Ooooh, those dirty words. I can't belive I said it's for sale. Did anyone overhear? I would be so embarrased. NOT!
This piece is entitled Planting Seeds V. It costs $110.00 + shipping. I also have loads of smaller pieces perfect for Holiday gift giving. Please see my website.
Is there really anything wrong with a bit of marketing? Is there anything wrong with having a simple and functional website? Is it downright dirty, cheap and nasty to have the prices listed on the website? And is it a sin to provide an internet shopping cart to make it easy for purchasers? I don't think so, but it seems that many artists do.
Often, I really am interested in an artwork. Of course, I do look around just to compare my prices to other's. Yet, I actually do buy from the internet & believe it or not, I might just buy something from an artist from their website. There are many factors that contribute to my choice to purchase: is the photo clear? do I have a place to hang or place it? and that pesky question - can I afford it? I really do appreciate knowing immediately if I can afford a piece. I do believe in that old saying "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." So I get a bit annoyed at having to contact an artist to get a price on a piece.
Recently, I feel in love with a piece during a spell of artist website and blog surfing. Hmmmm, good picture, love the content, can I afford it. I emailed the artist, explaining I needed the price, letting them know I loved their work and informing them of the reason I chose this particular piece -- giving them an idea of what a potential buyer is thinking and how they related to the artwork. The next day, the artist returned my email saying she was off to a show and did not have time to locate the artwork and give me a price. Several days later, I received another reply with the price, an explanation of what the piece was made of . . . and that's it. OK, so I got my info. But that's it. I don't know why my love of the piece diminished. Was it waiting for the price, not getting a cheery reply letting me know why they created this piece and saying thanks that I was interested in their work. Anyway, I did not buy the piece. Would I have felt the same had the price been listed? It was affordable enough. Would I have gone ahead and bought it without emailing the artist?
Some artists want to be contacted. For some, this is the reason they do not post their prices and want to be contacted for them. (If this is the reason, be happy that a potential customer has contacted you and let them know that.) Is this the only reason to not post prices? Are there other reasons? Would an artist get more sales if prices were posted next to the piece and the customer given an immediate way to purchase the piece? I think so. Is it a nasty thing for an artist to actually want to make a sale?
I am an artist. Please contact me if you like. Buy something. Buy nothing and just let me know you like my work. Don't contact me if you hate it. Contact me and let me know about your granny's quilts. Tell me about the weather where you live. Just don't look down on me, reject me, think I'm cheap just because I tell you how much something costs.
Can you imagine if the grocery store did not post their prices? I don't think I'd put something in my shopping cart if I didn't know the price.
Prices as low as $30.00. I do commissions. Please see my website. Have a look at my stores on Ebay and Etsy. Did I mention CafePress? Note the prices.
4 comments:
Hi Kim! I just found you and I'm so glad, I fell in love with your small quilt with the crow on it and just purchased it! A Christmas present for me! :)
Lynn
I uses to give away all my art when I was younger, but the day I walked into a friends house, and I found that they had tossed my work, the next day, I started charging.
good post, i agree. It was so unprofessional that the artist didn't respond with warmness and have prices available. It's rather pretentious when prices aren't listed, makes me suspicious they charge anything anytime depending on the day.
I, too, just found you ... through the comment you left on Paula's blog. You're now added to my daily reads.
Your work is interesting and unique. Thanks for sharing the processes and inner thoughts and feelings behind them.
As for pricing, it's a subject I struggle with. I finally got comfortable about it with galleries. At one point I listed prices on pieces I posted about on my blog, but stopped because it didn't feel comfortable trying to sell in that format. Especially since I state in my personal description, "I don't do it (make art) for sale, but I do sell". Evidently that's much too subtle since no one has contacted me about buying any work.
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