How to Price Your Artwork So Everybody Wins

Pricing your artwork can be tricky. Too low and you lose money. Too high and you make no sales. And there lies the dilemma.

How do you make sure you don’t lose money but still manage to sell your art?

After all, the goal is to turn this art thing into a living.

If you’re an emerging artist read on, and you’ll learn how to price your artworks so everybody wins.

Doing The Math So You Don’t Lose Money

When coming up with their pricing, some people like to use formulas, some like charging per square inch.

No matter what you decide to go with, you’ve got to first figure out how much you need to earn to avoid losing money.

The first step is to assess a fair hourly wage for yourself. How much is your time worth? To figure this out, here are a couple things to take into account:

• How much do you make at your day job? This number is usually a good place to jump off from if you don’t know where to start.
• How skilled are you as an artist? Usually the less skilled you are, the more time it takes to finish a piece. Adjust your hourly wage a little lower so your customers won’t balk at the price. (Funny enough, the better you get, the less time it takes, the higher your hourly wage.)
• What were the conditions you had to work under like? If you hate doing wedding photography, you might want to increase your hourly rate. If a commission falls into your lap that allows you to express your creativity, you could consider lowering your rate to fit your client’s budget. (but not too much!)

The second thing you need to assess is how much did it cost to produce your artwork/photo shoot. Take into account:

• Any paints, oils, brushes, canvases, etc you used in the process
• Transportation of your works, advertising, exhibition fees, etc
• Commissions
• Shipping!!!

This is a big one most people don’t take into account. For two reasons:

• a ) Shipping costs more than most people think. I’ve heard of artists who offered free shipping only to sheepishly go back to the customer to ask for them to cover the shipping cost so they don’t end up losing money.

Don’t let this be you.

Figure out what shipping costs beforehand so you have a rough estimate of what customers will be paying. Even better would be to just tack shipping onto the cost and offer free shipping to anywhere in your country. Then tack on a surcharge for any international shipping.

You’ve already convinced the customer your art is worth X amount of dollars. Why burden them with deciding whether shipping is worth Y amount of dollars?

By tacking it onto the price and offering free shipping, people will associate your art with a higher price point and you won’t lose any sales due to shipping costs.

Win-Win.

• b) The second reason is you’re not just paying for shipping. You’re also paying for any shipping materials. Artwork can be easily damaged in transit and if proper precautions aren’t taken beforehand, you’re out all that cash. To prevent this, please invest in protective measures. (tubes, corners, bubble wrap, foam boards, tape, insurance, etc)

Pricing Your Artworks So Your Artworks Actually Sell

Once you’ve figured out a base rate where you don’t lose money, it’s time to figure out a price point at which your artworks will actually sell.

Here’s how to go about figuring this price out.

What is the Competition Charging?

For a fair shake, check out the competition. If they’ve been selling at that price point, chances are you will too.

Visit some gallery openings and websites of the artists that have similar levels of experience with you. Although the gallery may play a part in their pricing, you’ll get a rough idea on the numbers. Commercial galleries generally charge more because of the 30-50% commission rate. Some even charge a rental fee. Consider this when you analyze the numbers.

Peruse some art fairs and check out the price points. Look on Etsy or Saatchi Art. Anywhere where other artists are selling their art can be a good place to check.

Size, Medium, Subject Matter, and Exclusivity

So which artworks should you compare with?

Look at the size, medium, subject matter, and exclusivity of the artworks.

People expect smaller artworks to be less expensive. But they still take a lot of time and skill to pull off. How are others pricing their smaller artworks?

Are you selling limited edition prints? Or is it mass produced? What do these usually go for?

Consider the medium. For example, oils are generally more expensive than acrylic. Where does your medium fall in the price hierarchy?

What about subject matter? How are abstracts priced? Landscapes? Abstract landscapes? The more you can tie your pricing to others like yours, the safer you’ll be.

The Long Run

Luckily as an artist your prices aren’t going to stay the same forever. It’s not like a piece of trendy clothing that will go out of season. It’s more like fine wine that ages with time.

As you gain a reputation as an artist, become more in demand, it’s completely okay to raise your prices.

When you start selling consistently or reach some milestone such as winning an award, getting into a museum show, dying (though I wouldn’t recommend this as a viable business strategy), or getting a commission from a notable name, raise your prices 10-20%.

It’s better to make these jumps incrementally as opposed to skyrocketing your prices and alienating the people who supported you from the very beginning. Don’t forget about your day ones!

The Most Important Thing

The most important thing when you’re pricing your artwork is this....

Keep your feelings out of it.

Your prices should be grounded in facts. Some customers are going to ask you why your painting is $2000. They’re looking for reassurance that your painting is worth the money. If you can spout out some facts, you’ll be that much closer to making the sale.

But I get it.

As an artist, the hardest part can be letting go of a piece you have an attachment to. In this situation, it might be better to just keep it than to let it affect your pricing.

If your favorites are priced higher, buyers won’t feel as confident in your pricing and your other works will feel “lower quality” in comparison.

If it’s too precious, just keep it and enjoy it. That feeling of pride when you look at it is priceless anyways.

Conclusion

Many, many, many artists underprice themselves. They don’t know what they’ve got and what people are willing to pay.

To avoid underpricing yourself and losing money, consider the following:

• How long did it take to complete the piece?
• How skilled are you as an artist?
• What conditions did you work under?
• What materials were used?
• What fees did to have to pay?
• How much is shipping and what do you need to ensure it arrives safe and sound?

To avoid leaving money on the table, consider the following:

• What is the competition charging?
• What do similar artworks go for? Compare against size, exclusivity, medium, and subject matter.
• Are you selling consistently? What is your reputation like?

Pricing is difficult, but if you ground it in these facts everybody will leave the transaction happy. Good luck!

Written by Emily May

Emily May Gunawan from Sally & Emily photography duo was born in Sydney and raised in Jakarta, positioning her and her sister Sally to engage with both Western and Eastern worlds. Since establishing her career in 2012, they have gone on to work with global brands including Adidas, Tim Tam, to NYLON Magazine in a wide range of capacities both for print and digital publications as photographers, creative directors, to videographers. Sally & Emily’s images are fuelled by self-discovery and contemporary femininity, taking inspirations from their diverse cultural heritage and personal stories. View their works at www.sallyemily.comand follow the journey at www.instagram.com/sally_emily