One thing that I am always trying to look for is additional ways to increase sales. While most of my sales come from art festivals, I do generate sales from gallerys and what I call "annual" shows. I know many artists don't like showing in gallerys, mainly for the high commission cost associated with these types of sales, and that is understandable. I guess I look at it not as losing 40-50% when I sell in a gallery, but I make 40-50% more when I sell otherwise. But that's not really what I want to focus on here.
I wanted to look at these so called annual type shows. I currently participate in 4 of these sort of shows per year, 3 are in retail art galleries, and 1 at another venue. The great thing about these shows is that my sole responsibility is creating the work, and making sure it's there on time. Everything else is handled by the show. These types of shows tend to be large, group shows with many artists invloved. Thus, for the most part I am limited to the amount of pieces I can send to the show. For these shows, I send between 2 - 3 original works, which work great as I am not committing a great deal of time. I do ensure that my work, and framing is of the highest quality as I want to be invited back the following year. Yes, another benefit, I only need to jury into 1 of the 4 shows, and the other 3 have no jury selection process (other than the gallery owner liking your work).
In my "research" I have found that there are hundreds, if not thousands of these shows in North America on a yearly basis. Some are held in "retail" galleries, and many are held at museums, art clubs, and other art venues. Many of these shows are what tend to be called "miniature shows". This normally means that the actual artwork (frame not included) needs to be under a certain size, say 120 - 140 square inches. These "limitations" allow for me to work on smaller pieces, framing costs stay low, and shipping costs also remain reasonable.
So where do you find these shows. The way I was able to find these and others that I hope to participate in was by spending time and visiting websites of other artists. Most artists (myself included) have a page showing upcoming shows or events. Most also include links to the website of the show. This has been a very easy way to go about finding shows, and then seeing if my work might fit into the show. From there, sometimes you need to do nothing more than send an email (make sure your website link is included in the email) and ask about participating in the show. Other times you will find the information needed for applying to the show. Sometimes you will be invited to a show, which was how I got into 1 of the above 4 shows, even easier.
Having 2 - 3 works in a show won't likely make you a wealth person, but it will hopefully add some money to your bottom line. The other benefit, your work will be seen by a different segment of collectors, and by more people.
My one caution is this (just my opinion), don't increase your prices by the commission rate to make up for it. I know this is something many artists hate, but hear me out. Most painters (not all) price work based on size. So if you bought a 10"x10" painting from me and paid $500.00 at a gallery show and then noticed that I sell that same size painting on-line or otherwise for $250.00 you will question this, and wonder if you have paid to much. This will likely lead you to feel ripped-off and thus I have done far more harm than good. If you venture into these types of shows, just understand that this is one of the trade offs of doing so. From experience I can honestly say that they have been very great experiences and have certainly added additional revenue for me.
I hope this will give people some additional ideas, and lead to more sales.
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I have 3 galleries representing me this year, and also will do 7 or 8 art fairs this summer. The gallery prices are a little higher than the shows, maybe about 25-30% I like the gallery representation, however I'm not willing to take a full 45-50% less for work that I know will sell at the shows. Perhaps when I'm comfortable raising my show prices, I'll narrow the gap between shows and galleries but until then, the gallery owners understand this, and Susan, not one of them is offended, disapointed, or feels I'm unethical. I talked to them about it, and we all understand that we all need to make a living and our overheads are different. I too have found that different items sell for different prices depending on the venue and I don't think it makes anyone unethical or wrong to charge accordingly. I'm not talking about price-gouging or things like that, that is a different discussion. My expenses vary from my away shows (food, lodging,gas,etc) to the shows that are an hour away from my home. I'm not sure it's wrong to add a few dollars to the price of each painting to cover those expenses, any more than it is to give someone a few dollars off for whatever reason. It's my art, I can charge whatever I want. I think that keeping my prices reasonable is important and I learn an awful lot from my customers, my sales, and my expenses about what is reasonable. I am learning more each year as I do shows and gallery's and if this doesn't work after awhile, I'll monitor and adjust.
@Jeremy, your work is wonderful! See you at the Lansing show! Amy Perrier
I totally get the consistency issue but I think it is interesting that as artists we think art HAS to be consistently priced- I have always thought this too but then I started thinking isn't it expected for other commodities to be priced differently depending on where they are being sold. When I need sunscreen on the strip in Las Vegas I had to pay about 10 times the price I would pay for sunscreen in Minnesota in the winter. I don't know just something to ponder...
