Do lower priced prints sell better ?

[e]

With the economy the way it is right now....The art galleries that catered to the rich (the rich always have money to spend) survived. Many galleries that went middle of the road or cheap are now out of business. This economy wrecked them. My thought regarding this is to have some real expensive items mixed with more affordable ones and then will you have all the bases covered. Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com

[Kirk Gittings]

I don't think there is any easy answer to that. It depends on your market and what you think your efforts are worth and whether you think you can get there with volume or exclusivity. Plus there are alternatives to getting your work to people without giving your prints away too cheaply.

For me since I do so much commercial work that I have a very high sense of value for my time whether it is shooting or darkroom. Also in a sense because of the commercial work I am not dependent on the personal work to make a living. So I price my personal work moderately high because I consider anything less feels like I am giving it away.

The bulk of my print sales are to museums or serious collectors so I also think that pricing the work too low would make them them not take me seriously. So I guess my strategy is exclusivity. When I show in galleries though I like to offer some reasonably priced ways of getting my work short of paying the print prices. For me that is my books which anyone can afford and does not compete with the prints. I may try a line of note cards in the future similar to William Clifts as I have been approached by a big retailer which solves the usual marketing and distribution question.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Kirk touched a little bit on what I was thinking. IMO it depends on your short term and long term goals and your personal situation.

I started selling on e bay as a way to get some quick money to support the photography, but I was aware this was a short term situation. Selling on Ebay allowed me to build a portfolio of 35 images that I consider gallery material while making some money. The long term goal is to achieve something like Michael Kenna. Kenna is represented by 15 galleries which sell and average of 1 or 2 prints per month per gallery at around $1500, you make the math.

Of course, even he started small. The first show I saw of his work was in Houston and at the time the prints were selling for $350, I was in college at the time and could not afford to buy any, but if I had had the money I would have bought the whole kabudle.

I have no doubt in my mind that volume always will result in higher earnings than exclusivity. Ford and GM make a lot more money than Ferrari, but which one would you rather own?

OTOH, sometimes lightning strikes and selling cheap can be a venue for getting your work out there and getting it known. Ray Bidegain while selling on E bay sold a print to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts which has a great photography collection. What were they doing hunting for prints on E bay? I have no idea, but there you are!

It is a balancing act, and without a plan, pricing is a crap shoot.

[QT Luong]

the best thing to do is base your prices on research or on the experience of your rep or dealer

Assuming you use one. The three photographers I mentioned (as well as myself) self direct through three different venues: own galleries, art shows, web. Reps may not be necessary if your work has a large appeal.

Dear Tuan, now that I checked your website, I believe your prints are priced low already.
I do think your biggest sizes have too large an edition, you know better of course, but do you think you will run-out of an edition of 50 30x45" prints or even of 100 24x36"?


This was done with the long term view that prices only go up. As low as they are, my records show that the number of people who click on the pricing page outnumber the people who buy by a factor of at least 100. If I open my own gallery, I think I will sell out my editions. People like Duncan, Lik, Mangelsen sell out editions close to 1000.

That was the experience of a local pt/pd photographer who now regularly sells on ebay

Some venues are better left to people with plenty of time on their hands.

Kenna is represented by 15 galleries which sell and average of 1 or 2 prints per month per gallery at around $1500, you make the math.

$18000/month. Not something that would make me unhappy :-), but I'd be surprised if that what the best on this market can achieve.

[paulr]

"Ray Bidegain while selling on E bay sold a print to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts which has a great photography collection. What were they doing hunting for prints on E bay? I have no idea, but there you are!"

is that true? it's a great story. it means some old curators are learning new tricks.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

is that true? it's a great story. it means some old curators are learning new tricks.

Now Paul, what kind of question is "is that true"? Do you think I would lie about something like this?
You can ask Ray, I will be glad to give you his e mail address.

But I agree it is an unusual story, who would have thought a Museum was buying prints off of E bay....

[paulr]

I believe you, Jorge. Just an expression of surprise, not an interrogation.

If this happened to Ray, my guess is it's not a completely isolated case ... could be that curators are taking more unusual approaches these days. Anne Tucker already has a reputation for being innovative. I wonder where else she shops.

[kthompson]

curators on eBay--they do that in the museum I work in as well. they scan eBay looking for historical photographs and artifacts even, related to the collecting policies. This is nothing new really, they've been doing it for about as long as eBay has been around....not much different than going to tag sales or estate auctions.

[Michael Hewson]

Having visited a Ken Duncan gallery (and being on his e-mail list - a welcome thing) and having purchased a print, I note he markets in all segments and so has a range pf prints (and sizes) - in fact Ken has a range of inexpensive posters too. So he seems to cover various bases ... I wonder if that means there is no optimal size/price point?

[largeformat]

pekanmbr en nmbr

Is there a correct way of testing or finding out your ideal pricing range on your works?

Or at first, from start, let the artist (creator) determine each __ worth.
Then the test of time corrects them north to south.

Supply and demand; adage.