Pricing your Artwork an Overview
Overview From Previous Posts
This is just a brief collection of the factors you should consider when trying to decide how to price your artwork. If you want more detailed information, please refer to:
Pricing Your Artwork Part 1
and Pricing Your Artwork Part 2.
- Medium Consider your medium (oil, watercolor etc)
- Comparison Pricing Consider what others (that are at the same skill and experience level as you) are pricing their work for.
- Location Consider the area you are selling in. (What sells for X amount in in the Midwest would most likely sell a different amount on the east coast.)
- Your Markets Will you be selling through a third party, like a gallery? Similarly, will you be wholesaling?
- Start low. You can always raise your prices but once your established you should never cut prices. It will kill your career.
A few NEW things to think about.
- Stay in the middle Avoid being the cheapest or the most expensive artist in the gallery (artshow, artfair etc.)
- Awards and ribbon serve no value when it comes to pricing your work. They are great for the ego but have absolutely no bearing on what someone will pay for your artwork. I have only been asked once by a patron what awards her particular painting had won but that was after she purchased it.
- Price Range Variety It is always good to have a wide range of prices. Have smaller pieces that you can sell for less.
- Price Point Barriers. These are dollar amount that for some reason factor in to whether someone will buy a painting for $495 but may walk away for $505. I have always found this an odd phenomenon. But it’s been proved time and again that these barriers do exist and affect sales.
I have found the barriers to be at:
Under $20
Under $50
Under $100
Under $200
Under $500
Under $1000
Under $1500
you get the idea.
Tags: business
I’m not sure if I understood that last bit - do you mean a person would be more likely to buy a painting for $495 but not $505? Or the other way round?
Thank you so much for all this information, but I’m still clueless!
I keep getting my knickers in a twist about the show, what to show, what not to show, how much for, etc. and I still have two months to go yet!
Would you mind emailing me so that I can ask your opinion on something?
Correct the first time. The price barrier is $500, so people will buy at $495 but for some reason anything over $500 no matter how small, may make it seem to much. So if I have a painting I want $2000 for I will price it at $1950, that kind of thing. Personally I prefer a nice round number like $500, but many (many) studies have shown that people will react better (as in be more likely to purchase) to an minute amount under that. I’ve no idea how it is elswhere, but in the US everything is priced a penny short (up to .05 cents) So $1.99, $24.99 $49.99 sells better than $2, $25 $50. Weird.
I have no problem emailing. I don’t have your address though. Does your blog has contact link? I am running late for the gallery, but will check it out tonight. You can contact me through my website (it has a contact me link) and then I will email back. I don’t want to post my email on the blog because of all the spammers. (You probably already knew that.) Have a great day.
Ah ok, thank you. I didn’t realise you had a contact me link. I thought you would have my email address through my comments, but I will look for your link now anyway.
Umm… I can’t find it!
Sorry I should have been more clear about the website (as opposed to my blogsite.) But I found your email and have sent a note to you.