A while back, there was a post about giving discounts at art shows. Some artists refuse to give discounts to potential customers at shows, stating that it is an insult. While I agree with this to a point, I have managed to turn this around on several occasions. When someone asks me if I will take less, I simply tell them that I am always willing to take less for people who make multiple purchases and for past customers.
Over the years, this has worked wonders for me, not only at the time of the original sale, but at future shows I attend as well. Once a person has purchased one of my pieces, I tell the customer that any time they purchase a piece directly from me at any show I attend, they automatically receive a 25% discount. I know, 25% is pretty high.
BUT just this past year, over half of my sales were to people who have purchased pieces from me in the past. There is one couple in Indiana that now own 16 of my pieces. Another family in Florida has turned it into a true family adventure. Mom and Dad own 8 pieces, and their two daughters and husbands own 4 and 5 pieces within each family. And I have countless other examples like this as well. Hopefully, they are purchasing my pieces because they like my paintings, but I have to believe that the discount helps a little.
This past year, I only did 6 art shows. I usually do between 10 and 12 shows per year. I always send notices to people who have purchased from me in the past, reminding them about the discount. With the short show list this year, I actually had several people who traveled over 200 miles to come make a purchase from me at some of the shows I attended. My sales were only down slightly this year, even with the reduced schedule.
I look at discounting my work as a "Thank You" to the people who have given me the opportunity to do this thing that I love to do.
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I have a standing multi piece purchase discount. It is a sliding discount based on the price of the piece. If the piece is under $100 I take off $10 off of each piece, under $200 / $15, under $400 / $25 and over $400 / $50. Many of my pieces go together so I actively promote buying more than one. Once a customer has bought from me, they are entitled to the multi-piece discount on any future purchases. And yes, I have been known to offer a lower price to someone to push them over the edge. I also regularly raise my prices when I see the price of my materials going up.
Once again, it is obvious that discounting is a tough call for everyone to make.
Let me first state that when I give a discount, I do NOT take any business from anyone. I am giving a discount to someone who has come back to my booth to make another purchase. It is my "customer appreciation" discount, not my "I'm-stealing-your-customer" discount. To refer back to part of one of the posts above, I regularly receive discounts on clothing from stores I frequent, the gas station I purchase gas at gives me a discount because I am a frequent customer, several of the restaurants I frequent give discounts to regular customers, amusement parks I take my family to give discounts to me because I come back year after year, and the list of people giving discounts to repeat customers goes on and on and on. If I shop at Kohls because they give me a "thank you" for being a customer discount, have they trained me to go to JC Penny and ask for the same discount? Absolutely not, I stay away from JCP because they have let me know they appreciate my repeat business.
I only sell original pieces, so as far as my expenses go, I only have material and my time in the process. Material for my original pieces including the wood I paint on, the paint, the glaze, and anything else I need probably come to no more than $50 for a piece that I might ask $400-500 for. That looks like a pretty good profit for my time doing something I love doing anyway. A large piece this size will take me about 20 hours to complete. Looks like a bit over $20 an hour, which I am very happy with. If you want to factor in the cost of doing art shows, well, I would do it for free because of the satisfaction I get from meeting the people who take my art and put it in their homes. My God, what an honor that is for me, knowing there are people who want something I have created hanging in their homes. I am humbled by the thought of that. How insensitive and unemotional is it to receive a check from a gallery for a piece I have painted from my heart. THAT IS GIVING MY ART AWAY from my point of view.
I'm am not sorry if the fact that I am willing and able to give discounts to people who have made my art special to them offends some artists. I guess I am the Wal Mart of the art shows, except that my intention is not to undercut other artists. My intent is to thank the people who have made my art special to them. We all have to find a way to make our business a success. Saying "Thank You" seems to work for me.
