Mods: I’m not really sure where this thread belongs so I will start it here knowing that it will likely be moved somewhere else.
First let me say that I support local arts and crafts fairs and have always enjoyed going to them. I often see things there that you would never find at a retail store. They’re also a great place to people watch, but I digress…
Sometimes the prices at art fairs are about what I would expect, especially considering the time and effort that must have gone into making the piece, but sometimes the pricing doesn’t make any sense to me at all.
For example, a medium sized glazed piece of pottery might be in the $30-$50 range, while a small framed painting or photograph might be in the $150-$200 range. And some of the larger paintings or sculptures might be in the $800-$1000 range.
I like standing and watching what people do when they see these high prices. Every once in a while I see someone actually buy one of these expensive pieces, but only after a protracted amount of haggling to get the price down a few hundred dollars.
So how do these artists determine the price of their wares? It’s certainly not by supply and demand because there is an ample supply of expensive art pieces but there doesn’t seem to be that much of a demand for it. Purchasing a $500 painting or sculpture is hardly an impulse buy for most of us.
Do they price these things based on what they think they should be worth versus what people are willing to pay? Do they not care if they sell anything today because maybe tomorrow some wealthy patron will happen by and drop a few thousand dollars?
If they paint or sculpt for a hobby I can see them not caring whether they sell anything or not, but I get the feeling that some of these folks do this for a living.
What is the cost to schlep around from city to city in hopes of selling a piece or two at a high price? It’s not like they have a bunch of inexpensive items they can sell and therefore make it up in volume. I just don’t get it.
Artists don’t know more about economic forces than you. It’s why there’s a stereotype that artists are bad with money or that they’ll be a “starving artist”. We don’t necessarily have any business training at all.
Basically, an artist looks at what other artists comparable to their skill level are charging already, then charge a similar price. It’s all about perception and what people want to buy. For instance, I knew a painter who loved painting realistic birds but they didn’t sell. She moved on to doing abstract pieces and they sold like hotcakes. So half of it is just what fad has struck the market at the moment.
The other half is judging your self-worth. A lot of the time artists tend to undervalue themselves until they have experience, and even then they tend to think they’re “not good enough”. It’s hard to realize that you might really be worth $25 or $50 an hour when public perception still falls towards it not being a “real job”. There’s a big problem in the graphic design world for instance of recent college grads or foreign designers doing work for a pittance, and it brings the market perception down for all of us. “Why should I pay $500 for your logo when recent college grad A will do it for $50?!” Experience and skill sometimes make no difference to the end buyer who is strictly concerned with costs, so artists who undervalue themselves create negative waves in artist communities. Others argue that they wouldn’t want to take on a client who undervalues them and are sure they can find enough higher-end clients to fill the gap. Both are valid viewpoints from my experience. The designer good enough to create for ABC and NBC doesn’t usually have to care whether they’re cheap enough for Mom & Pop Tires. Same goes for artists who paint or create pottery or mobiles or what-have-you.
Obviously there is a point at which nobody will pay for your services. It is simply a guessing game of trying to figure out how big your name is, how good you really are, and what the highest price tag you can get that people will still consider paying.
Also, there IS supply and demand at work (if my previous post didn’t make that clear). You might only think that there is little demand for expensive art pieces, but standing there watching every day for 5 days doesn’t equate to what an artist’s whole selling season is like. My potter friend sells out every single year, for instance. If I go at the end of his selling “season” in October there’s hardly 3 cups left on his shelves. Like cars, you don’t expect to sell 10 expensive $1000+ pieces a day. You sell those once a week or two weeks, and that’s plenty good enough for a living. The market for expensive art is smaller than say, cars, but the basic selling premise is there. Since each piece is worth more, you don’t need to sell in volume.
And “high” prices is only high in reference to what you think of the art. You think a $1000 art piece is expensive probably because you fall closer to the “not a real or sustainable job” side of perception as opposed to art aficionados. I went to a house sale the other week - the woman literally had hundreds of art pieces that she had bought over the years. Some people love art for art’s sake. Those are who painters and sculptors are selling to. Those are the people who see that $500 painting as an impulse buy, and perhaps even as a steal.
You can find issues with the premise ($100 a year? Does every artist make that much “new” stuff to entice buyers? What about comic artists that do one book a year at $30? so on.) but it’s pretty eye-opening when you really think about it.
