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Art Buisness
Art Buisness
that's what you need. And don't get defensive; doing this
will help you. When you're objective about your art, you
maximize your chances of succeeding as an artist.
If it's any consolation, and I know you want your art to sell
for as much money as possible, your art is still the same
art, it's still just as good, you're still the same artist and
you're still just as good, no matter how you price it. Don't
use dollar values to validate yourself as an artist; use them
to sell your art. Just because you price something at
$20,000 does not mean it's worth $20,000 or that you
stand a ghost of a chance of selling it. Nothing is worth
anything until it actually sells, which means the following- that someone places their money in the palm of your
hand and accepts your art in exchange.
While we're on the topic of expensive art and objectivity,
here's a bit more about comparing yourself to other
artists. If you think you're as good as Damien Hirst, for
example, or some other famous artist, and I've met artists
who do, and you may well be, that does not mean you
price like those artists. Your art may indeed by as good as
that of a well-known or even famous artist who sells for
lots of money, but many other factors go into pricing, and
must also be considered AND compare favorably between
the two of you before your selling prices can come
anywhere close to theirs-- not the least of which are your
resumes. If they're dead and you're alive, if they've had a
one-person show at the Tate and you've had a oneperson show at Biff's Soup & Sandwich, if your
saying things like, "I have never seen anything like this! I
must have it. I don't care how much it costs. I don't care
who you are. Give me everything. This is unbelievable."
Not going to happen. Even if your art is notably unique,
people who know art will find some way to compare it,
categorize it and relate it to other art by other artists in
order to assess its significance, its dollar value, and
ultimately its institutional or marketplace viability. You
have to do the same.
Competitive Pricing
Now let's look at comparison-shopping from the BUYER'S
standpoint. Art is no different than any other product or
service in that many people who buy it tend to compare
prices before they buy. I'll give you a fairly common
example. Suppose someone sets aside $5000 to buy one
piece of art. Let's say she goes to a bunch of galleries and
sees a bunch of art, and finds three paintings that she
likes equally well, all about the same size, same subject
matter and quality, all by artists who are equally qualified.
If one of those pieces costs $4000, one costs $4600, and
one costs $5000, which one do you think she'll buy?
The moral of the story is to price on the low side of your
market, especially if you're less established, less
experienced or trying to gain a foothold in a new or more
competitive realm. Doing this increases your chances of
making sales. You see, when someone buys a piece of art
from you, that's one less piece that they're going to buy
from other artists. You want to maximize the number of
pieces that people buy from you. That's how you make a
living as an artist.
So no matter how you set your prices, be competitive. As
distasteful and capitalistic as this may sound, you're in
competition with other artists, not in the sense that
you're having paint-offs or sculpt-offs with the artists
down the hall or across town, but rather you're favorably
positioning yourself for the people who see your art, the
see isolated high or low prices, can't figure them out, and,
most importantly, they rarely ask why. They don't ask
because they feel insecure around art or artists, they
don't want to insult you, they don't want to look stupid,
and so on. Even though your prices make perfect sense to
you on a personal level, they may make little or no sense
to others, and when that happens, they tend to shy away
from your art.
The good news is that solving emotional price problems is
easy. All you have to do with art that means the most to
you, the stuff you won't sell unless someone really pays
you for it, is keep it. Don't show it in public. If you really
want to show it, put NFS on it-- not for sale-- or
"Collection of the Artist." Don't price it. Know that if you
do show it, though, certain people will come up to you
and say things like "Oh-- that's my favorite. It's the best
one. It's not for sale? I would have bought it." But guess
what? If it were for sale, they wouldn't have bought it.
They just want to act important. Regardless of who may
be playing what kind of games, you may well have lost a
sale by making someone jealous of what they cannot
have.
The art you love the most, love it in the privacy of your
own home. Any insights, enlightenments, experiences,
transcendences, whatever you go through when you
make that art should be for you only, or for your journal,
or maybe for you and your innermost circle of friends.
Don't tease strangers by pricing it high and dangling it in
ask questions.
***
OK. We're done. You've got your art priced and you're
ready to sell. But can you answer the big question: "How
come this one's $2000?" When someone asks you about a
price, do exactly what the galleries do. Show that you've
been regularly selling comparable art for dollar amounts
comparable to what you're charging for the art they're
asking about. Talk about sales you've made through
dealers, galleries, online or straight out of your studio.
The more such sales you can talk about, the better your
chances of convincing that person that $2000 is a fair
price to pay for that art.
People want evidence; they want to feel confident about
spending however much money they're about to spend.
They want to understand what they're getting in
exchange, and feel like they have some degree of control
over the situation. This is especially true for buyers on the
fence who don't know your work that well or who haven't
bought a lot of art and are just starting out. So support
your prices with facts. People care about how they spend
their money-- they want to feel like they're spending it
wisely. So show them that they're doing the right thing,
that your art is worth what you're selling it for, that other
people buy it, and that its OK for them to buy it too.
***
Still not sure how to price your art? I do price consults for artists
all the time. Not only do I price your art, but I also tell you how to
explain your prices to potential buyers in language that they can
understand. Want to make an appointment? Call me at
415.931.7875 or email alanbamberger@me.com.