I work 60-70 hour weeks, make everything single thing in my shop by hand and work with a pretty difficult material, I am also running a business, which costs money-- I have overhead people! When you ask me to mark down my work, it says to me that you don't think my time, effort, skills and experience are worth it to you. If you don't think its worth it, you have a few options: 1. wait for me to run a sale, 2. buy something cheaper or less of what you want at a time, 3. Shop in my sale section, or 4. don't own my work, seems pretty simple to me. (Am I wrong to assume that when a major retailer runs a sale and you miss it, you don't email them asking for a special exception? or when you go to a restaurant with a limited budget you don't ask for them to mark down your meal? or when you go to the grocery store, you don't ask the butcher to price the Filet Mignon the same as ground chuck?)
I know I am not the only artist that gets many requests for free or discounted work, but it really has made me come to the conclusion that the public thinks that artists are so desperate for coin that they will give away their work for free or cheaper than they should. Its insulting, really, when you ask an artist to mark down their work, it fees to them like you really are saying, " you are worth so much less than that, and you are so desperate you will take whatever i offer you." I wish I was wrong.....
I run sales on my Etsy page for a few reasons, but I am beginning to think I should stop offering any discounts, because if I run sales at all, I am perpetuating the misconception.
I have also come to feel, as a result of treatment by the public,designers and retailers, that my time is not considered valuable either. Like all artists are sitting around eating bon bons and waiting for inspiration to strike. I don't know about the rest of you out there, but I am frickin busy, and honestly, I don't have much time for non sense, or 15 emails from the same person demanding special treatment, or a request for an emergency shipment on December 1 when I emailed you 12 weeks ago for your holiday order, or to drop what I am doing and interview you for a job without an appointment.
This holiday season, I hope we all remember that when we are buying handmade there is a person behind the work that has dedicated themselves to making what you are purchasing, it is unique to them and their time and skill is worth something.You are paying for their experience, their skill and craftsmanship, their uniqueness and also keeping their business running and a roof over your head. Shift your shopping and feel good about supporting handmade, FULLY.
Amen
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ReplyDeleteHere, here! As creative professionals, we too struggle when some of our interior design clients ask us to negotiate our design fees or purchase mark-ups...As though they believe that we initially charge a higher amount, expecting that the final fee will eventually be negotiated lower. We set our design fee based on our fair assessment of the scope of the project, and we set our purchase mark-up fee based on an industry standard. And when they ask us to discount that, we feel the same way that you do: That they don't value our time and our work. In response, we always ask them if they negotiated the price of their house, to which they are always quick to reply "YES!" And then we ask them if they negotiated their lawyer's fee on the closing, and they look at us with blank silence, as if they finally get it. We are people, we are running a business, and our time and our SKILL is worth something. There will always be someone cheaper, and if that's their end game, then they should seek out the cheaper person (or item). But if they specifically want our service, or the product that you provide, then yes, you put it perfectly: Buy less, buy on sale, of buy somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteWith the state of the economy over the past few years, it's not surprising that people are looking for bargains, and to pay as little as they can...But as you said, you should not have to sacrifice yourself in order for someone else to save a couple of bucks. A great lesson for anyone who owns their own business to learn is: Not everyone is a potential client. Even the people that "love your work" are not always going to be able to buy it, whether it's because they can't afford it, or DON'T WANT to afford it. The best thing you can do is recognize that, and move on from them as quickly as possible so that they don't monopolize too much of your precious time.
We wish you the best with your pottery and your business, and it's worth every penny you charge, sans discount!
Thank you, thank you, for giving voice to this! I also have had to deal with the: "Will you take X dollars for this?" Well, if I would TAKE that, then it wouldn't be MARKED that! I just say, "I wish I could take less, but there's a lot of work and hours in this piece, so I just can't. I'm sorry."
ReplyDeleteHow well-said was this blog: un-snark-ily, respectfully, and like someone who's wearing their big-girl pants. Just know I appreciate this!
AMEN!
ReplyDeleteHell, yeah!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile... I have been changing up my work a lot to much more time consuming, costly pieces and I am SCARED... I am afraid THEY just won't get it... To add insult to injury, at my Open Studio/Sale I am discounting(red slash/new price) my older work...frankly not because there is anything wrong with it, BUT I WANT IT GONE... OUT.... so I should be OK this year but I AM afraid of the precedent it will create going forward...I have set up a "gallery" for the new work to separate it from the older work on my studio shelves...BUT.... and so I venture on...
Well said! I must say, I am saving up to buy your work...at it's full value...what it is worth! My sense of accomplishment in saving the money will make me cherish the piece that I buy even more. Mahalo to you for all that you do. I appreciate you. Aloha.
ReplyDeleteI second Hermann. Saving too för several of your things, I just adore the tactility of them all.
