being approached by a gallery...

lauren · Post by **lauren** » Thu Jun 26, 2003 11:37 pm

so happy situation, a gallery has approached me about carrying some of my work, we have an appointment scheduled......and i have no idea what to expect or bring besides samples (requested) and an order sheet (which i had questions about anyway). don't really have any 'literature' or a catalogue, tho i suppose i could whip one up in the next two days...what else?

re: order sheet...i don't have a fax machine, so if he places an order i take it there, make a copy and leave one with him and take home one with me? i suppose i should have something in writing regarding payment terms, shipping, consignment and wholesale options...and probably more things that i'm forgetting?

kinda lost....i thought i knew what i was supposed to do but now that i actually have to do it i realize there's a bunch of holes...thanks for any help.

peace
- lauren

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Fri Jun 27, 2003 9:25 am

Lauren- You've got your work, you've set the price you need to get (wholesale)- are you consigning or selling? If consigning, you need an agreement, might only be a letter to be signed by both of you stating that the work belongs to you until sold, the retail price and the percentage you will get, when and how you get paid, who is responsible for the work while it's in the gallery (and how much you get if it's damaged or lost), how long the agreement will last and how it can be terminated, who pays for shipping (if you'll pick the work up, specify it), and anything else you could think of that might go wrong. Oh yeah- the percentage the gallery gets for a referral or commission (as opposed to a direct sale).

Take a bio/artist's statement, pricelist (specify retail or wholesale), slides for their files are nice.

An order form could be done on 2 pieces of paper- print out a letterhead- you don't need to get fancy (or make excuses). Gotta start somewhere!

email me if you need more. Good luck!

Barb · Post by **Barb** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 2:59 pm

Hi Lauren

Congratulations! How exciting! I have a sample consignment agreement I could email you if you like - send me your address.

Barb
barbs@drizzle.com

lauren · Post by **lauren** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 11:51 pm

thank you thank you thank you...that information definitely got me started, and i have something together now that's presentable...tho when i have more time, i definitely need to focus some energies into organizing this 'stuff'.

luckily i've figured out my pricing structure before now, i have wholesale and retail prices that i'm comfortable with, although from what i've heard from retail customers is that those prices are much lower than they've seen elsewhere. pondering must be done on how i feel about that. and regarding consignment, the 'norm' is 60/40 me/gallery right? we'll hope yes, cuz it's printed out now.

tomorrow night i'll probably be kicking myself for not asking more questions, but for now i feel comfortable so we'll see how my appointment goes.

thanks again, like i told barb 1/2 of any future lotto winnings have both your names on it.

peace
- lauren

Barb · Post by **Barb** » Sat Jun 28, 2003 11:55 pm

You are most welcome - let us know how it goes!

Barb

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 10:55 am

Lauren- you can try for 60:40 but most galleries will want 50:50. Galleries that get by on a 40% markup are either fooling themselves, not doing what they're supposed to do, or just lucky IMHO.

I wouldn't change the terms that you've got printed up- but you may have to think of them as a bargaining point. Good luck, Marty

lauren · Post by **lauren** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 12:10 pm

hmm...interesting, i thought the norm was 60/40 since the gallery didn't have a (directly) personal stake in the selling of the item, the artist got a higher percentage since they weren't guaranteed the sale.

good to know tho, thanks. time to barter!

peace
- l

lauren · Post by **lauren** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 2:19 pm

I GOT IN!!!!

score...thanks all

consignment, 50/50 you were right, but that's ok. he's going to help me work on my prices, he knows we can get a lot more for my work so we're going to do some experimentation...

august 2 - 30th, lesx gallery on broome between orchard and ludlow in case you happen to be in nyc

rock....i have to go skip. or do something giddy

thanks again

peace
- l

Dani · Post by **Dani** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:23 am

Marty wrote:Lauren- you can try for 60:40 but most galleries will want 50:50. Galleries that get by on a 40% markup are either fooling themselves, not doing what they're supposed to do, or just lucky IMHO.

