cmon, I think they are trying to run you off. The max I have heard for fees is around 25% If they insist on selling your stuff, bump up your initial cost to cover the difference. I don't know what projects you want to sell, but DON"T cheat yourself. Hang in there.
KHOP

 

The rate I've always heard here in Minnesota is 20%

 

I feel that their prices are way high also. A coop here in WA has lower fees than that and they are very high end, with approval from the members before they will even consider your stuff! If I remember correctly the fees are in the 30% to 38% range. I agree that you shouldn't sell yourself short. Let them deal in 2nd hand junk, er I mean stuff.

 

Depending on your area studios that sell furniture and art usually get 40-60%

 

The galleries I sell through get 40% for pieces over $500.00 & 50% for items under $500.00.

 

Around here the fees run about 20% for crafts or new items and 40% for used items like furniture and clothing. But Antiques go with the crafts at 20%

 

Wow. And I have never paid over a 10 to 20% fee.

 

I thought about trying to sell through some of these but the rates always ercked me. I understand that they have overhead and there time is worth something but come on. the wood worker foots the bill for materials,design,construction,etc. they transport to the store. the store sets them up and if they dont sell you have to go pick it back up. they want as much to set in the store as we are supposed to get for all the work and risk??? I'm sorry, that just don't sound right to me. luckily I have a large family who are more than happy to take what I make for free LOL. I was approached by a friend of the family who was starting a consignment shop and asked if I wanted to put some things in it at 50%. I politly told her I would consider it at 25%. She refused and said I could just raise my price to make up the difference. I didn't want the reputation of being overpriced so we couldn't make a deal. I did visit her shop once (before it closed) and couldn't believe the prices she had on her items. sorry to ramble on but this really sticks in my craw. P.S. we have a local sales place on the net. that lets you advertise for free, kind of like craigs list but more local. It's great for occasional selling of low end items.

 

See, I was thinking around 25% would be about normal.

Say I get paid 50% of the sale price which we'll call $200. That means I get paid $100. If I paid $50 for materials I'm making $50 from the sale and the shop is making $100. No way.

The way my pricing usually works is Materials x 2. So, I would make $0 and the shop would make $100. Even more no friggin way.

I could bump the price up but that reduces the chances of a sale.

 

cmon, keep an eye on this place and see what kind of business they do, I'm betting it won't last long without some changes.

 

I was doing 70/30 I thought it was a little steep but…. I told them what I wanted and then they put their 30 on top of that so in the end I got my bottom line. Somethings sold and some things were to expensive to sell. That about sums up consignment shops. If they don't like YOUR terms to bad. They could be seeing how desperate you are, trying to make extra from you being desperate to sell something.

 

I would never consider consignment unless it was a very high dollar piece in a gallery. This subject was heavily discussed in this thread a while back http://lumberjocks.com/topics/6236.

 

The shops around here charge a monthly fee for displaying items (usually about $50/month for 10' of wall space), plus 30-40% of sales. I get frequent calls asking me to consign items, but I've never done it.

 

I had a booth in a split antique and crafts place, pretty good size at 24,000 sq ft. It was 3' by 5' for $90 a month with six month lease. Then the store took 10% of sales. Antique side was well monitored, but the craft side was at least half China buy-sell stuff. One of the managers gave me the talk about how they had to keep the floor space filled or customers wouldn't come. I couldn't compete with the China prices and left after 6 months.

Actually some of the more quality China stickered stuff faccinated me in how they could have a final retail price so low when even at my best could not buy the materials for that. And they had shipping!

One of the owners saw that I did woodworking and asked me if I could make tables as they were a fast moving item that they wanted more variety in. At first I wasn't interested and then decided to take a stab at it. Made a very basic hall table without a drawer and took it for review. Owner said they could sell it at $29 and they would take 40% as consignment fee. So, $17 dollars for labor, materials and profit? Would need to find a bunch of free pallets just to break even.

They did have bigger tables with drawers that were obviously local made for $99 a little bigger. I say obviously due to the router marks and pine construction. Buy they had multiple drawers and larger tops, which would drive the labor and materials up. I didn't want to make anything at that grade or craftsmanship and didn't know if the market would bear an increased price.

Steve.

 

I own a resale & consignment store. It sounds like these new biz owners are unfamiliar with how consignment should work for what we call an "Artist Consignor." Regular consignment rates are usually in the range of 40/60 to 50/50 for gently used items. But for someone who is producing/crafting/constructing pieces themselves the rates need to be different. I did a LOT of research before I picked up any Artist Consignors. I found the range of normal rates to be 25-45% for the store to keep. We set our rate at 30%. Obviously, the Artist needs to be able to recoup their investment and make a bit as well.

Keep in mind what the store is providing to you. It is larger than just the sale of pieces. Yes, you could probably make more per piece selling on your own at craft shows or through word of mouth. However you will also benefit from the exposure. When the store pays for their advertising, whether they specifically mention your pieces or not, you will benefit from that at no additional expense to you; it draws people into the store which means more eyeballs seeing YOUR product.

There is the matter of sales space, as well. I know exactly how much money each square foot of selling space makes for my store each month and every inch is precious. Space is always a challenge and I will not waste it on unproductive or unprofitable product. If I cannot make enough on something to justify taking up space the product is discontinued in short order.

