How to price artwork (Why underpricing is bad!)

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Let me know if you have any pricing insights or questions in the comments!

[@Carol0831]

I just sold my first painting to a friend. He commissioned me to paint a bouquet of lilies for his mother's birthday. I told him the price I had decided on (which included the painting, a waterproof mailing envelope, the mat and postage), he told me it was not enough! Here I was afraid I asked for too much. Live and learn!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Congratulations Carol, yes a learning experience!

[@yarlseri]

Thank you very much for this video, it gave me a lot of insight and a more objective point of view about pricing my artwork...I never wanted to charge too much but everybody on youtube saying that we must charge low or very low and increase gradually was making me feel like I should charge next to nothing. Thanks, it was very helpful!

[@susanwilliams6350]

Love this video. I have the opposite problem. I have four paintings in a local art fair at the moment, this is my first time exhibiting and as soon as I put the application form in, I had a phone call to say that my prices were far too high and I should consider lowering them by two thirds. I worked it out that at these suggested prices / after taking into account, canvas, paints, framing, entry fee, them taking a percentage etc. I would get nothing for my time and I would actually be paying someone to take it away. So I stood my ground and my paintings are the most expensive ones in the exhibition. I’ve been told that they won’t sell and quite frankly I would rather take them home and enjoy them myself than sell for less. I won’t be putting any in next year. I’m sure I’ve been classed as the pretentious newcomer.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Good call! Not everyone who runs art fairs knows what they are doing. They are looking out for their own interests, you must look out for yours ;-)

[@AwesomeAndrew]

Great points. Nothing much can be done about people underselling, an issue not just in art, it's everywhere especially wirh cheap manufacturing in china

[@lynnt5859]

This is a must watch video for any art medium! I have sold my art at my community art center, unfortunately we have some people who think this is an opportunity to clean out their garage. It cheapens our sale, and devalues my work

[@AwesomeAndrew]

Another thing some people do in sales, is put a price slightly higher than the right price, so you can offer people a small discount so they feel like they've got a bit of a deal, helps to get the sale across and you still get the price you wanted

[@krissart3578]

Underpricing has caused a lot of damage,it stem's from the myth of the 19th century 'starving artist',as if artist's are meant to be saint's who can be exploited on a whim, "oh but you're a painter..it should be free",it's old hippy nonsense.Artist's are people first,you are only an artist when you have entered the mindset to create.Anyone can sell the odd low grade piece and call themselves 'an artist'.Well it takes a lot more than that,it's a profession,you have to be in it for the long game or forget it.If you are good people will pay you.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Yes exactly!

[@kirstenmithelga]

Thank you very much for this educational video ❤ Perhaps being as a newbie to art, one might think that because they are no van Gogh or Rembrandt, they can't charge as much. But of course all the reasons you explained make a lot of sense and why each piece of art is worth a certain amount of money. Conclusion: Don't sell yourself short. 👍🏻😊

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Yes, you are right

[@joiedefi]

Very interesting....I create original artwork in my art and junk journal spreads. I've then been using them for some of my journal covers. They are little pieces of art in their own right. Maybe I need to think about this topic some more. Great content, thank you! Joie 🌿💜

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thanks Joie, your journals are beautiful ☺️🙏

[@ruthdwyer3513]

Thank you so much for the information. So how DOES one correctly price?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

The price of art is related to the reputation and history of the artist. If you are not a known artist then your best bet is to price by market value, ie what does similar artwork sell for in the area (or website) where you are selling.

[@colleenmcchesney1482]

I have not had any experience with pricing my artwork yet. I have begun cataloging my work as I give pieces away to family and friends. I am thinking of writing a value price on the jumping bass painting I recently finished for my friend.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Wonderful!

[@christinethesinger1]

Hi, are you able to advise on individual pricing as I have just started selling small artworks and am unsure whether I have this right?

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

It would be best for you to find a facebook group or sub reddit where people in your area sell similar items and ask for advice :-)

[@melissamortimer4457]

Definitely all makes sense, all 8 of them.

[@maggiemae987]

I consider myself a “beginner” oil painter. I have sold paintings size 16x20 for $350.00. Before I ask this question I realize you haven’t seen my work. Would this be underselling? I would love to email you a pic of a painting or two. I would LOVE to get your brutal honest critique about them too.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Pop them in my facebook group. It's not a bad price, but I can't really generalize :-)

[@tbm7187]

Omg #7 is soo true!

[@CindraMarshall]

Excellent information!!

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Thanks for watching!

[@brigittebenson6166]

I looked for one of your videos on Prints and didn't find one. Do you make your own prints or do you have someone else do them? I have many questions about prints. can you please do a video

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

Hi Brigitte, I have my prints made for me by a local company. I'm afraid that business/practical style videos do really badly on KZbin, they make my channel views drop off a cliff. I do have some videos on framing and mounting prints on my Patreon site. You can access these for a small monthly fee. If that doesn't suit you there's always my Facebook group, where I try to answer as many questions as I can and other artists will help you too.

[@lmbrockman264]

I understand all your reasons for not underpricing your art. But my question is do you have a basic starting formula for pricing? I realize it will change based on experience, how well known the artist is, etc, but for a beginner who has been approached by people who have asked if I will sell my paintings, I really have NO idea how to go about pricing. Can you offer some guidelines? ~Lisa

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

There's no formula that won't break down eventually. If someone can sell an unmade bed for millions, you can't price art by hour, size or time. Your best bet is to look at work similar to yours and see what it sells for locally to you (or on the online site you are using). Market value is important, and reputation is something that takes time to gain, so start there.

[@lmbrockman264]

@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber thank you so much for answering. I appreciate your time. 😊

[@antiheroannie539]

Sorry I don’t really understand ‘annoying other artists’ and ‘underpricing’ (point 7). So forming a cartel is the solution??? If somebody is competition because they price lower you just have to be better or just different. No artwork is the same. Find a niche. Do different marketing. Is this me or is it because I’m from an advertising background.

[@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber]

It's more about people who 'play' at art or craft and price way below the going rate, far less than they could make a living at and barely making a profit. Imagine if in a certain area there was a rough going rate for a plumber. Then suddenly someone came in who charged half that rate just because it was a hobby, or their partner or parents supported them. It's not about natural variations in price.

[@antiheroannie539]

@@IntheStudiowithMicheleWebber I understand that, but I see it this way; suppose you sell toothpaste or something and every toothpaste company agrees with one another that a tube of toothpaste shouldn’t be sold under 10 pounds that’s what we here in the Netherlands call ‘kartelvorming’ I think in English it’s called cartel. Out here in the Netherlands that is against the law. We have shops out here (Action, op=op, witte winkels, etc) that buy products from bankrupt shops or factories or just products that are left over somewhere. These shops sell the products under the market price (sometimes even under the production costs) because they buy cheap. That said I understand your feeling about this and I do agree that some people’s work is worth more, sometimes much more, than they are charging. I wish these people were more confidant about what they make because I think they diserve more. But I don’t think it’s something to be upset about because of the competition.