Increase your art sales by offering a range of price points for certain occasions and types of customers.
Part of a sound sales strategy for artists who want to make a living is to have a price point spread. This opens your work up to additional markets and pocketbooks. If you only sell originals, and your work is in a particular price range, you may easily be missing a lot of potential sales. Increasing your product offering and your price point spread allows you to leverage your creative work, producing income from a single piece of art over and over again.
People buy art and handmade work for different reasons. If your collection is versatile it may fit into more than one marketplace perfectly. You may sell gift items, wearables, smaller works, or art for B2C and B2B clientele. Let’s take a look at some of the specific reasons people buy creative work in different price points:
Impulse Purchasers
These tend to be lower-end items that reflect your brand and your whole collection but are accessible for the average person. Depending on your medium and your technique, price points will vary. They may sell easily when displayed near an expensive showpiece that commands attention but is not practical for the shopper. Brisk sales of impulse items can help pay your booth fee at a fair or festival.
New Collectors
A bit higher priced than impulse items, these “introductory acquisitions” allow shoppers to buy in to your look and style, without being too much of a stretch for their wallets. If you don’t have an introductory priced selection, you might want to consider designing pieces for this purpose. Be sure to get these buyers on your email list for further contact. They may “trade up” to more expensive pieces as they become a serious collector who loves your work.
Wedding Gifts
The average wedding gift is at least $100. Do you have items in this price range that are suitable as a gift for the new couple? These could be a perfect segue into collecting more of your work, such as a large platter that matches a dinnerware set that can be purchased later. If you make jewelry, consider designing a bridal collection that offers not only jewelry for the bride herself, but gifts in a price range that are appropriate for bridesmaids.
Other Gifts
Anniversary gifts or birthday gifts might be good categories for your handmade work. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Graduation, and Valentine’s Day are also perfect opportunities for gift-giving as well. Have you given thought to what you make that is a fit for one or more of these occasions? Do you have a range of price points for each?
Personal Acquisitions
Shoppers often will spend more money on themselves than for gifts. Here is where your price point range can expand upwards. Do you offer personalized work, or commissions? What is the highest price in your collection? Could you go higher in price with exceptional pieces that command more than what you are now charging? Sometimes artists look to lower their prices, thinking that is where they will pick up additional sales. But there are customers who can spend more, too. Raising your prices might put you perfectly in their comfort zone.
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