In addition, you have a skilled sales force working for YOU on commission…if you don't make money, they don't make money. I'm a good salesperson (it's what I love) and I train my people well. While my Artists are busy with their families or making other pieces we are busy selling their pieces! They get to focus on what they do well and we focus on what we do well, and that benefits both parties.

I've worked hard for the past five years to establish a stable, large clientele that have come to know my store as a unique place carrying local product at reasonable prices. If your product is added to my store's product mix you are guaranteed exposure to clientele you probably would not have access to otherwise…that's thousands of "hits" per month, to put it in eBay store terms. You benefit from my advertising (radio, print, tv, email), expertise (display, salesmanship), location & clientele (no overhead for you, established client base), and equipment (signage, displaying fixtures, credit card machine/Telecheck, invoicing, collection of funds at no charge to you), all for that 30% fee.

All that to say, maybe do some research on your own and print some sample Artist Agreements out to show to this consignment store. Or maybe this particular consignment store is not the right fit for your product and you need to shop around.

Best of luck in whatever you decide!

 

Those fees are what the galleries and stores have always charged me. They have to pay the rent, provide the sales force, advertising, ect. In my book if they can actually sell the items you have a winning combination. Go for it.

 

bornagainresale - You make points that I fully agree with. The value of me being in my shop (or day job) undisturbed by a retail customer is priceless. Only needing to travel to the facility when something has sold to replace the space is good use of time also.

My angst is in my local area they fill with people renting a booth and filling them with wholesale China, Vietnam and India goods under the roof of "crafts."

I have thought of looking into some retail space (plenty empty around me) and put up the sign "Locally Made." I would jury everything and ask for the proof that it was actually made by the individual. I'd probably need to apprentice for bornagainresale for a year first though.

Steve.

 

A new consignment shop will be opening in my town in the next week or so.
I'll be putting a couple of hutches in the shop that will also be used to display other items. Because of this arrangement I don't have to pay the monthly fee and the shop gets 20% instead of the 30% being charged to other crafts people. I think it's a great deal for both of us. I like the idea of building what I like and letting someone else worry about selling it. Hopefully it works out, but if not the first couple of pieces are items my wife likes that will look good in our home ; )

 

lots of good information here. I have my cards for sale in a yoga studio and they get 30%. At first, when I calculated their profit vs mine I was really getting the short end of the stick and then I realized that I was comparing my PROFIT to their income… they, too, had expenses to cover … AND a lot of good my cards do sitting in my home where nobody can see them. The 30% now makes sense to me. Of course, I would like it if it was lower lol

 

When you sell something on consignment do you mark your price up or do they set the price. How do you figure your time? Who pays for damaged or stolen items? It doesn't seem right the store should make more than you with no risk. For me woodworking is pure enjoyment and I think this would kill that. Items that I make are mostly priced out before they are built unless they are for family (GRAND KIDS) and the payment is hugs. But if consignment works for you I say great.

 

Consignment deals are tricky, sometimes the shop is just interested in getting money for nothing. A shop like that maybe isn't worth dealing with unless their cut is really low. Some shops have the customer base, reputation and display facilities that can really boost the sales value. If a consignment shop can get 100% more for an item that you can, in a reasonable turn over time, then yes they are worth a 50% share. Their market savey will also boost the perceived value of your work, which will only give you more options in the future.

Always ensure you get a fair price for time and materials, but don't underestimate the ability to get things sold at higher prices either.

I once knew a guy who did fantastic stonework, both artistic kinds and functional forms. Unfortunately he was off-putting and looked shady, and couldn't sell a life jacket to a drowning man. On his own his work would pile up unused, unappreciated and get sold or given away for a fraction of it's worth. When his work was sold or represented by others, it could get a premium price.

 

I would give it to them at a 10 -20% discount to what I would sell it to a customer I found, if they can sell it for 2x my price great, I now know I am under pricing my items to my direct customers.

 

Depending on what you are selling and what type consignment shop/gallery you are interested in having your stuff displayed. I had a few of my pieces in a gallery and their terms where 40%. This was not arts an craft, but different artist. This seemed a little high for me, but then again they were drawing the type clientle that would be interested in my work. Here's where I always had a little problem with consignment shops…...ask your retail gift store what their average % mark-up is. You will probably find that most can't get a 100% mark up on everything in their store ( that's paying 50% of what they are selling it for).......and they have to pay for their inventory. Look at a gallery or consignment shop and figure what their inventory is worth that is in their store and they don't have a penny invested in the inventory! Maybe selling wholesale is another avenue to look at…...........Just food for thought. Me personally, I love selling what I make. There isn't a salesperson out there that knows my work better or half as excited to sell my work them myself. Just part of my passion.

 

i'm doing a Holiday Shop at a high end art gallery and they get 35%. My work isn't high end art gallery quality but they didn't have a woodworker so… I'm raising my prices a bit to cover it.

 

50/50 is fine by me.

I put 2 carved loons in a gift shop, charging 75 bucks so they retail at 150 bucks.

2 months later, there they sat getting dusty so I pulled them out and put them in the store right next door, asked for 350 each so they retailed at 700 bucks.

Both sold the next day