I’m a “true fan” for one potter. Every year I go back and buy one piece. Usually it’s between $35 and $65. All he needs is a thousand or so people like me and a large handful of incidental buyers and he’s doing fine.
I used to sell my pottery at craft fairs, altho not too successfully, hence “used to.”
Pricing is tough. I can pretty accurately figure how much I spend on clay, glaze, and electricity per piece, but there’s no way I can charge for my time at any reasonable rate - not even minimum wage. And because I tend to be very, er, frugal myself, my view of what a piece is worth is probably skewed a good bit. Asking others is pretty well worthless, too.
I have to laugh at the “I can get a coffee mug at WalMart for $3 - why should I pay you $10?” attitude - obviously such a person has never made something by hand, ever. I also get a kick out of the “But what is it for?” mindset - sometimes a pot is just pleasing to the eye and you’d enjoy having it sit on a side table and that’s quite enough. I still sell a few pieces thru a local store, but the owner is always asking what you can do with this or that piece. I don’t care - do what you want! Just because I’d use it for pencils doesn’t mean that’s the limit. :rolleyes:
Sorry - didn’t mean to get all pissy. I should take up a hobby to relax…
No one who is an artist does it just for the money. Money is important, of course. But you will be sorely disappointed if your mind is always on the bottom line.
I have never done a fair before, but every other week I sell my work on the street. Sometimes I’ll get a ton of customers. Other times I’ll get one or two. Last week I got none. I never know what I’ll get.
I used to charge actual prices, estimated from material cost + man-hours. But I didn’t have any customers, which I wanted more than money, and it all felt like a waste. So I switched up my business model. Now I let customers choose what they want to pay (with a minimum to cover expenses). This has worked out wonderfully. It makes people really think about how much something is worth to them, but at the same time my ego is stroked because I’m usually guaranteed at least one customer.
But I can afford to do this because it’s just a hobby, and the intangibles I get out of it far exceed my expenses. If another artist were to set up shop on my block and charge “real” prices, I probably would do likewise so as not to undercut them, especially if it’s clear they are trying to make a living at it. I really really hope this doesn’t happen cuz I like things the way they are now.
And there lies the rub. I am thinking of selling hand made wood hiking sticks at a few local arts and crafts fairs. The material costs to make one are small, but I have seen them in fairs priced from $15 to $85 for almost the same thing.
If I don’t factor in my time to make them (it’s just a hobby and not how I make my living) then I could price them as low as I want and probably sell a bunch of them… but given the time it takes to gather the raw materials, prepare the wood and decorate the stick I’ve invested a few hours in each one, and my time is worth something.
I don’t want to do it if no matter what I do I lose money since I can think of better ways to lose money than to sit in a booth all day, but if I price it based on what I think they are worth I may not sell very many. I guess I need to go to a few more fairs and see what comparable items are selling for so I know what my competition is doing, and then figure out my own pricing. If it’s too high or too low I will find out fairly quickly.
Other than a business license, what does it cost to sell your wares at an arts and crafts fair? Are there usually fees to have a booth there? I have never asked anyone before.
Good art fairs are juried, meaning you have to apply and be judged skillful enough to participate.
Nonjuried fairs are just shitpiles where youll be competing with people reselling crap from wal-mart. I really wouldn’t bother with that sort of think if you want to sell at a price that represents your skill. Put yourself in shitty company and you look like shit. Another option is local farmers markets, which aren’t specifically juried but usually only permit handmade items. That tends to cut out the crappier purveyors.
I recommend the book, “Priceless: the myth of fair market value” which explains price psychology.
What Hello Again said. I used to sell handmade jewelry at art fairs, mostly juried ones.
I finally stopped because more and more show operators started getting greedy and stopped bothering with the jurying process and let in the junk sellers, just to collect the booth rental fees.
This in turn attracted the bargain shoppers, who were not interested in fine art or handmade, one-of-a-kind items. They just wanted cheap. After hearing “Oh hell, I could make that” for the hundredth time, I hung up my Art and Craft Fair shingle. Now I deal with brick and mortar stores who sell my stuff.
It varies widely. You can rent a table for $20 or $25 at small local craft fairs. For more professional craft fairs, I’ve seen prices much higher - anywhere from $100 for two days to $1000 or more for a month. I imagine people who sell their stuff at these kinds of fairs are professionals, though.
Churches often have craft fairs, but sometimes only church members can exhibit their stuff. This isn’t always the rule, though.
ETA: I don’t have a business license of any sort. Might help though.
