Putting your work on sale?

I find this to be an interesting topic as I, personally, flip flop on it. Should one have some work on sale at a show or not? It opens the doors to more questions too. If I put it on sale does that mean it cheapens the rest of the work? On the flip side is it an invite to see what other kind of work is being sold by an artist in their booth, that isn't on sale? Also, would it depend on the medium regarding which would work if something were to "go on sale" or not?

I have had my feet firmly planted in the "no don't do it" mostly because it could very well cheapen the other work you sell as well as what others around you do and the show itself. In other words don't rock the boat. However, I am an out of the box thinker (kinda sorta) and when you really open your eyes to what is going on in the world everyone is having sales to entice people to come in and shop/browse. Granted most shows I sell at don't allow any type of signage that suggestions "sale" - and understandably so. Yet, aren't most people looking for a deal, knowing the value of the product is worth the price? After all we don't get cheap toilet paper because the price is right, right? So, with the trend with consumers is sale sale sale, should we, as artists, entertain having one or two pieces discounted or have a clearance section?

I found myself doing this in the fall, transitioning between fall and winter, at shows and that is have a clearance shelf with the "outdated" fall items for quick sell. It got a few sales, but can't say for sure if doing so will make a big impact on overall sales.

So, what are your thoughts about this topic?

I have done this in a way... I have some styles that I want to sell out and I marked the regular price with a cross out and the new price so that they knew that I lowered the price. When people look at those items I always mention that the price was lowered because blah blah blah... I also have a few items that I oversprayed when sandblasting so there is a random spot here or there that is not perfect. I put a sticker that says oopsie and the discounted rate. A lot of people are thrilled to find these since the slight blemish is nothing really, but not perfect, so not at the perfect rate.
I do not think I would put up a sale sign because I would prefer that they buy the full price items. If nothing else having some sale items among the rest gives you an opportunity to engage the customer by letting them know about them or if they are hedging on a price, you can offer the cheaper alternative.

Replies

Chris Hoyt February 11, 2010 at 7:33am

The dealer is basically a B/S merchant. He buys the cars from the manufacturer and resells them. Just like the B/S merchants at the shows do.

William S. Eickhorst said:
If your local Ferrari, Mercedes, Jaguar or Lamborgini dealership offers some vehicles as part of a special sale at a reduced price, does that cheapen the value of the other merchandise?
Munks February 10, 2010 at 11:13am

Um, yes. Yes it does. I believe it does. Yes. Yep, yes it does.

William S. Eickhorst said:
If your local Ferrari, Mercedes, Jaguar or Lamborgini dealership offers some vehicles as part of a special sale at a reduced price, does that cheapen the value of the other merchandise?
Chris Hoyt February 10, 2010 at 7:25am

Many promoters won't allow "sale" signs or percentage off signs. I've found that if we have older pieces we want to get rid of, we just put a new price tag on it with the new price.

I guess this comes from my early days of shows where exhibitors on Sunday would start putting up discount signs. We called it "50% fever." I always wondered what would happen if a customer that came on Saturday came back to buy some more, and saw the discount. I always felt they got ripped off on Saturday then.

If you want to move your old stock, just reprice it. The discount signs and sale signs play right into the WalMart mentality we want to avoid.
BenJamin Stielow February 9, 2010 at 11:41pm

I don't ever put my work "on sale" and I would likely ask you to take down a "sale" sign if I saw it. It takes away from the show.

This dosn't mean that the price gets adjusted down on certain pieces that I would like to see move. My new work is worlds ahead of my early work, so rather than putting on sale I just bring the price closer to what it was when it was new.

So I guess the answer is yes, I do put works on sale...... just do it very discretely.
Michelle Sholund February 2, 2010 at 8:08am

Oopsie - that is funny and a good idea.
Amy Schulz February 2, 2010 at 2:10am

I have done this in a way... I have some styles that I want to sell out and I marked the regular price with a cross out and the new price so that they knew that I lowered the price. When people look at those items I always mention that the price was lowered because blah blah blah... I also have a few items that I oversprayed when sandblasting so there is a random spot here or there that is not perfect. I put a sticker that says oopsie and the discounted rate. A lot of people are thrilled to find these since the slight blemish is nothing really, but not perfect, so not at the perfect rate.
I do not think I would put up a sale sign because I would prefer that they buy the full price items. If nothing else having some sale items among the rest gives you an opportunity to engage the customer by letting them know about them or if they are hedging on a price, you can offer the cheaper alternative.
Dave Hinde February 1, 2010 at 10:00am

I have done that at some shows, but not all. My "sale" stuff is some of my older work, from 3-4 years ago when I first started doing this. My subject matter has changed some, as have my skills. If I'm doing a low-key show, and I've got room, I'll put a "Bargain Bin" out with older notecards and prints. I can't see throwing them out. I'm going to go through all my work next weekend and will probably end up tossing a lot into the bargain pile.

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