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When does an artist decide to charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for his or her work?
I ask that question because I "decorate," (for lack of a better word) walking canes for people like myself who dislike the aluminum canes purchased at drug stores.
I'm not charging very much for my actual work. I feel if I do, I will have fewer customers. But my canes are all one-of-kind, signed, dated, and numbered. They are functional pieces of art.
Many times I put day after day working on achieving a particular look, only to think that charging for my effort isn't worth that much. Some people tell me I charge too much; some tell me I don't charge enough.
Please go to my website, www.creativecanes.com to see examples of my work, especially the Egyptian Nefertti cane under collectibles.
I really don't think I'm charging enough. The Nefertiti cane is covered in papyrus and all hand beaded by myself. What would you think a reasonable amount to ask for that or a similar cane?
You can charge as much as people are willing to pay you.
I know you say that if you charge too much, some people won't buy, but there will ALWAYS be some that will not be willing to pay even what a plain, undecorated cane costs.
If the canes are that unique, and the labor is that intensive, you should charge proportionally more. To some of the people who've bought your canes, I'm sure they think they got an especially good bargain. I'll bet some would have been willing to pay two or three times what they did. Or more!
Think about that. If you sold ONE cane for three times your current price, that makes up for two people turning you down, not buying. AND, you only had to go through the cost and labor of producing ONE CANE. To me, the economics works out in favor of the higher price.
Also, the artist who seriously UNDERPRICES his or her work is as much as telling a prospective buyer that the work is not worth much. Believe me, if you are producing good quality work, the higher price will DEMAND attention.
If you have been following this section of Yahoo Answers, you will have seen the requests for "free" services. And yet, how is it that a professional freelance designer can get $100 an hour for an illustration or page layout? It is because the service is WORTH it for the client.
I "could" spend four hours doing four cartoons at $25 apiece, or, I COULD spend ONE hour doing a cartoon for the $100. Or, better yet, spend FOUR hours doing a decent illustration and getting paid the $400. I may not get another assignment for the rest of the day, but, the half day is enough to meet my expenses and pay a few bills.
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