markup, usually around 25% if you are selling to another
party or having an agent market it for you. This will set a price that
you know you cannot sell below when it is a direct sale to end user. You
know you can't sell it for less than that, otherwise you'll only be
losing money. If you are selling it yourself and are establishing a base
of clientele the margin can be anything from cost plus 25% to 50%
depending on what your market would see as a value. Sometimes for
followers of your work, it would be a good idea to have a survey on what
they think of your prices vs. value. Do not be afraid to ask your
audience. Other businesses do it all the time to help them understand
their market. You should as well.
Remember
what your goals are when you are selling your art. Are you the
affordable artist that makes a profit because you sell a large number of
pieces to different people, or are you the in-demand artist who makes a
profit when you sell one expensive piece every so often? It is normal
to be the latter artist, but being practical in your evaluation of your
market and clients is important for this assessment of value to price.
This depends on the kind of name that you want to make for yourself and
this takes a lot of time and relationship building. The real key to
success in the industry is diversity. It keeps you in your creating.
That is the key to success as an artist.
There can be a
benefit to setting your prices really high at the right time, but if
you are not a known artist this can be a very hard hill to climb. Saying
that your work is worth the large price tag and making yourself only
available to a certain clientele can give collectors a sense of
exclusivity but if this potential clientele does not see the value it
can mean failure. Setting your prices high right off the bat when no one
knows who you are yet can make it difficult to get your career going
for a while, if ever. You'll want to set your prices based on your
buyers and work from there to your goals.
On
the other hand, being affordable makes your work more accessible
especially when starting or promoting a new look or entering different
types of sales like licensing. If you find that people frequently ooh
and ahh over your art and then shrink away from your prices, you might
want to consider bringing your prices down or offering special
promotions to move pieces. You are already creative, so use your same
creative skills in marketing yourself as well. Maybe you have a buy one
get the next one for 50% off. Think about it this way: would you rather
have originals and reproductions laying around collecting dust because
you don't want to sell them for less, or would you rather sell them at
prices that people can afford, still make a profit, and have happy
collectors that see your piece every day and love to share it with
others? The value is still high, but you give more people the chance to
enjoy your work which showcases your art to others and creates a larger
following.
So
what do you do when you have an agent who is selling your work for you?
Or a company contacts you and wants to license your work? When it comes
to making these kinds of deals, it can feel really disappointing when
you realize that you won't be making nearly as large of a profit on
every licensing deal. In fact, when it comes to reproductions and
licensing, it isn't uncommon for an artist to make as little as $5-$150
per piece, depending on what is being sold and if the job is a volume
deal. The more volume the less the offer per image, but lucrative if
your image is a contract for 100-1000’s. Getting your work seen is still
a goal every time you sell the right. The more you are seen the better
your increase in audience.
In some instances you may be
working with someone to promote your work. This is also a process of
events that takes time and is of benefit to you in creating diversity.
The agent has used their time, money and effort promoting you, therefore
to engage a price that is less than expected is understandable for
certain instances. Remember, it is a sale in which your providing an
image only to make it happen. The agent does not always make a
commission on these sales. They sometimes are fitting a number into a
job that fits the budget for a client to make you a sale. Finishing a
job within budget for the customer, which in turn brings repeat business
and spreads the word of your work to their colleagues for future sales.
When
it comes to these situations, you have the ultimate say. You can decide
that the profit is too small and you don't like making those kinds of
deals. Or you can realize that these entities of value and work hard for
you -- they are using their connections and knowledge to sell your work
and simply paying you for your talent. Sure, it might not be as big of a
profit as you wanted to make, but what's better: making a sale or not?
Especially when you didn't have to do any of the foot work, and it
leaves you with more time to create in the studio. Not to mention that
the sale might lead to more sales depending on where it was placed. –
For instance, a piece hanging in a doctor's office or real estate office
sees hundreds of potential audience a month. Someone might see it and
fall in love with your work.
When it comes to pricing
and selling your art, you should do what keeps you painting and
creating. Along the way, it's good to be flexible and willing to try
different ideas and price points for different situations. After all,
being a successful artist doesn't just mean making sales – it is also
creating beauty that makes others' lives more enjoyable. It's about
sharing what is in your heart with those who appreciate it.
Original article re-posted with permission from from
OC Designer Source Blog
