Learn How To Price Your Artwork
Do not feel bad if you are unsure of how to price your art. The greater problem within our time is that we have many good artists undervaluing their work.
This article by Janet is exactly how most artists feel. While it may seem like a rant, it is not. This genuine emotion is surrounded by facts of how artists and their art is undervalued.
Unfortunately many do not understand the complications they face. Additionally few really understand how online markets work. Where you position yourself is critically important.
My intent here is to help artists on the entry level. Nevertheless if you are a professional artist there may be valuable information you can gain towards our present market climate.
As I continue I will assume that you the artist produce quality work. If the nature of your art is not up to par, that is your first priority.
Business Pricing 101: Time And Materials Within Art Count Towards Price
This thinking is something many artists miss. Yet you must account for your time and the materials it took to create your artwork. It is basic business 101.
For some there will be a lot more time involved than material. So the question is, how much is your time worth? If you are pricing at what the minimum wage job pays you then it is too low.
As a beginning artist this can be frustrating. Still you must think of your art as a business. Allow me to build a picture through a real world scenario.
Let’s pick an artist from Twitter that creates a simple drawing which is done on a sheet of paper. Let’s assume that they have 2 hours involved in the work. This should not sell for hundreds of dollars.
Artists on Twitter can be found doing exactly this with what is called fan art. They use tricks by tracing art with a light box to keep production time low.
The average prices for these pieces of fan art can range between 35 dollars to upwards of 80. If this only took a couple of hours then they did okay to moderately well for that single work.
At the same time if one takes ten hours and all you can get out of the work is 50 to 80 dollars then it hurt you. There simply is no real value for you in return for your work.
Here you have two options. You can use better marketing strategies, or find an alternative way to increase the value of the piece.
With fan art there is little that one can do to increase value in art. It may be that you need to produce other kinds of work expanding your potential.
Likewise for some artists it could be the location they are selling at. Competition from locations like Etsy serve only to create problems for artists value.
If where you are at will not allow you to cover the most basic premise of time and material, you need to act immediately.
You could say that this foundation is square one for all artists. There should be no one who sells their work that does not meet this requirement.
The next step is finding where you need to be within the art market.
Price Your Art Based Upon Location In The Market
I took a shot at Etsy earlier. I do want you to know that there are strategies for selling art on Etsy. Yet let me ask you, is that how you want your name to be seen?
May I suggest you read some history on artists like Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh? Then ask yourself if you really think they would have ever sold their work somewhere like Etsy.
I do understand that you may never expect to be as grand as they are. Nevertheless you never set a low bar. Only you can determine how you want to be seen by others within the art community.
The broader art community can be harsh. Everyone tends to swim in the same pools peddling at the same locations. The new standard is to push yourself as hard and as far as you can on social media.
Few ever realize the dangers of social media. Even fewer ask if they should be on social media at all. This kind of thinking sounds insane. Yet you choose where you wish to be lumped in.
If that is the ceiling of expectation, then the results you achieve will be limited by what that platform offers you.
Often knowing where you fit in the art market will be determined by what your art is. If what you create cannot realistically provide for you, then expand.
Social media and the Etsy or Amazon world will never give you enough. Additionally the name or brand recognition you seek to materialize cannot be found there.
Present price ranges for original art sells too low. I have seen averages run from just under 100 dollars to at best 300 dollars. Those that are at that range are far too nice for that price.
The market you reside within will often have what I call soft limits. These soft limits are competitors pricing of similar work. A soft limit is a price you should not exceed in the beginning thus becoming a cap or ceiling for pricing your work.
The only way to break out of these locations is to be on your own creating your brand.
Price Your Art At Its Realized Value Through Genuine Self Promotion
No one likes selling their art below that minimum price dictated by time and materials. All artists believe their art is worth far more than they ask. So how do you bridge that gap?
To break through the soft limits or ceilings of competitors you need to be on your own. This means creating an online art gallery that you own.
You gain everything through setting this standard. You have nothing to lose.
No matter the path you take, ultimately you will be self promoting through social platforms or other venues pointing to someone.
Having said that, why point all the attention to someone else’s brand? Instead promote your name, under your brand, at your gallery, that you own.
