If you're going to exhibit your work anywhere (yes, even at Columbia) now is the time to think about what to charge for your art. Check out this guideline for working with Columbia's ShopColumbia store and determining the appropriate pricing for your masterpiece. By Manifest you should have this all figured out and be ready to sell, sell, sell!
PRICING OVERVIEW
-Students may consign their work to sell through ShopColumbia for a 25% commission fee.
-Students are not obligated to sell their work through ShopColumbia, however their work will read as “not for sale” on published exhibition price lists.
There are three approaches to pricing:
1. Cost-based pricing (What a piece cost you to make)
2. Competitive pricing (What others are charging for similar work)
3. Customer-based pricing (What others will pay for the work)
1. Cost based pricing:
Expenses + profit margin + gallery commission = cost
-OR- (Expenses x 1.15) x 1.25 = cost for a 15% profit margin and a 25% gallery commission
2. Competitive pricing:
Research what others at your level are selling their pieces of the same size and medium for.
3. Customer based pricing:
Research what others will pay for the work. (Can be especially helpful when working with an established gallery/dealer for input.)
For now, statistics from last year say the average price for pieces sold was $288.38
By size, the averages were:
8 x 10 - $250.00
11 x 14 - $316.00
16 x 20 - $250.00 (please note that this lower price is due to a lower asking price from the artists)
20 x 24 - $405.00
You may use any of the above methods to price your work. If you would like a more detailed explanation of pricing please read the “Pricing Suggestions” below.
PRICING SUGGESTIONS
Pricing is one of the most difficult tasks of any artist’s career because it involves both objective & subjective factors. When a piece or art is priced differently than expected, it may not sell for this reason alone. However, you are likely to receive a different answer from each person you ask when looking for help.
Each of you will find your own approach to pricing as you continue your career. It is likely that your approach will change & develop as time progresses. Ultimately, we want the process of pricing to be individual and do not want to pre-determine the value of your work. However, we would like to offer the following considerations as a starting point & guide for you.
A more in depth approach to the considerations of pricing can be found in Marcia Layton Turner’s “Successful Fine Art Marketing”. Her chapter on Pricing Art is the main source for this guide.
General Considerations:
-You have spent some money on the production of your work for this exhibit. It is fair to choose a price that will reflect your expenses.
-When work is priced BELOW what potential clients expect, they may question the quality of the work or reputation of the artist.
-When work is priced ABOVE what potential clients expect, buyers may question if the piece is really worth the price and you may “put them off”, so to speak. It can be difficult to be honest about your “reputation” in the beginning of your career. The venue of your exhibition and list of past exhibitions/exhibitors will affect the perception of your success as an artist.
-You can always raise your prices in upcoming shows once you are consistently selling work at an established price point. It looks really bad to lower prices because you cannot sell at your previously established price point. In addition, you may anger customers who bought at the higher price when they find out others can now buy at a lower price. Returning customers are one of the most valuable assets of any business.
-The price of a photograph is affected by the edition as a photograph usually has multiple copies available. The first print in an edition is typically more expensive than the others. When a large edition is available, each copy tends to be a lower price. Think about how many prints of each image you think you can realistically sell. If you are unsure, research what other artists tend to offer for an edition quantity at the size you are working at.
-Even though we may not like it, the “perceived” value of art is affected by the economy’s strength or weakness at the time the work is for sale.
There are three approaches to pricing:
1. Cost – based pricing (What a piece cost you to make)
2. Competitive pricing (What others are charging for similar work)
3. Customer – based pricing (What others will pay for the work)
Cost-based Pricing
This approach considers prices based upon fixed costs, or overhead (i.e. rent, utilities, insurance premiums, salaries) and variable costs (i.e. supplies + equipment) plus profit. You will need to keep good notes and receipts for this approach. You will also need to add the gallery commission to the price of each piece.
It is unrealistic to expect that your overhead expenses can be put into only one piece, unless the piece honestly justifies a full month of work time. Thus, we recommend the following strategy:
For a piece that took 2 days to make with overhead expenses of $2000 and a profit margin of 15% (determined by you) we would use this equation: 2/20 (or 1/10 or .10) x $2000 = $200 in fixed expenses (We use 20 as a denominator because there are about 20 working days in a month if you take weekends off).
Let’s say you require $1000 in materials each month. Also, let’s say your digital camera body cost you $2500 and you should expect to replace it about every four years (or 48 months). We use this equation to calculate variable expenses:
2/20 (or .10) x $1000 = $100 for materials
$2500 / 48 = $52 / mo. for equipment 2/20 x $52 = $5.20 for equipment
Therefore, $100 + $5.20 = $105.20 for variable expenses
Price = (Fixed Costs + Variable Costs) x (Profit Percentage + 1) + (gallery commission Percentage +1) = ($200 + $105.20) x (.15 + 1) + gallery commision = $305.20 x 1.15 = $350.98 + gallery commission
(Percentage is found by moving the decimal two places to the left for your conversion then adding 1. The 1 is your 100% to cover the base without reducing your price, the conversion of your percentage will increase your price by that percent. When you multiply your price by 1 + .15 or 1.15, you will increase your price by 15%)
The price of the piece would be $350.98 + the gallery commission. You would need to make & sell 9 pieces at this price in a month to cover your monthly expenses of $3052.00 (overhead + supplies + equipment)
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT MANIFEST CHARGES A GALLERY COMMISION OF 25 % OF EACH PIECE SOLD.
