Many years ago, a certain art professor showed his portfolio slides to a class I attended, as a sample of how to put together a body of work for presentation. His beautiful ceramic perfume bottles were quite impressive and skillfully made. Along with the images were prices for each item, which averaged in the range of $600 each, which was his example of pricing to the class.
Not long ago, I happened to speak with an artist who by chance got the same talk from the same art professor with the same slides. She, however, had the presence of mind to raise her hand and ask "How many of these perfume bottles have you sold?" The answer: Zero.
In contrast, I once exhibited at a retail fair where the craftswoman in an adjacent booth was selling handmade jewelry using polymer material. Customers were swarming her booth, snapping up unbelievable deals on handmade work. Her prices were too good to be true, and it was baffling whether she was sneaking into a craft fair with imported buy/sell merchandise or just didn't know how to price.
Constant orders for her underpriced goods were overwhelming her, and she had developed severe physical problems from repetitive motion. In fact, her arms were often numb from overuse, and she had to sleep in a recliner just to avoid being in constant pain.
This craftswoman was obviously making very little money, suffering from overwork, and hurting other exhibitors who were pricing their work reasonably. Had she given thought to the realities of the marketplace and the costs involved in doing business, she would have raised her prices significantly and made a better profit on less work.
Likewise, the art professor had no idea of what the market would bear for his work. Perhaps he didn't worry about making sales due to his teaching position but had he been a production potter, he quickly would have adjusted his prices to be more reasonable.
Both overpricing and underpricing your art or craft work is a losing proposition. If you are just starting out, you may be unclear on how to price your work. Avoid pricing from an emotional perspective. Do your homework on what similar goods are selling for to get a rough idea. Then carefully evaluate your materials cost, hours involved and the per-hour rate you need to make. Don't forget costs such as taxes, shipping, administrative time, and transportation costs. Then add in a healthy increase, because running a business is always more expensive than you think.
You will quickly find when crunching the numbers if your pricing structure is working for you. Even though less experienced artists and craftspeople will usually make less income, don't sell yourself short or rationalize why you are working for almost nothing. Likewise, avoid charging exorbitant prices that will ensure your sales are almost non-existent. Both situations can take all the fun out of running your art or craft business.
Article: Carolyn Edlund
Image: Pix Deluxe
