March 30, 2012

 ACE Newsletter

Is It Time to Adjust Your Art Prices?

For many artists, whose sales are slow or even non-existent right now, doing something, anything,  to improve their situation is their major concern. But what? Even the artists whose sales have been previously predictable and steady are having to tweak and adjust. (And the few who brag of overwhelming sales are doing just that-bragging.)  So  it is understandable that in an effort to do something, adjusting art prices would be foremost in an artist's thinking.  

With the current consumer market being bombarded daily with  so many merchant sales, store sales, online sales, groupon and living social deals, and  crowding the Internet with pop up sales , what is the message being sent about consumer habits? What is happening and how long will this trend continue? Is no one paying full price? Or is no one selling at full price anymore?

There is no doubt that if you are an artist targeting a market which is now struggling  to put food on the table or pay electric bills, your  art sales are going nowhere.  And when artists are not selling, art suppliers suffer, framers suffer and galleries suffer and on down the line in the domino effect. But every business has been affected since the downturn started in 2008 and the  new buying (or non buying) trend  is one that in 22 years of art sales as a means of livelihood, we have not seen before. But it's more than just consumer hesitation. Interestingly enough, the state of the current economy  has not stopped  tens of thousands of new artists who have flooded the market these past few years from adding their art to the many art products already on the market.  The influence of the computer with all its "be an artist" programs, along with auction sites and the huge number of online art selling sites has been a been a huge part of the steady increase of new artists scrambling to grab a piece of the imagined pie with their new abilities. And consumers are aware of this in more ways than one.  Art has lost a bit of its former mystique and has taken on a context of being "cheaper", more accessible, less intimidating and easy to do and buy. Art for sale is everywhere.  The mass influx of cheap art and cheap artists has had a dramatic impact on the traditional arts as well as the careers of long time artists and it is a  trend that shows no signs of stopping or slowing down.

No one begrudges anyone the means to make a living. Self employment in any profession means adapting and adjusting to all challenges-good and bad.  But it is a serious challenge when an artist must to look at his slow selling work and wonder if it is time to adjust the pricing.  And with that thought comes all the questions. What happens then? Does dropping your prices to complete with the current  thinking hurt your chances in the long run? What if the economy swings back again. But what if it takes another 10 years? What if earlier clients see the discounts and become annoyed? And what happens if dropping your prices still results in few or no sales? Then what's next? Develop another art avenue? Get a job?  So many questions, very few answers and only YOU can decide what is right for your situation.


However, sometimes the best thing you can do is step back from your situation and look at the big picture from a distance.  What is working. What is not. It is easy to want to keep doing what you've always done and hope for the best but wearing blinders or sticking your head in the sand can prevent you from seeing the trends and that can be a costly mistake. 

So is there a solution to these economic challenges right now? Or a good suggestion? Our suggestion and advice is to diversify. Diversification  can offer an artist the means to  make it through tough times.  Bringing in new products, new services or an alternate art line or technique can keep an artist in the game for the duration.  As with every profession, there is a market for every level of sales and no longer can artists afford to stay at just one level of sales.  If your art previously never went below $1000.00, bring in less expensive products, services or techniques. Keep your prices in one venue the same but  consider tweaking some of them to stir new interest or bring in new collectors. We are of the school where it is far better to have 15 sales at $100.00 than no sales at $950.00. Think smart. Think hard. All new ideas have merit.  Procrastination in this economy will sink your art business, so do something this week to add some adreneline to your sales and be determined to stay in the game.