Or not on the coasts.... grin. Lots of galleries in my neck of the woods are still better than 50/50 - that's mostly in Denver and maybe resorts like Aspen. I know quite a few galleries tried to make it an even split, but couldn't get the artists. I think it's pretty common in the middle of the country to have 60/40, even 70/30 sometimes if it's a co-op or academic gallery.

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:07 pm

dani- coops and academics don't pay their help (much). they also don't take out expensive ads in journals. i don't mind the 50-50 if the gallery is selling at retail for me (something I don't particularly like doing).

i don't know what happened to all the capital letters today, maybe just lazy.

famous (again) marty

Amy Schleif-Mohr · Post by **Amy Schleif-Mohr** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 9:11 pm

Dani wrote:
Marty wrote:Lauren- you can try for 60:40 but most galleries will want 50:50. Galleries that get by on a 40% markup are either fooling themselves, not doing what they're supposed to do, or just lucky IMHO.

Or not on the coasts.... grin. Lots of galleries in my neck of the woods are still better than 50/50 - that's mostly in Denver and maybe resorts like Aspen. I know quite a few galleries tried to make it an even split, but couldn't get the artists. I think it's pretty common in the middle of the country to have 60/40, even 70/30 sometimes if it's a co-op or academic gallery.

Dani,
Here in WI 50/50 is pretty much the norm. 60/40 is hard to come by anywhere I've found.

Amy

Cynthia · Post by **Cynthia** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 3:20 pm

Dani wrote:Or not on the coasts.... grin. Lots of galleries in my neck of the woods are still better than 50/50 - that's mostly in Denver and maybe resorts like Aspen. I know quite a few galleries tried to make it an even split, but couldn't get the artists. I think it's pretty common in the middle of the country to have 60/40, even 70/30 sometimes if it's a co-op or academic gallery.

I live in your part of the country Dani, Intermountain West or thereabouts and definitely not coastal.

I've seen 70/30, but only if you are a member of a co-op and put in your time at the gallery cleaning, selling, doing administrative work. It can be a good situation if it's a successful co-op. Shows/Exhibits being hosted by the state or local art councils are the only other situations that I've seen a take as low as 30%...and they don't really drive sales as much as host events.

50/50 is the norm here for consignment (SLC UT). If you can wholesale, who cares what they mark it up to. You ship/deliver it to them, they pay, you're done. Best case scenario obviously. For local galleries I will consign only as much as they will wholesale and that seems to work out well too. I won't consign out of my area and will only wholesale (No wonder I have so few galleries

). Guess you just need to get it in writing and make sure you get what you need and not worry about the percentages. AT least that's my approach.

GlassOrchid · Post by **GlassOrchid** » Fri Jul 04, 2003 7:20 am

A little late but I wanted to chime in on consignment. I sell via consignment to a few places; mostly museum gift shops or non-profit galleries. My consignement customers are some of my best. I don't do consignment as a rule with regular craft shops (but there are exceptions). I do 60/40 as a rule and have not had a problem with those terms. Consignment is a higher risk for the artist as your goods are tied up and may not sell; then you get them back old and shop worn. There is an additional risk that the gallery will not pay you as well. In addition to the 60/40 split, I raise my prices a few dollars for consignment to cover the risk and shipping cost that I pay. If the gallery is not willing to take the risk and purchase your work outright then they do not deserve the normal wholesale discount which is 50/50. Wholesale prices are not a right, they are given in return for PURCHASING your work in quantity and for the unwritten understanding that if the work sells they will purchase quantity again. You're shortchanging your real wholesale customers by offer the same terms to those not willing to make an investment in your work. I'm in the North East.

I've started my own small gallery and I try to purchase outright. I do ask a few artists to do consignment with me if they are new artists or I'm not sure their work will sell but want to give them the opportunity to try. I offer 60/40 and sometimes 65/35. I have the luxury of owning my space as it is attached to my studio so I have no problem with expenses being so high that I cannot be fair and reasonable.

When I was starting out I did consignement with a few regular craft shops at 50/50 and got burned by a few. Now I set my own terms and if they don't agree they don't have to carry my work. Don't want to sound hardened but there are plenty of opportunities to sell your work out there you just have to keep pushing along...

~N