What I’m learning from my Artist Survey: The Business of Art is that Pricing ranks right up at the top of the list of things that freak artists out.
Note: You have taken the Artists Survey and signed up for the report out, right? And shared it with your friends? If yes – awesome! If not – do 5 minutes to fill out the 10 question survey).
Pricing Art
It’s not like there isn’t a ton of information out there on pricing strategies. Wikipedia alone has a full semester’s worth of definitions for the clicking.
But as you can see with this post from Handmade Spark, the discussion goes on and on and on (be sure to read the comments).
And it isn’t only that one site because The Crafts Report is also writing thoughtful articles on pricing.
Pricing can be tied to the venue – in the case of the discussion at Handmade Spark, Etsy. If you’re swimming in a culture that prices low for sales, then you are going to compete on pricing alone. To me that argues for seeking out venues that support the artist’s on-going path of supporting herself.
Reading through that discussion it becomes apparent to me that much of this is more about being worthy than about a high or low price. Seems to me that until we value ourselves, until we see our art as a business, until we understand what we uniquely bring to the artistic discussion, we will continue to seek success in all the wrong places and at unsustainable pricing levels.
Don’t get me wrong – when I started into art full-time (i.e. needed art to step up to the plate and support me) I went through the pricing conundrum. To a lesser extent, I still do – and mostly it’s not about the art or the price at all but about how I’m feeling about myself and my chosen field of endeavor at the moment. So I’ve been right there with each and every artist trying to figure this out.
And I can tell you that most of the how-to articles aren’t going to help you because they are going to answer the question “how do I price” instead of the question “how do I step into my art as a confidant business owner.”
I’m going to share what I learn from folks taking my survey because I think the first step into confidance is knowing you aren’t the only one feeling that way. And I’m going to start sharing what I know about pricing and the questions that sit behind it. If you’re interested, be sure to sign up to get the report out on the survey, due out around May 10 (Survey cut off: April 15) so you can keep up with all the goings on!
Wylde Women’s Wisdom
How might your life have been different if there had been a place of Women where you could go for help with your fatigue and your limitations. A place of Women who could help you learn to light a candle…Judith Duerk
6 Comments
Tammy, You hit the nail on the head!
Peggy raises a good point too. I’m a watercolorist and could NOT believe the low prices people put on their paintings when I first started out. They still feel low to me. It’s important for us to price with confidence if we want to be taken seriously! Galleries also prefer to have art priced so they will make money from the work they put into sales too.
Can’t wait to see the survey results. I have struggled with pricing on and off for years.
I am a lampwork artist, making my own beads and designing OOAK jewelry with them. Pricing my art in a “down” market has been difficult. Confidience is key to success.
How does one decide when just starting out as a watercolorist and has never entered a show as to how to price a piece? Especially hard when one’s instructor is hanging her art next to mine and the prices are unbelievably low – at least I think so.
im raising my prices May 1st. and that’s all i have to say about that (besides im worth it, and so is my biz)
Good timing for me too. I have been running numbers, playing with formulas and trying to get a handle on the numbers. It’s about time – I’ve been selling for about 9 years now!! And I’m always interested in how other artists are pricing their works…
Perfect timing! I have been doing a lot of work around this topic and it’s an eye opening experience – however looking at it as an issue of confidence really gives me a better place to start. Can’t wait to learn more. I just signed up to receive the report. Thanks Tammy!