Wow, that is a first. Am I now expected to price my work so I cannot give a discount because an artist down the row has increased material costs they don’t want to incorporate in their prices? And, am I hurting them by giving a discount to close a sale? As far as material cost increase go, leather went up about 6% across the board last year and the tanneries have warned us there will be a 10% increase starting January, 2015 (thank you China for buying raw US hides). I price my work at the high end and pass these material costs on to my clients. It’s a competitive world out there and a discount in my medium has little if any effect on artists in other mediums. If it does affect you – hard cheese as the Brits say, I made the sale! Not raising prices to cover your increased material costs is not a way anyone I know runs a profitable and successful business. I don’t know whether to laugh or scratch my head at the logic of this one.
To add to my comment above, I am usually asked if I give a discount if they buy more than one item and that is why I say that it takes me as long to make two as it does to make one. I do not like discounts and it seems like it must be a newer thing at the art shows as I never heard of any artist giving discounts when I did only art shows. I consider it as an insult, like saying that my prices are high enough that I can reduce the price, not a courtesy to offer your best customers. I make less than $50 profit on a $250 doll after expenses, so I sure don't want to give my profit away. I think it would be better to offer a show special or offer special prices on items that you don't want in your inventory anymore. This is a tough topic, but I think this is one that you need to decide for yourself and don't worry what anyone else does. If the customer likes your work, I think they appreciate knowing that everyone pays the same price.
I also want to make clear that I am selling with other very accomplished doll artists and their prices are much higher than mine. They have told me that my prices are too low and I feel like I am hurting my chosen field by selling at prices that do not reflect value of the product, but I won't sell as well if I raise the prices as I should. And that is another reason that I am insulted when asked for a discount.
WOW, so many different takes on giving discounts. I feel like Judy in many ways.
First of all, my prices are quite low compared to other art you see, discounted to the wholesale level. The galleries that carry my pieces are asking more. I don't regularly do shows in areas where my paintings are in galleries so I don't undercut the galleries ... only when special requests are made for my attendance. When I do, the price is the same as at the galleries, but I try hard to not compete with the galleries.
When someone asks if I will sell a piece at a discount, I ask the person what they do for a living. Then I always turn it around and ask if they would do their job for less. It amazes me how many people in high paying jobs seem to want a discount. It also amazes me how many have ever said they would perform their job for less ... NONE. In fact, on many occasion, just asking the question and suggesting that they take less has sparked resentment.
And finally, Judy is so very right about gifts. I have sold over 1,200 paintings over the past 20 years, and every year I manage to give away 5 or 6 pieces to people at shows I am attending. It always feels like a gift to yourself when you do that. It is always to someone who seems to appreciate my work that I feel sincerely can not afford the piece.
I discount to ALL people who have ever purchased one of my paintings, and I tell them that as they make their first purchase from me. I let them know they will always have a 25% discount on anything I have for sale at any art show they find me at, or from my home if they contact me (which happens quite frequently now). I also send them notices throughout the year.
My 25% discount is probably more than most artists would ever consider offering, but I look at that as my gift to the people who appreciate my art.
I make original dolls and sell at shows along with antique dealers who always offer discounts. I do not sell wholesale and my prices of $250-$350 are basically wholesale prices and I can't afford to offer discounts. Very seldom am I asked to discount, but when it does happen, I handle it with humor telling them that it takes me just as long to make two as it does to make one and that I am pricing them as low as I can so that they have a great bargain at the regular price. They accept this with understanding. But, I do give special extras to my best collectors, sometimes I even GIVE them a doll. I would rather give a gift than a discount. Discounting my work makes it seem "less" but giving a gift is something really special.
A small discount now and then to push someone over the line to make a sale is not the end of life as we know it. its not a good idea to do it as a normal routine.
Yes, it is expensive both in labor and shipping charges. I always ship insured with signature required as well. But this feels much better and more fair to my patrons to me than discounting my work. We all manage this business of art differently and the best thing to take from all this I guess is that our creativity with our work has to extend into how we market and sell our work.
Free shipping - wow! After shipping art work out for several years I know that shipping can cost a small fortune. I am glad though that you found a great way to make this work for you.
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