Should I announce that I am raising my art prices?

By ace, on January 31, 2012

A question on our forum:

“I want to raise my prices on my art. Should I announce this in my newsletter? “

This is one of those good questions that we have seen before and where there are as many opinionated answers as there are repliers! Since we pay every bill with the sales of our art, Steve and I think carefully about such changes and the possible repercussions in any decision concerning prices.

We DO have something to lose by following the wrong advice, well meant as it may be….but conjecture without facts can be foolish.

So, in our opinion and in practice with our art business, when we raise prices, we do so quietly, without advance notice.

Our increases are always small but certainly manageable so we see no reason, especially in challenging times, to possibly give our prospects one more reason to put off a decision

After all, art is a want, not a need. Remember that!

There are good, sound marketing reasons why manufacturers and distributors have not said a word about the shrinking of their product packaging while the prices increase (ie:consumables such as coffee, tea bags, 1 lb bags, etc.)

This is not new. As a kid I remember 36 birthday candles in a consumer box. Then watched it drop to 24, then 18 and now I think it’s 12? LOL-tampons used to be 12 in a small box now it’s down to 8, and the number of sticks in a package of gum has certainly dropped…etc. Unless you use a product regularly (coffee comes to mind) you do not notice some of the small changes.

And NO one announces these changes by the way…they usually come through some expose’ in an afternoon TV show

Having commented on the shrinking product, Steve did the identical thing when he kept his well known $100 price tag for one group of his popular oils by decreasing the size of what that amount purchased. Same quality, same price, smaller package.

There will always be that school of thought that says announcing an increase in prices will result in a flurry of sales “before the increase”. Our experience has proven that it is not quite that cut and dry.

If you study marketing and do your own due diligence, you will see that with “end of year” sales, inventory sales, etc, etc, there is a pattern that all the businesses use and imitate. You would do well to follow the patterns of successful businesses and see what the trends are (they all have invested big bucks into market analysis) before randomly deciding to increase or decrease something as complex as pricing.

If you go back through the newsletters you will see an article I wrote for our Art Career Experts and shared with other online magazines/blogs about pricing art. (Help me Sell my Art)

I repeat a key point here-it is NOT some magic number that will help you sell your art-it is your whole package. Having the “perfect price” will not sell your art. Perfecting your image and your art package will

JC Penney ending sales? What does that mean?

By ace, on January 25, 2012

As the economy rolls on, all businesses are faced with decisions that were not in a long range business plan! Even the big boys are struggling to make sense of changing customer needs and have had to come up with creative and innovative marketing ideas to stay afloat.

So this article in the Associated Press caught my eye. Are we really so different from other retailers?

J.C. Penney Says ‘No Sale’: Cuts All Prices, All the Time to Simplify Bargain Hunting

J.C. Penney (JCP) is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in its stores.

Penney said Wednesday that it is getting rid of the hundreds of sales it offers each year in favor of a simpler approach to pricing. On Feb. 1, the retailer is rolling out a three-tiered strategy that offers “Every Day” low pricing daily, “Monthly Value” discounts on select merchandise each month and clearance deals called “Best Price” during the first and the third Friday of each month when many shoppers get paid.

The plan is similar to Walmart’s (WMT) iconic everyday low pricing strategy except that Penney’s goal isn’t to undercut competitors. Instead, Penney aims to take the guesswork out of shopping in its stores by offering customers fewer sales and more predictable pricing.

Penney’s plan comes at a time when stores are struggling to wean shoppers off the profit-busting bargains that they have come to expect in the weak economy. The move is risky because shoppers who love to bargain-hunt may be turned off by the absence of sales.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/Aml32Y

An artist’s business plan and a bottle of wine

By ace, on January 19, 2012

If you read our advice on creating and artist’s business plan and think “but I just want to be an artist” or “so and so’s online advice seems easier”, then you are buying into the fantasy world that non-working artists are promoting and will have to make some intelligent choices .

The 3 things your business plan must have!

By ace, on January 15, 2012

At the end of the year, most people are in dual modes of looking back at how their business did over the past year and looking forward to what can be improved in the New Year. It’s probably time to blow the dust off your old business plan and see what’s missing.

The Fast and Easy Shortcuts to Success?

By ace, on October 29, 2011

It is telling that the most often asked question in our art marketing seminars is “How do I price my work?” The artists who ask, regardless of what they just heard from me in the seminar, are searching for an easy, magical formula for instant success. And top of their list is the thought ” skip the rest-just tell me how to price my art so I can sell”

Accepting compliments gracefully

By ace, on September 12, 2011

Can’t accept a compliment gracefully? What we learned about dismissing or negating a compliment was that you are essentially telling the person giving you the compliment is that “his/her tastes are not very good.” Think about that and it will make sense!

The art school “cult.”

By ace, on August 5, 2011

Parents and schools today are turning out a whole generation of whiny, dependent child/adults , thanks, in part, to their 24/7 hovering and dumbed down, federally funded education systems.

Linkedin-is it helpful?

By ace, on July 27, 2011

So don’t hyperventilate over the multitude of online social sites. Handle only what you can handle. After all, at some point you have to find the time to create your art!

What art to take to an outdoor show

By ace, on July 13, 2011

Know your organizational weaknesses and make a decision to overcome them because if you do not, then every show will become an ordeal……very often it is not the work that is the biggest issue but how we are seeing it and handling it!.

The argument against donating art to charity auctions…..

By ace, on June 13, 2011

……..I would love to hear the story of the artist whose career rocketed to success because he or she donated a work to a charity auction and this act alone tipped the first domino toward an avalanche of success coming his or her way. This narrative is always implied. I’ve never seen it happen.

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Past Posts

As the economy rolls on, all businesses are faced with decisions that were not in a long range business plan! Even the big boys are struggling to make sense of changing customer needs and have had to come up with creative and innovative marketing ideas to stay afloat.

J.C. Penney Says ‘No Sale’: Cuts All Prices, All the Time to Simplify Bargain Hunting