How much do I sell this for?

[wisardd1]

I have several people interested in buying my last piece. I have no idea what to ask. I have no idea what carvings are worth. I added a scroll saw scene called Horse Spirit on the piece. Any feedback would be appreciated. The size is 9 inches high and 4 inches wide. It took me 5 days to complete it. Hours? 10-15. The piece is under my thread wip

http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.co...load-3-jpg.jpg

[chuckt]

Pricing - hmm - tough call. Have you tried leaving the ball in their court and asking how much they'd be willing to offer?

My only take on this is to set some hourly rate that is reasonable for a person with no real name recognition as an artist - say $10 - $15 an hour or so (since you're a skilled carver it should be more than minimum no?). Then add in material costs. Set that as your base price. i.e. - the minimum I'm willing to accept.

Then see what they offer before you reveal your "asking price" (which I'd set at some level above your minimum - however high you're comfortable asking).

Ultimately - the amount they'll spend comes down to:
1. How badly they want THIS piece.
2. How much they can afford.
3. How much similar pieces can be purchased for "out there" (ebay, etsy, local galleries, etc.)
4. How much you're willing to take to let it go.

Each of those numbers can be pretty fluid depending on circumstances.

ChuckT

[wisardd1]

Heck, you should sticky note this formula. It is excellent. Anyway, I am thinking $175, $150 minimum. Fortunately, I really like the piece so I don't care if I sell it or not. Thanks again Chuck.

dale

[Lynn O. Doughty]

While there are rules you can follow when trying to price your work such as those outlined in the earlier post there is only one rule that is really applicable when selling anything and that is....

What ever the market will bare.

That simple rule not only determines the highest limit you can charge but also the lower ranges. How much your time might be worth has no bearing on how much someone might be willing to pay you for the article. If you want to sell it then price it low and then raise your prices the more you sell. When they stop selling then you've evidently gone too high and it's time to start lowering.

[big dave]

If your not really wanting to sell double the price and tell them you really don't want to sell it they will usually buy it the ones you don't want to sell sell the best and usually for alot more

[wisardd1]

Lynn, that is true in all things. What I am trying to figure out is a base range for an article such as this carving. I am sure other people here are interested in some kind of answer when it comes to selling. The last piece I sold was for $50 (fair price I thought). I got feedback from others saying he got a really really good deal. Thus, my question. Dave, I like your logic!

dale

[chuckt]

Actually - Lynn is absolutely correct that it's more about what the market will bear, however, the funny thing about the market for art & craft is that sometimes the more you ask for something, the more likely you are to actually sell it. THere is sometimes a weird psychology at work here in that if you price too low people will not buy it because they figure it must not be that good.

Now - all of this said - I need to caveat my posts as simply what I've read - NOT my personal experience. So you can and should take it with several grains of salt. I've not sold ANY carvings so can't speak from experience. I simply offer it as a summation of somethings I've read and heard over the years. YMMV!!!

CHuckT

[wildhare]

Dale, I think you got some good advice from some seasoned carvers.

I kind of test the person by saying, at a show I could get $300 for a piece like this. If they grab their wallet and pay you, Woohoo. If they swallow their gum and gasp, you can always clear it up by saying , I don't have to buy gas, or get a hotel so I can sell it for 200.
You are ahead either way if you were thinking 150.
Wanda

[wisardd1]

I really like your thinking Wanda. In fact, just as much as I like Chuck's (smile)

dale

[Lynn O. Doughty]

To give you a good example of what I'm talking about....I just returned from the Annual Indian Market in Santa Fe held over the weekend. There were a lot of carvers there mostly Kachina carvers. However there were a few others who carved figures in the Bob Boomer style, long and lanky but very little detail except in the face. Quite frankly none would hold a chance in competing in any woodcarving show I've ever attended but the prices they were asking for their work was in the high hundreds to over a thousand dollars. The reason they could do this was there was a market for just that type of art. There were a lot of high-end buyers plus the carvers were Native American. Were the pieces being sold worth what was being asked or paid? Certainly not in my opinion by a long shot as the work was of pretty low quality for the price range they were asking. But as the buyers were looking for authentic" Native American "art" they could get away with it. Had I any truly "red" blood cells which was a requirement for this show I could have probably doubled or even tripled my prices and easily sold out. But I don't so I have to price my work to the market that will buy it.

In sum, it really has nothing to do with how much time I might put into a piece. The determining factor is how much the collector is willing to pay. And Wanda is correct in saying that if you price it to cheap people will not buy it just as if you price it too high they will also walk away. The fun of selling is finding out that "sweet spot" which shows you just how much your work is valued. Sometimes you win but then sometimes you lose but like most games, it's still a lot of fun just to play.