[Woodcarver] Selling thru Galleries, Shops, etc.

[Joe Dillett]

Hi Jim,

Marcia is giving you great advice, especially reading some books on the 
subject. As she said, read their consignment agreement carefully. Know who's 
responsible for loss, damage and how long after the sale you expect to get 
paid. I've had good experiences and bad ones. The best gallery I was with, 
because they outright purchased my work, eventually wanted one of my large 
works on consignment. I read all the contracts and agreed. I found out a 
contract isn't any good if it is not enforceable because of bankruptcy. One 
of the partners went crazy and cut the head off it. He said that the statue 
kept speaking to him and would not shut up. He had to be institutionalized, 
the partner not my carving. First I heard of this was when the store was 
completely empty and the inventory was being held by the courts to pay off 
the debts. I managed to get back much of the items they purchased from me 
outright to help cover the costs of what was destroyed.

One thing to look out for is where your items will be displayed in the 
store. Typically the items the store has their money tied up in, get the 
best display area. Consignment items, where they have none of their money, 
in are stuck in corners and lower shelves where they can't be seen very 
well.

About pricing.... It depends on the agreement with the gallery if it is 
exclusive or not, but it is never a good idea to undercut the prices of the 
gallery.

Joe Dillett
The Carving Shop
645 E. LaSalle St. Suite 3
Somonauk, IL. 60552

(815) 498-9290 phone
(815) 498-9249 fax
http://www.thecarvingshop.net [business web site]
http://www.carvingmagazine.com ['Ask Joe' column]
http://community.webshots.com/user/joe_dillett
******************************************************************



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcia Berkall" <whitwood at fairpoint.net>
To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at carverscompanion.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2009 11:37 AM
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Selling thru Galleries, Shops, etc.



> Friends in Carving: Please support our List - visit 

> carverscompanion.com/List/Support.html to donate.

>

>

> Hi, Jim,

> I think you are probably not the only person interested in this topic, so 

> I'm answering here on the list.

> A while back, when I was making the transition from predominantly shows to 

> predominantly galleries, I picked up a book by Carroll Michels , "How to 

> Survive and Prosper as an Artist".  There are several good books on the 

> topic, but this just happened to be the one that I found. One of the 

> pieces of advice that I took very seriously was to set a price for 

> something and use that price wherever you are selling.  The reason:  Say a 

> client finds a carving at a gallery and decides to go to your web page 

> only to find that same, or similar, carving for less.  Or a friend sees 

> one for less.  When I started out I was struggling to get$85 for a Santa. 

> Thanks to the galleries they now sell for $250.  What works for me is 

> anywhere that my prices will be seen in public, the price is the 

> same..galleries, web pages, shows.  That does not mean that you can't give 

> special pricing to repeat customers, friends, local people who find you 

> other ways.

> I resisted working with galleries for years, not wanting to pay the high 

> commissions.  When I started to put together all the figures...high costs 

> for better shows (some entry fees were between $200 and $400, or even 

> more), travel expenses, motel/lodging expenses for shows away from my 

> home, food...etc...etc., the commission fees started sounding better. 

> Just be careful and try to find galleries that you hear about from other 

> artists, or that you are able to fully research.  Most galleries have a 

> consignment agreement.  Read it carefully.  Be sure there is something in 

> the agreement about who is responsible for damage to your carvings, theft, 

> etc.  I did have a carving stolen from a gallery and was compensated for 

> it through the gallery insurance.

> Galleries have been wonderful for me.  Thanks to them, my prices are far 

> more reasonable, I now have something of a following, I am able to spend 

> more time in my studio carving instead of packing/unpacking the van, and 

> it's just a short drive to the post office :)  The galleries I work with 

> all consign at 40% to 50% commissions, so it is not an easy decision.

> I'd be happy to help with any other questions you may have.  You can email 

> me at whitwood at fairpoint.net.

>

> GOOD LUCK!!

> Marcia (aka Mush)

> South China, Maine

> At 11:43 AM 4/19/2009, Jim wrote:

>>[snip]

>>do I consider a different price for them?? Or is the answer simply "Set a 

>>price and use it across the board no matter what venue the sale occurs 

>>in"? Does anyone have any guidelines they can provide about how to deal 

>>with shop owners to make sure they respect what you are doing and treat 

>>you fairly??? If you decide to sell thru a shop can the shop owner insist 

>>that you do not sell like items at a lesser price anywhere else?? As you 

>>can tell from all the above questions, I am really without a clue on all 

>>this.?So, if anyone out there would like to give me any advice at all, I 

>>will greatly appreciate it.?

> [snip]

>

>

> See Marcia's wood carvings at:

> http://whittlinsnwood.com

> Blog: http://cahvah.wordpress.com/

> *****

> Affordable Web Page Design:

> http://artwebmaine.com

> *****

> Get 20% Off CoffeeCup Web Design Software

> Use this code when you checkout: 226STS

> www.getcoffeecup.com

> -------------- next part --------------

> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...

> URL: 

> <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/woodcarver/attachments/20090419/d3df383f/attachment.html>

> _______________________________________________

> Woodcarver mailing list

> Woodcarver at carverscompanion.com

> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/woodcarver

>