As a professional artist, having a sale on original art can be a tough decision to make.
On one hand, artists want to respect the patrons who have spent good money purchasing their art and don’t want to under-cut them. However, having a sale stimulates buyers to spend and can help build a new client base. I’m a sucker for a sale.
I was pondering the question and sent it to Lori McNee on Facebook. Lori has a wealth of useful information on her blog, Fine Art Tips. A terrific smattering of replies to the “sale or not to sale” came from FB friends with wonderful insight on the topic.
Lori McNee stated that in times of economic downturn, it is acceptable to lower prices by 10-30%, but she also said not to make a habit of it. She also explained that self-represented artists have more flexibility here, of course because they aren’t under-cutting the galleries or agents who represent them – and regard for your gallery relationship is key.
In the interesting thread on Lori McNee’s Facebook page, Lori Woodward pointed us to her recent blog on the topic where she states:
“…collectors are telling me that they think it’s perfectly fine for artists to lower their prices by 10% to 20% during an economic downturn. I asked these collectors if that made them angry because they paid more for the art in the past, and know what? I got an overwhelming response of ” NO, I buy art because I love it, not as an investment, and if the price is lower for a time, it means that I can buy more of it.” In fact, some went on to explain that their art budget is restricted right now, and that lower prices gives them incentive to buy before prices go back up again.” ~Lori Woodward
Armed with this new information I decided to put it to a test.
I had a sale.
The 24 hour 20% off promotional was set for a holiday (Martin Luther King day), mainly because I felt more people would be at their computers on this day. I simply posted a note on Facebook and Twitter telling people about the sale and asking them to share the information with a link to my website (www.1111studio.net) and asked any buyers to contact me if they were interested.
Within half an hour I received an email from a patron asking about several paintings on my website. She couldn’t make up her mind so she decided to send me a $300 advance on a future painting (locking in the 20% sale).
Later that day my niece threw a little surprise birthday party for my daughter and invited friends. I walked away from the party with a $1,000 commission because a new client saw my promotion on FB and wanted me to make a special gift for his wife. He wanted a work of art tailored to their home, something that tells their story for their anniversary add a hand painted vintage frame and the sale increased by $250
Not bad. The next day, I checked my Twitter feed and had another small sale at $150. Every penny counts…that paid my electric bill.
My 24 hour sale yielded $1,700 with the table still open. My website hits increased by 800 and money had been deposited in my Paypal account within a few hours.
Success.
I’d like to continue my experiment here with this article…buyers, mention Lori McNee and I’ll give you 20% off. Go to http://www.1111studio.net and take a gander.
By guest artist/author Kelli Bickman
*****
Congrats to Kelli! You might like to read more about Kelli, #PowerArtist Interview with Muralist and Community Activist, Kelli Bickman and her other popular guest post, Tips for Selling Art on Facebook: A Success Story
I also hope we can meet on Pinterest! Twitter, Facebook and on Google Plus! ~Lori 🙂
Great article. Artists should always keep in mind their end goal for their art, whether it is galleries or self promotion.
Hi Becky, how was the workshop? It has been fun watching you post your paintings over the time I’ve known you and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Anyway, thank you for the comment. Yes, it is important for artists to keep their goals in mind in order to achieve them.
Cheers-
Lori
Thanks so very much for mentioning my blog postb Kelli. I am thrilled that your sale got positive results. Thanks for sharing that. I noticed that my website was getting hits from Lori McNee’s blog, so I came over here to check it out.
I’ve been toying with the idea of selling a few of my artist friends’ works from my website for a limited time. When the work sells, I’ll take a 20 percent commission, and the artists will ship the work directly to the collector. Real brick and mortar galleries are now setting up similar situations.
However, I’m thinking of offering an early bird special for the first week. The discount will come out of my commission. Since I don’t need to store or ship the artwork, I still make income when the paintings sell. If my work is sold, I do not pay a commission.
I’d ask the artists to sell and list the work through my site during the online show. When the show is over, The work returns to the artists’ possession. Since collectors seem to enjoy getting something of value for a bit less, it would be an interesting To see if they respond to a limited offer.
Any thoughts?
Hi Lori,
How fun to see you on my blog again. Your blog post sure has been a great resource for this heated topic. Not all artists will agree, so the debate continues…
Anyway, I like your idea of starting an online gallery for your friends. I have toyed with the same idea myself, but I do not have the time to dedicate to it!
Yes, having the artist in charge of their own shipping will help you with your sanity for sure. I think this could be a brilliant idea for you Lori.
Keep me posted on your efforts, I would be interested in participating if you think I am a good fit.
Happy painting and blogging-
Lori
PS. Are you going to be in Vegas for the Plein Air event? I am…
YES!
Hi Kelli and Lori, thanks for the post!
I am always a bit hesitant about sales, because I don’t want people to think I can’t sell my work, or that something is wrong with it if I put it on sale. Do you ever have this fear? I know it’s okay to do it sometimes, especially if it’s old work, but what if no one takes the bate? How would you go about promoting your sale to make sure buyers see it?
Thanks in advance, and hope you both have a lovely day! —Allison Bratt
You are very welcome, and thanks for your comments Alli.
You are not alone in your sentiments regarding an art sale. That is why this is such a debated subject. I myself have never done it for many of your reservations. The best way to promote a sale is through your newsletter, blog posts, social media sites and then you could always make postcards. I plan to address this question in a future post.
Thank you!
Lori
Great topic!!!!
Regarding the artist that has the 20% off sale. It is not a sale – that is what your art should be priced at. You have most likely been overpricing your art for the market.
General question…
If the art does not sell at 10%,20%, 30% off does one take off another 10%,20%, 30% off????
Hi Sandra,
There really are no rules, just guidelines. Artists have to value their art according to the rest of the market, and their skill level. Like I just mentioned in another comment. Most galleries discount art 10-20% at times, so that should be the standard to follow for a studio sale. I hope this helps.
Thanks!
Lori
Really interesting topic – thanks for addressing it, Kelli! I also read Lori Woodward’s blog post and she put a lot of thought into her article as well. She had a lot of valid points.
Although you had a lot of success with your sale (congratulations!) I would be hesitant because you do not want your collectors to expect them – or wait until the “next sale” before making a purchase. Hopefully your wonderful art will only be increasing in value. Best of luck with it!
Hi Carolyn,
Yes, this is an interesting and heated topic that continues on my FB page today! Kelli has really used social media in interesting ways. I wish I had a bit more time to explore this myself!
Not all artists agree with the idea of a sale. However, galleries often give 10-20% discounts on original art, so I do not see a problem if an artist does the same for a special studio ‘sale’.
Thanks for the comment, good to see you here!
Lori
Loving the dialogue happening over here. 🙂
Hi Kelli, thanks for checking in on the comments…it is such a great post!
Lori 🙂