Pricing Your Work
Now that you have an idea what to expect from sales, you need to price your work. Without a doubt, the biggest mistake emerging artists make is setting their prices too high. I know your work is incredibly valuable and precious to you. But in the brutal light of commercialism, it is only worth what someone will pay for it and holding onto it doesn’t help you. The absolute best place for your work is out in the world, in people’s homes and offices where new people can see it and take an interest. You want to sell your work, even if it’s for less than you’d like initially, to get it out there. So price your work to sell. Several guidelines to keep in mind are:
• Always price your work the absolute lowest you’re willing to sell it for and not be utterly heartbroken if someone buys it. I’m kind of joking, but not really. A few years from now, the piece you just finished that you think is the best you’ve ever made and you can’t imagine parting with for less than ten thousand dollars, simply won’t hold the same power. You’ll have made more work that’s even better. You’ll be annoyed that old piece is taking up room in the studio. Have confidence in your future and creativity. Let go of your work, get it out there and let it work for you.
• The amount of time a piece took to complete cannot be considered. A collector is buying a finished work of art not paying you for the time you spent creating the piece. Simply put, if you want to get paid by the hour to paint, paint houses.
• The cost of your materials doesn’t matter. This is particularly terrible news for sculptors, I know. But keep it in mind. You have chosen your medium and while work in a particular medium may skew higher than another, you have to remain consistent within your own body of work. If you decide to add gold leaf to a piece and spend $1,000 on materials, that’s your decision. You can’t charge an extra $2,000 for the piece to cover your costs.
• The cost of framing doesn’t matter unless you discuss it with the gallery first. Some galleries are willing to price a piece and then add framing. As an example, if a piece is $500 and the frame cost you $100, they’ll agree to price the piece at $600. If the piece sells you get $350 (50% of the sale price + $100 reimbursement for the frame cost). I don’t recommend asking a gallery to do that until you have a good relationship with them. I do recommend being extremely careful what you spend on framing. Many collectors reframe work to suit their tastes. It can be a waste of money to splurge on an expensive frame you love.
• You can raise your prices over time but you shouldn’t lower them. Be wary of market forces. A lot of artists I know raised their prices by double, even triple, during the art boom of the mid 2000’s when it seemed like everything was selling and the market would never correct itself. Most did so at the urging of their gallerists. When the market crashed a few years later, many of those artists were screwed. Their work was simply too expensive. People weren’t buying the way they had been and loyal collectors who supported them early on couldn’t afford the drastically higher prices. The saddest part is, the galleries that got greedy and gave them bad advice in the first place could just start fresh with new, less expensive artists. Listen to advice about pricing but remember it’s your work and ultimately your decision. You’re much better off starting low and slowly increasing your prices as demand allows. You’ll continue to engage your current collector base while new collectors find you.
• If everything you make is selling consistently, consider a 10-20% increase in prices. For instance, if your work is priced in the $500-$2500 range and everything is selling, I’d maybe go up to $550 or $600 – $2800 or $3000. It’s a small enough jump that people who missed out at the last show but are aware of your prices can still buy, but enough of an increase to move things in the right direction. The best time to raise your prices, if possible, is before a solo show when there’s buzz and plenty of exciting new work available.
• Remember, your prices must remain consistent no matter where they sell. You shouldn’t sell work for half price out of the studio or less in an exhibition where your cut is bigger. You can give a special discount out of the studio, but listed prices should remain consistent.
So now you’re saying to yourself… OK, this all makes sense. But I still don’t know what prices to assign to my work. Keeping everything I’ve already shared in mind, look around you and try applying the guidelines below:
• Go to some group shows and check out the prices of artists working in a similar medium who you feel are at your level. Ask artist friends for input. You don’t want to get caught up in comparing your prices to others moving forward but if you’re just getting started looking around at other artists at your level can be helpful. Keep in mind that different types of work will be priced differently. Don’t use a photographer friend as reference if you’re a painter. One of a kind works are priced differently than editions. Paintings are usually more expensive than works on paper. If you’re still uncertain and are accepted into a group show, ask the curator or gallery for advice on pricing. They will know what other prices are like in the show.
• If you are working in a two-dimensional medium, you might find the “per linear inch” method helpful. If you work in a very large range of sizes, the formula can get skewed for very small (too expensive) and very large (too cheap) work. In those cases, you’ll need to make adjustments accordingly. The math for the linear inch system is height + width x per linear inch price = retail price. So an artist with a $25 per linear inch price would price a 20” x 20” painting at $1,000 (20 + 20 = 40 x $25 = $1,000). The best way for an artist to determine his or her linear inch price is to come up with a price he or she feels comfortable with for a few pieces and then work backwards from there. Let’s say John has a 20” x 14” painting he’d like to price around $400. The math formula to determine the linear inch price would be $400 divided by 34 (the total linear inches) = $11.76 per linear inch. John also has a 30” x 40” painting (70 linear inches) he’d feel comfortable pricing at $1,000. Divide $1,000 by 70 and you get a linear inch price of $14.29. If John’s per linear inch price is somewhere between $11.76 and $14.29, I would suggest he go with $13 per linear inch. That would make a 20” x 20” painting by John $520 (20 + 20 = 40 x $13). He’d then round that down to a nice even $500, just because it sounds better. A 40” x 40” painting would be $1,040, so he’d probably go with $1,000 and so on. Once John’s work is selling consistently at those prices, he can consider raising them 10-20%, which would be around $1.50 – $2.50 per linear inch. A student recently pushed me to come up with a per linear inch price I think appropriate for an artist who’s just starting out. It depends quite a bit on what the medium is and the types and locations of the venues where he or she is showing. I’d say somewhere between $5 and $20 is a good price to consider. If you do decide to use the linear inch method, take all of the factors I’ve mentioned into account. Hopefully you can determine a number that makes sense for you.
• For those of you who have already been exhibiting publicly and people have seen your prices, you don’t have much wiggle room to adjust. If you haven’t sold anything or have sold a few pieces at prices you now realize might have been too high, be careful. You don’t want to alienate anyone who is excited about your career. Consider adjusting your prices 10% down, small enough that it isn’t too noticeable, and wait a long time to raise them. If you’re still in school, or recently graduated, have only shown in school exhibitions, haven’t sold anything yet, and think your prices might be too high, you can definitely reset your prices before you start exhibiting more publicly. Now is your chance to do that.
• And of course, always follow your gut when pricing. If someone suggests a price that you feel is too high or lower than you can bear, listen to their reasoning. But when it comes down to the wire, it’s your work and your decision.