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Forum topic by LyubomyrS | posted 01-25-2018 06:01 AM | 1272 views | 0 times favorited | 16 replies | ![]() |
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01-25-2018 06:01 AM |
Hey guys, so I’m new to the business and need help pricing my projects. You can take a look at them at my page, i would really appreciate if you could give me some guidance and wrote some comments. Thanks in advance! |
16 replies so far
#1 posted 01-25-2018 01:44 PM |
first of all – you did not make all those beautiful carvings in one weekend. have you ever sold any at all to the public? personally – I would pick a few of your best pieces, build a shipping box for each one, the reason I say to build a box first prior to listing it for sale is there is nothing more aggravating to a customer looking forward to reading a report of your journey through the Artisan’s World for profit. . -- I am a painter. That's what I do. I paint things -- |
#2 posted 01-25-2018 01:50 PM |
I looked at a few of your pictures in the project section. Here’s why: Painting, as you should know, is sort of like making music and recording songs. Tons of really good talent, and you need a bit of a break to get the ball rolling. I’d start by showing your best to galleries that do NOT have anything like you do, but make sure they are not second and third tier galleries that cater to lower crowds, don’t have regular shows, etc. I made that mistake when a gallery approached me telling me they wanted to enter into the 3D world by putting in stuff like I make. (Not my guitars). After a lousy $150 in sales over the last three months, I plan on pulling out in the next week or so. My other gallery, I did well over $1000 in December alone, and that was not my best month. A good break would be to have an interior designer get interested in your work, or someone who decorates things like offices, hotels, etc. And don’t be afraid to do what people want, and put your own wishes aside on what you consider your own art. By the way, animals are not selling now, quoting my one gallery manager, save for portraits of people’s dogs and cats. Good luck! -- Tsunami Guitars and Custom Woodworking, Cleveland, TN |
#3 posted 01-25-2018 02:20 PM |
There are some really good articles in the “Journal of Light Construction” on markups, etc… A good idea is to spend the money and speak with a good accountant on identifying what your overhead really is and then you can price your work in a way that will actually work for you. Too many people just look at the wood and nails to price out their work and that is not the case. The more informed you are, the more you know how to price and why the other folks charge what they do. -- David in Damascus, MD |
#4 posted 01-25-2018 02:57 PM |
Your work may be worth something after you die, but right now it costs nothing. That’s the destiny of most artists. |
#5 posted 01-25-2018 03:37 PM |
There’s a lot of wealth in your part of the In terms of pricing fine art… you can price Take a look at the art furniture of Wendell |
#6 posted 01-25-2018 04:34 PM |
Sorry to say, but be prepared to be disappointed. People are so used to seeing CNC generated stuff they may not be that impressed—but I sure am!! If there is a craft/farmers/arts market type rent a booth and see what happens. If its in an upscale area, all the better…. -- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!! |
#7 posted 01-25-2018 04:36 PM |
another aspect to consider is that you must separate yourself from those like said above – no matter how good you think you are, there is always the competition good luck in your ventures !! . -- I am a painter. That's what I do. I paint things -- |
#8 posted 01-25-2018 04:57 PM |
Thanks for all the replies. I have posted some of my pictures online but also I try to sell them at the craft shows. For example there’s an upcoming show in spokane, a big one, people pay with cash, no auction and I have no idea how much to sell for example the 3d eagle for. |
#9 posted 01-25-2018 05:20 PM |
At least hold back your favorite pieces for top dollar. For years, people told me I couldn’t get top dollar for things I made. Consider, for example, walking sticks. Search the net and you will see a lot of nice work going absurdly cheap. However, just because they let their work go cheap doesn’t mean you have to. I started at around $85.00 for a stick I could finish in a few hours, if I did several. For example, I could put out twenty of my curved sticks that are just made from big box store, knot free lumber. Where you advertise can be huge. For example, Amazon might give you the ability to charge higher prices than EBAY (I’ve sold items on Amazon, then bought them for a fraction on EBAY. Of course, you’ll pay some fees for using others sites. I don’t mine consignment sales. I