Hi Layl,
I guess I would have no way to stop someone from marking my work up 2.5 times what they bought it from me for. Once you have purchased it (as in this case, and not commission based as with most galleries) then the work becomes yours to do with as you wish. However, I would have to do my best to avoid having my work sold in this manner again in the future. I know it can be hard to make money as a gallery owner, but every gallery I know of makes a living earning 35-50% of retail.
I wouldn't blame you for marking up the work 2.5 times to make a living, I understand that, but I would not sell work again to your gallery as I need to do everything I can to keep things as consistent as possible.
So I have a question - I am on both sides of this pricing issue. My husband and I ran a pop up gallery for the holidays and bought work from many of our artist friends. We did the math and realized we could only make it work if we sold everything for at least 2 1/2 times what we bought it for. Most artists totally understood this but a few were shocked. Our reasoning was that we were in a high end market bringing art to the customer- in the skyways of Minneapolis right where they worked so we could justify that the price would be more here than at an art fair. My opinion on wholesale versus retail prices is that your wholesale price should be as low as you can possibly go and your retail price should be as high as you can possibly go. It costs WAY more to sell something than you realize.
I am interested to hear others' opinions on pricing this way and if you would be offended as an artist if your work was marked up way more than you expect it to be.
I'm of the opinion that it's "unethical" to charge one price here and another price there. I believe in keeping prices consistent. If a Gallery owners find you selling something similar for less, he/she will most likely feel "betrayed" for lack of a better word and may perhaps wants to stop selling your work. Likewise, if a customer sees your work sold for a different price he/she may be annoyed too. I determined long ago that once I sold something at a certain price, it was going to be consistent across the board, no matter where I sold it. I do raise prices as costs increase for me, but when that happens, I raise it all over. As for pricing, I bought software so I could create my own bar codes and keep up with inventory of items sold. I use a scanner at shows. If I don't have electricity, I connect my computer, scanner, and printer to a marine battery--using a converter. I read an article on Crafts Report several years ago that was "life-changing" so to speak about where to place price tags. It said to not put prices on top of something--have them underneath, if possible or in a less obvious place because an acquaintance with a price tag too soon in the meeting can sometimes turn a customer off. Once he or she has touched an item, he or she starts to get emotionally connected to the art work. I always greet every customer that comes in and tell him/her that the prices are on the back. At the same time, I let my customers know I'm willing to help should they want me to. This also gives me a legitimate reason to approach my customers without seeming like a hawker. It's an approach that can help a shy seller get out there and greet customers. You could always make a tag and have the price facing downside if what you make can't have a tag directly attached to. Hope this helps. It really works for me.
You hit the nail on the head. That was actually what my next post was going to be about.
again...same with me...and glad to hear I'm on track. ...typical artist...hee hee...over-sensitive and insecure that she's not doing it correctly...but in front of the crowd, I smile and fake it! hee hee. must project confidence even when it's a challenge...if I don't believe in myself...how can I expect others to value my work, right? Smile, smile, smile...make booth fee...then smile that it's all fun from there...
When I used to visit other tents as a patron to the art festivals...I liked knowing that if I wanted to purchase someone's artwork I could see the price and know if it was $50, $500, or $5000. While working the weekend, it's hard to get around and look at other tents to see how the other artists are doing things. I try and just focus on my own tent and my own success...ask questions...and be better the next show. I appreciate your feedback. 8-)
I am the same with regards to where my larger pieces tend to sell. Most of my work that sells at the art fextivals tend to be smaller - medium sizes, and the larger pieces tend to sell better at the gallerys. I've been selling now for 7 years, and this seems to be the norm, for me atleast. I have sold large pieces at the festivals, but certainly my majority is smaller pieces.
As for pricing, I have price tags for each piece I display, and put them right out in the open with each piece so everyone can see them. I have learned that having to ask an artist for a price is not the most comfortable thing for people. I understand that, and I want people to have a very enjoyable feeling in my booth. I guess I just want everything out in the open, that way if people are interested in my work they have most of the information they need to decide. If they have other questions than I am always close by.
I have a question. Do (sculptural) artists that participate in festivals mark their higher end work with a price? My last festival, I was next to a very talented metal artist...but every time someone asked about the price of his golf club saguaro cactus, he changed the pricing. I price my work and then wait until the right buyer comes along. Sometimes they come back the next day....and I'm the type of person who wants consistency. I wondered if others didn't price their work and only quoted a price when asked?
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