I just got an email from someone who saw my photography at the last show I did. She owns a furniture store and is interested in displaying some of my work in the show room. She asked if I would consign or wholesale.
I'm thinking I'd prefer wholesale, but have never sold anything that way, and don't really know how it works. I have some questions.
1. If I sell wholesale, should I expect to sell a certain quantity, or insist on a minimum buy?
2. I've read that wholesale is typically 50% of retail. I never considered wholesale pricing when I set my prices. Just cutting my normal prices in half wouldn't be terrible, but it wouldn't give me all that much profit. Is there anything wrong with me going with something like 60% of retail?
3. Whether I sell wholesale or consignment, they will be collecting sales tax and paying it to the state, so I would need to get a copy of their state issued reseller's permit for my own records, right?
4. If I do wholesale, who sets the retail price that they charge in their show-room? them or me?
5. For wholesale, is there anything I should be doing in terms of a contract? Or since I'm selling to them, that's the end of it and they're free to do what they want?
6. If I opt for consignment, is there a good source for a contract template?
7. For consignment what should I expect as a percentage for them to take? This isn't an art gallery that exists to sell art. It's a furniture store, and selling the art would be an added bonus. at least that's the way I see it. so I feel like 50% commission (like a typical gallery) would be excessive. something more like 20-30% seems more reasonable to me, but I don't really have a clue.
Any other advise? I did read some other posts here that had a lot of people steering away from consignment. I kind of do prefer to just sell and be done with it. But it will depend on what they are after I guess.
Chris
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My husband had an office furniture store and successfully sold 60,000 per year in his photography and a friends work. It's a natural fit for office furniture stores... people have a generous budget to re-do a whole office... they leave the walls for the last and then need the assistance of a sales person to help select the right frames and pieces for the office. Retail is about $300 for a 24x36 frame or canvas wrap. Customers really like local scenes or landmarks with local statements or tags on them. They did all the printing and framing in-house... no jobbing out costs. Sales help would get an extra "spiff" for selling art as an add-on with a furniture purchase.
Thanks everyone for the comments and advice. I've gotten a little more info from the store owner about what they are looking for.
Wholesale: They would be looking to start with three of my B&W images in 18x24 or 24x30 framed sizes and would double the wholesale price for their retail price. Depending on sales, they would order more.
Consignment: If I wanted to go this route, they would be able to show more than 3. I haven;t gotten a feel yet for what percentage split they are expecting.
Obviously 3 is not a large wholesale order, and I understand what Chris is saying about larger orders helping to get the costs down. I'm not a full time artist like a lot of you are. I have a day job, and am just trying to get into selling my photos to see how this thing goes. I wouldn't really mind just selling 3 wholesale to start with. But the appeal of getting more per sale is obviously there with consignment.
The shop is local(ish). It would be probably a 45 minute trip with driving and finding parking, so not supper easy to just drop in regularly to check up on consigned pieces. Looks like they have a lot of other art work on the walls. Here's a link to Google 360 view of their showroom:
http://goo.gl/maps/gtpRm
I'm going to try and set up a meeting at the showroom this weekend and talk a little more with the owners. As much as I'd like to get more out of the sales, I think I'm leaning towards just going the wholesale route for less headaches.
Maybe depending on how things go, I can work in some consignment as well just to get more pieces there. After all, at this point I've only been doing 1 show a year (I'm only 2 years into this) and all those framed photos are either sitting in my closet or hanging on my walls. Someone else might as well be looking at them and possibly buying...
Chris
Honestly - I've decided to quit shows entirely for 2015 and only focus on building the wholesale business. I've participated in a wholesale trade show for the past few years - and have picked up quite a few stores. For me - with the product I offer - it's all about concentrating on the specific customer who wants what I have.... and instead of doing shows, I do much better in a store.
I base the price I set for wholesale entirely on what the materials cost for the product -- and what the market will bear. My husband is 62 and I am late 50's - my body was screaming at me during shows. It's time to have less physical and mental stress, and enjoy life more. My decision to stop the shows (except for maybe one more wholesale trade show...) feels really good!!
I think what Kathy said above is excellent advice.
Kind of in-line with Chris’s comment – one of the great things about wholesaling is that once you get your wholesale customer base in place your expenses should start to go down – allowing you to charge less per item. The amount of shows you need to attend should start to fall drastically – which is probably one of the biggest expenses for most of us.
I’ve never had a great experience with consignment – I would definitely pick the wholesale option. The only exception to this is a couple of local shops that are owned by people that I’ve known forever.
The one thing to remember if you're doing this by yourself is, unless you have a big enough order to make wholesale worth your while, you're working just as hard for half the money.
I am thinking of increasing my wholesale price but can't decide if it'll push it too high. The main place I wholesale to is a local upscale gift store. They keystone their prices. I originally started w/them when I was selling my coasters at retail for $20/set. I sold to them for $12/set wholesale. They sell it for $24/set. In the meantime, I have gone up to $24 as well with no negative repercussions in sales.
It is going on 1 1/2 years maybe more that they have been buying from me and I have not gone up on my price. I was thinking of increasing it to $13-$14/set. How does one decide when and how much to go up? I know that time since the last increase cannot be the only factor in determining an increase ... there's increases in supplies, cost of living, etc.
What factors do I need to consider for a price increase in a wholesale situation?
I sell a lot wholesale -- I would always suggest you set a minimum order - and Yes, usually the wholesale price is 50% of retail. If the market at the store can support a higher price, you could do 60 % of your normal retail - and they can set the price where they want. Just remember - the store will at least double the price. I usually suggest a retail price - but allow the store to set whatever price they want. I've never done a contract with the store if they purchase the product.... for sure you want to do that for consignment.
Having started out doing consignment - I would never recommend it - unless you want to take on the role of consistently checking in. You have to make sure no damage is done to your work - and that they keep it clean (dusted) and represented well. Also - you have to guard against possible theft.
I have a local place that shows my work and offers it for sale - but that's easy for me to go in and check on inventory. I get 80% - they get 20%. That's an exceptionally good deal - however, they get the benefit of having their lobby filled with art on display - so it's win/win. Normally for consignment, you can expect 50/50 or 60/40.
Selling it outright at a wholesale price is much cleaner.