just keep good records and get a signature, just like the owner would with any other vendor delivering goods. Sometimes, I’ve had to tap dance to get them to consider the headache of dealing with me (records), but it’s easy to push the fact they carry no risk of having to buy something in hopes it will sell. I filled an entire Waterbed store back in the day. Worked great for me and them. One of the headaches of consignment is the add-on pricing. Stores want to add their percent to your price. That’s fine, IF they do not subtract their share from the retail, dipping into your share. To solve that, I just go with the “let’s take your 25%/30%/50% off the retail route. To get to the retail, just divide your percentage of the sale into your wholesale. REMEMBER, test calculators before relying on them to do this. I got into it with some self professed match guru who ridiculed me for claiming I knew of a glitch in many calculators (he showed himself to be no less a part time idiot than the rest of us). A simple test, at the store shows many cannot perform this SIMPLE function: 1) Divide the price you need (wholesale) by your percent. This gives you the retail price. 2) To proof the results, enter the retail amount and subtract the stores percent. This should give you your wholesale, but not all calculators hanging on the stores shelf will. |
#10 posted 01-25-2018 09:16 PM |
Why would you build a shipping box? Large, flat packages are already expensive to ship, so why add the materials and labor to build a shipping box that will only wind up making it more expensive to ship than the artwork alone? -- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner |
#11 posted 01-25-2018 10:33 PM |
Rich said: “why add the materials and labor to build a shipping box that will only wind up making my answer to that is this: when I was shipping expensive items, they were usually outside of the standard cardboard box size. I would hate to hear that the OP, LyubomyrS, made a fantastically carved eagle and got a lot of money here is one of the items I shipped for a customer: and as you can see, this particular box went to the Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi, Japan. . -- I am a painter. That's what I do. I paint things -- |
#12 posted 01-25-2018 10:57 PM |
Rich – the OP is working on this project as we speak. if he sells it online to someone across the country, . -- I am a painter. That's what I do. I paint things -- |
#13 posted 01-26-2018 01:19 AM |
Such drama. What’s with the “pretend you are taking full responsibility” nonsense? Do you take full responsibility for all of the advice you offer on here? Fortunately, neither of us has to take responsibility for the OP’s packages being delivered safely. Know why? There’s this thing called insurance that adds just a few dollars to the cost of a package. I ship things all over the country in cardboard boxes — indeed, millions of packages are shipped safely every day in cardboard boxes. Some are expensive, fragile items at that. Major shippers are Six Sigma operations. They don’t stay in business by messing up people’s packages. I asked why he would spend time and money to package something in a way that will unnecessarily add to the cost. It doesn’t sound like the OP has a lot if money coming in. If he can sell them for enough to justify his hard work and the added expense of that crate and the shipping costs it will add, that’s great. Otherwise, why spend time and money where it isn’t necessary? Spend it on more product, better marketing strategies — things that will add to your sales, not your expenses. -- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner |
#14 posted 01-26-2018 01:30 AM |
Back to the OP. Speaking of boxes, have you considered applying your skill to objects, rather than art pieces? There are companies that sell quality boxes, unfinished and ready for your carving and painting. I’d be much more likely to purchase a beautiful item like that than something to hang on my wall. Want a niche that might take off on a site like Etsy or Thumbtack? Pet urns. You can buy a plain unfinished wooden pet urn online and have the buyer send you a picture of their pet they’d like you to carve and paint on it. Another possibility — gift boxes. You can buy plain, unfinished wooden wine boxes and adorn them with all sorts of your work. Look for sites selling unfinished wooden boxes and see all of the different products they offer. The possibilities are really endless. Just use your imagination. -- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner |
#15 posted 01-26-2018 01:50 AM |
bantering aside – Rich has some pretty good ideas that fit your skill level and interests. best of luck in your endeavors !!! . -- I am a painter. That's what I do. I paint things -- |
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