There are no price limits at this point that become dictated by another competitor. I always hated Etsy showing someone else’s “stuff” right beside my item. My experiment there ended very quickly.
You may question if you need an online gallery. I assure you that you do.
Finally… Creating Your Real Price Point In Art
My first piece of advice is to be honest about the value of what you have created. A drawing is going to be worth less than a hand crafted table.
Nevertheless where you arrive in that price should be determined by other market values. Those values are by those you want to compete against.
To briefly explain. If I wished to compete against Coach, I would attempt to obtain Coach prices. Yet to accomplish this I need to be at a minimum of those same quality standards.
In the beginning you may not be able to reach higher price points. This is something that is built over time.
Other factors that will come into play to determine that future price is related to demand. How many people actually want what you have?
If the demand is high, and you have little time to meet those demands, the price needs to move up. Ultimately the relationship between those two factors, demand and time, will always aid in dictating price.
These principles break down as follows:
1. Find the price point you want to be at through a targeted competitor.
2. Create the value in art to be at that point.
3. Price increases as demand increases to balance your time.
4. Refine your process, increase quality, create two lines of art, increase price.
If you have dreams of selling one painting for many thousands of dollars, one of two things must happen.
The first option is you must make it that valuable by scale, quality, and time. The second is that the demand for your work must support that price.
Ultimately in the end, both of those components are directly related to one another and are really inseparable.
Stop The Cut Throat Pricing In Art – You Become The Standard
The end result of places like Ebay, Etsy and even Artpal is cut throat pricing. There you can find some great artists who have never learned how to market their work.
They compete on a narrow platform against other artists. I have heard stories of one artist turning another artist in for fraud, DCMA issues, and intellectual property theft.
When these accusations happen they are often false and unfounded. It is merely a way to strike at someone to generate fear or temporarily shut them down.
There are reasons for stopping this madness beyond watching prices plummet and you destroying your business.
Your greatest competitor should be yourself. Competing with other artists never ends well.
How should you be your own competition? This is achieved through pushing yourself to do quality work. It is also achieved by mastering your marketing platforms.
Essentially you must focus on where you want to be. That idea or location is the destination, and you simply do not have time to waste on petty issues.
The alternative to this is disastrous.
If your focus is merely on pushing your work at a low prices while cutting competitors throats you will only create problems. It will push you to the point of exhaustion.
This will destroy the quality of your brand and finished work. It will also attract nothing but problem clients that cannot be satisfied.
In the end you find yourself burnt out and broke. This is the story that all the novelty act blogs on art marketing will not tell you. There are many I have seen in the past few years that are no longer around.
I would rather sell less work at my point of value being able to cater to customer needs than try to compete with anyone. I am not selling fast food.
If someone does not see the value of my work then its just not for them. It really is not personal. It doesn’t hurt my feelings.
I began in wood art because I love it just as you most likely began your artwork. Why destroy that? If I want a job I can go get one.
How Do You Gain Recognition To Begin Selling Art?
I wrote an article on how to get noticed as an artist. Sometimes people think that having a name or brand automatically creates a value or price point in art. This is not true.
I have discovered that people will buy art if it fits one of two categories. Either it speaks directly to them about their life, or it holds a story that you give them which they love.
At the end of the day this is what visual arts really means. We are storytellers. We simply use visual expression to achieve that story.
How many meaningful stories can you share if all you do is pound away at social media keys all day long? You cannot. Artist get so focused on the wrong things.
The best way to share your story is to get involved within your community. I am not speaking about the art community. Rather I am talking about the real world.
Volunteer to teach an art class. Help out the older lady downtown who’s storefront looks so drab.
Be genuine and be real. Why? I promise you this. No one ever gets anywhere alone. Period.
This principle is one of the defining nails that ends with most artists in the coffin labeled “never was”. I do not mind being a “has been”. At least I was once there.
The nature of the artist community I have discovered is how isolated, narrow, and hierarchical it can become. Some can be downright mean. I do not have time for that.
Creating value is about more than setting a price. You can always remain within time and material if you like. Impacting others lives and having that become part of your brand, is priceless.
In some board rooms they call this “public relations”. I just call it living a real life. Real value can only be found through authentic living.