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Saturday, January 1, 2011

What percentage markup for direct sales?

Galleries understandably do not like artists to sell directly to customers. However, it is going to happen. What should you charge? The same price as the gallery is charging ie double what you are being paid by the gallery? What you charge the gallery ie 50% of the gallery price (not designed to make you popular with a gallery though the clients will love you!) Its a contentious issue.What are your thoughts?

8 comments:

  1. I have thought about this as well and have come to the conclusion that if people want to buy privately it is because they do so because they want to pay less... Times are tough and buyers do shop around! My guess would be somewhere in between, like 75 % sounds reasonable enough. just my 2c

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  2. My attitude to this is if you seriously want as many outlets as possible for your work you shouldn't undercut the galleries. In the end you are cutting off your own nose to spite your face if you get a reputation for doing that.

    However I am very careful about which galleries I put my work into. I ask lots of questions about how they intend to earn their commission. Galleries have overheads and part of their overheads, if they are doing their job properly are, advertising, previews, maintaining a customer database and making the most of it. Contacting their clients when there is new work in the gallery, PAYING THEIR ARTISTS ON TIME, etc etc. Some galleries take the commission and do nothing. They don't get my work.

    I do get customers to my studio looking to buy cheaper than in the gallery and I DO offer discounts IF the customer wants to make mutliple purchases - two or more pieces with a discount on a sliding scale depending on how many they purchase.

    I have a couple of postings on my own blog about the subject http://carolsoriginalprints.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-makes-good-gallery.html

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    Replies
    1. Interesting scenario happend recently when a gallery undercut my price!

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    2. So the poor art salesperson working to feed her or his family spends days weeks with a client and their hard work promoting the artist, coaxing the client to purchase multiple pieces and when their hard work pays off with the client deciding on purchasing multiple pieces - the client says they need to get a drink or coffee and will come back googles you and in a matter of seconds with no work at all on your part you undercut the gallery the staff and all the work that went into promoting you as an artist. I would never want to sell your work again and neither will any other staff or galleries.

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  3. Yes, tricky one but there is a win win balance to be found and being upfront with galleries intially usually takes away from potential problems later on. galleries mostly do accept that there will be private sales.

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  4. What is the industry norm for mark ups on fine art being sold in a gallery vs through an artist? We have to offer a standard wholesale cost to a slew of galleries and did not know if we should discount the price of the art by 25/35/50% Please help me out with this!

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    Replies
    1. The more expensive the work, the less the galleries percentage is the general rule, but for most art the gallery earns in the 45-50% region comission off the retail price ex VAT. This is negotiable though with most galleries.

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