This video provides practical tips and important factors to consider when pricing your artwork.
- 1 min. short (packing slips)
- 1 min. short (packaging step by step)
- 1 min. short (shipping labels)
- 8 min. video (summary)
- 51 min. video (discussion)
- 95 min. video (Prof Lieu lecture for the Nevada Arts Council)
Factors to consider are the type of venue where you sell your artwork, whether you sell in an art gallery or online can greatly impact your prices.
Concrete details such as the art media used, and the size of the artwork are also important aspects to think about. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Lauryn Welch.
Video Walkthrough
- Research similar shops to see what their pricing is like.
- Do the math: effort, time and cost.
- Consider what you want your hourly rate to be.
- What to do if you work slowly.
- Art media “food chain,” there are biases depending on the media.
- Different audiences, who is yours?
- A $200 sale is “high” for online
- A $200 sale is “low” for a gallery
- Online sales: balance between high volume & lower prices
- Gallery sales: balance between low volume & high prices
- How to get into a gallery
- Standard gallery commission is 50%
- Where the gallery commission goes
- Galleries handle marketing, advertising and have steady clients.
- Selling online you have to do everything yourself, marketing, etc.
- Selling online vs Selling in a gallery
- Gallery exhibitions have an expectation that you will frame.
- Online shops mean you don’t have to have a brick & mortar presence.
- Framing for online sales is a huge investment and not necessary.
- Most people who buy artwork will want to pick the frame themselves
- Framing artworks
- Low prices can actually work against you!
- Different prices can be used for different audiences.
- The venue where you sell often determines what you can charge.
- Experience on resume helps
- The more you price and sell, the less awkward it becomes.
- Anxiety and doubt are natural when selling and pricing your artwork.
Prof Lieu’s Tips
Take every piece of advice you get about selling with a grain of salt! Some people want to sell everything, some people (like me) passively sell and don’t think about it. Other people only sell select artworks, it’s really personal preference.
To sell your art, you don’t need to trademark your name or register yourself as a business. In the US, you’ll need to file a Schedule C with your personal income tax (for self-employment)
You’ll also need to find out about paying sales tax in your state. Check with your state’s Department of Revenue, usually sales tax is an annual payment.