ReplyDeleteI do have a hard time understanding how someone who wants to buy can even get the idea of ASKING for a discount. A sale is a sale. Sale does not imply general discount unless specified. This seems to be a recurring theme within many self-employing careers. Some freelance writers I know are being asked to provide articles for free or for a highly discounted fee due to it being a good cause or whatever. One person made a major life change in her work (and life) and wrote about it. Following that she received numerous "offers" of writing for free just to have something to do and promote herself. She already had work for which she was being paid.
This also seems to be a phenomena in just about everything you sell, be it by private ad. At a recent listing for selling some stuff I got an "offer" of x dollars, an air cleaner and vairous computer parts (!).
Recently I bought an item and wrote a personal detail as to why I wanted it personalised. I feared that I had somehow implied that the personal detail was a way to fish for a discount which it certainly wasn't.
When I've saved enough I'll be back for a bunch of urchins :)
I am sorry that you have to deal with this, seems to be fairly common, unfortunately.
ReplyDeletePlease do not take it personally, though. Often, people are simply not educated enough to understand what it means to be an artist and that, like any other business, you have to have the whole picture in mind when you set a price. If I were you, I would simply say "I am sorry, but this is my best price" - end of discussion. To those who simply are greedy, want something for nothing, offer the same answer, and stay firm.
Wishing you all the best,
Merisi
Nice post . So true. (and a lovely comment from hermann8er! )
ReplyDeleteI don't know why people want discounts on art? I recently sold a piece and when i was asked the price the buyer said , "well, can we keep it at that price WITH tax? " i felt like saying, " if you dont want to pay tax than i guess so." but maddeningly, i did not...basically he was just asking for a 7% discount!! I learned a lesson and i will not do it again. Thinking of just making my prices 20% higher than i think they should be and then if they want to haggle, I will come down by 10%
I don't want to go all Oprah on you, but other people won't respect and value you until you respect and value yourself, and that means not offering discounts. You have to be able to stand for your value by standing for your price. Your retail prices are more than reasonable, Heather!
ReplyDeleteLee/ OneClayBead
But is discounting an item, marked discounted under a separate category, does that in itself warrant people demanding discounts on other items? In a regular business it's called a sale, this stuff, clearly marked, is discounted, the other things are not.
ReplyDeletePlus haggling. Haggling is what you do at the veggie-market or at a car boot-sale. Not in an art store. The set price is, well, set. Take it or leave it. Not so much about the seller's attitude but about the one requesting/demanding a lower price.
And the prices are highly reasonable. The photos alone show the work put into it all.
I don;t know Jessica...... The only things in my "sale" section are seconds, really. which warrants discounting as they are not gallery quality work. hmmmph. Its so complicated!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the replies, I think I will have to continue this discussion with more entries!
Selling off items with beauty kinks at a lower price is widely used from kitchen good stores to grocery stores to clothing stores. There are even, for pete's sake, outlets where items are sold as is but with whatever kink there might be is clearly stated. To me it requires a huge amount of gall to even suggest that you should have a discount on the "regular" assortment. Don't budge.
ReplyDeleteStay strong Heather. There's nothing one can do with those folks of the 'Walmart' mentality. Basically they do not deserve your work.
ReplyDeleteI used to participate making handmade products (lovely coloured glass tea lights - they looked like glowing jello cubes!). People loved them but complained at the $10 price. With material cost and time spent cutting, sautering, cleaning - I really ended up funding these items.
Anyway, if people take this approach with you, just say to yourself "They do not deserve my work, effort and creativity" and do not sell to them or even bother trying to maintain contact. Your work is lovely enough that ignoring these morons will not affect your sales. In fact, it will allow you to continue to enjoy your work.
When customers ask for a discount, I offer to put their name on the mailing list for my "second sale" for items with tiny birthmarks or older pieces. On the rare occasion that a shopper gets pushy, I tell them the price is more than fair for the work and creativity put into the piece.
ReplyDeleteOn one occasion, my husband told someone "There is the same markup put into my work as there is in your salary, because the price takes into consideration my education, my expertise, and 40 years of experience and hard labor that allows me to produce works of fine art such as the one you are holding." "Nuf said.
As a photographer this is a constant issue faced. At some point drawing a line in the sand and not crossing it is absolutely necessary as an artist. Yes we are artists, but also business owners.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more!!! Kudos to you!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. I have made similar points in a post on my photography blog here (http://bit.ly/hXi2gg).
ReplyDeleteSometimes, people just don't get it. They don't seem to connect the end product with the time and talents of the artist that created the work. They just see the end product (if you're lucky).
Once while photographing a wedding reception using an elaborate off-camera lighting setup that I regularly use, I took a shot all the way across the dark room with my longest lens to capture a candid reaction of the bride during a toast. As I "chimped" the shot in the LCD on the back of the camera, a guest looking over my shoulder said, "Great shot. That camera is awesome!". They may have meant well, but I couldn't leave it alone. I turned to her and replied, "When you go out to eat at a fancy restaurant, and the food is so good that you ask the waiter if you can speak to the chef, and the chef comes over to your table, do you tell him, 'Great food. You must have an awesome set of pots and pans!'"? They got the point.
Your post also brings to mind the video that drives home the same lack of consideration from consumers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY