art business - pricing

This came from Alyson Stanfield's blog entry. Short, to the point. -and very true!

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"The golden rule for pricing your art is . . .

Start low and go from there.

If you’re too high and later have to lower your prices, you appear unsuccessful and you also tick off anyone who purchased your work at higher prices. "

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Let me elaborate on this one from an art show standpoint--

I've watched artists at shows ( not this last one, these artists know better than that!) who get very discouraged at the end of a show because they did not do as well as they anticipated. So what do they do? They knock 10% - 20% off their prices on the last day! On top of that, some will even call that out to passersby: "20% off! This day only!" I rarely see people flock to that artist for a "bargain" when said artist does that. The truth of the matter is, that artist just succeeded in losing his credibility, his prestige, and possibly the respect of the customers. What happens when he returns to that show next year? Will the patrons remember the beautiful piece they had their eye on the previous year (that DOES happen!), or will they wait til Sunday because he's probably going to drop his prices? Or will they determine that he doesn't know what he's worth, he's not successful because he keeps changing his prices, and not buy from him at all because at this rate he might not even be around in a year or two?

Patrons won't buy from you just to have your art because you may not be around much longer. Patrons want you to be successful. They want to own a piece from an artist who they think is going somewhere. They don't want to pity you, they want to see your confidence! Don't sell yourself short. Don't drop your prices to try to bring in sales. And by all means, remember to keep your pricing consistant - in the gallery, in the show, and in the studio!