Markup % on prints

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petemc

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Pete
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So I've got a client wanting a canvas or acrylic print of my HDR shots. Yipee! Now the classic price issue. My current prints price list is ...

6x4 = £5
10x8 = £15
12x8 = £25
18x12 = £50
30x20 = £120

So for a 30x20 canvas print, going buy a rough bit of maths and following those rough figures I'd be looking at £600 for 1 canvas print. Its such a tricky thing. Is the client willing to pay £600? I have no idea. The gallery I work with has paintings listed at £5,000. If you go down to London its normal to charge £2,000 for a canvas print by a photographer. But this isn't London and I don't have a weighty name (yet). I'm thinking £300 might be a good figure. But then a 30x20 print with Photobox is £16. A canvas is £104. Thats about 7 times the amount, so surely I should be charging £700? Gah!
 
To be honest, as this is your first canvas print and might be some very good advertising for yourself with word of mouth etc I would make sure the client buys it by offering a good price. Maybe even mention it is a special offer for them ;) Tell them its £300 just for them...they think they are getting a bargain (which they are in a way) and they put the shot up in pride of place :D

Thats what I would do anywho.
 
sounds like a good idea to me and would hopefully encourage them back in the future
 
Hmmm seems like a plan. Looking at the artists on the site some charge less and some charge more so I guess it works.
 
Tough call, as ever. Striking a balance between not underselling yourself and getting the business is never easy. If you feel it is worth £700, and in context of others pricing it clearly is, I would be sure to say so, and state that as a 'prefferred customer' you can let them have it at £490, which is clearly very reasonable. Take care to stress you cannot guarantee such a good deal in the future and when they come calling again do it for £595. It's still a good mark up for you, gets your images out their with the potential for more sales.
Under selling yourself can create a rod for own back, speaking from experience. If you offer yourself up as a doormat price wise, folk will undoubtedly wipe their feet. Charge them your worth imo.:)
 
Building a client base is even more valuable than collecting pounds, shillings an....



What did happen to shillings? :thinking:
 
2blue4u said:
Building a client base is even more valuable than collecting pounds, shillings an....



What did happen to shillings? :thinking:
Click to expand...

They stayed in Austria?
 
Pete, take a look at www.photo-canvas.com as well.

As far as pricing I would move away from a commercial structure used for portraits/weddings/etc. and consider it terms of how much the piece is worth in its own right. Then add the printing costs on top to get a final price.
 
pxl8 said:
Pete, take a look at www.photo-canvas.com as well.

As far as pricing I would move away from a commercial structure used for portraits/weddings/etc. and consider it terms of how much the piece is worth in its own right. Then add the printing costs on top to get a final price.
Click to expand...

Totally. I've been selling prints for a year now, but its just the price increase for canvas thats got me worried as I don't know anyone else doing fine art canvas prints.
 
I don't think you quite followed my meaning. Let's say the piece has a value of £250 then the selling price would be £250+cost of print so a 6x4 would be £250.10, a 12x8 £251.00 and so on.

Of course this makes smaller prints pointless and seem overpriced so I'd probably offer something like:

18x12" framed print £295
30x20" framed print £345
(based on prices I'm paying for hand made frames)

18x12" canvas £310
30x20" canvas £350

Now the canvas is only slightly more expensive than the standard print and the profit is from selling the piece not the product.
 
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