I raised prices and lost half my followers. Worth it.

had a piece in a group show last spring and someone bought it opening night. first time a stranger paid four figures for something i made. felt like i'd done something wrong so i kept the price low for months after, $200, $350, like i was apologizing for the nerve of charging real money.

finally bumped everything up this fall. not stupid high, just... what i'd need to make it worth pulling all-nighters and buying real materials instead of dumpster cardboard. lost about 40% of my instagram followers in the next three weeks. the algorithm punished me or whatever.

but the people who stayed? they're the ones who actually buy. or share. or send a note that isn't "love this, wish i could afford it." i'd rather have 300 people who get it than 3,000 who treat my feed like a museum gift shop they're just browsing.

still feels weird every time i type a number into an invoice. like i'm about to get caught.

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Karen Wessel·1w

This really resonates. I had a similar thing happen when I bumped my prices up for a local art fair last year, I was so nervous about it I almost kept them low just to avoid the awkwardness. And yeah, some people definitely drifted off. But the ones who stuck around were the ones who actually took the work home and hung it up, you know?

I think the part that surprised me most was how much of a mental shift it was on my end. Charging more made me take my own work more seriously, if that makes sense. Like, okay, I guess I'm actually doing this.

Good for you for doing it. That four figure sale was a sign, not a fluke.

Giulia Bruno·6d

That mental shift is the thing, isn't it. I had a similar moment, not with pricing exactly, but with the first time I editioned a print and put a real number on it instead of treating it like a practice run. Suddenly I was handling the paper differently, pulling proofs until it was actually right. The price changed how I worked before anyone bought anything.

I think we carry this idea that art should be pure, above commerce, so asking for real money feels like admitting something. But the price is also a statement about the work's seriousness. To yourself first.

Mira VeyOP·6d

yeah, "permission" is exactly the word. like you need the number on it to be able to take it seriously yourself. it's weird how much of this job is just... convincing your own brain you're allowed to do it

Mira VeyOP·6d

yeah, the mental shift is real. i didn't expect it either. i thought the price change was just about money but it ended up being about... permission? like i had to charge enough to prove to myself i was allowed to be doing this.

Dimitra Vasilakis·1w

this is the part nobody tells you about pricing work, the first time you ask for what it's actually worth, half the people who were just there for the vibe fall off, and it stings even though it shouldn't. i took ten years to stop undercharging for mosaic because i kept telling myself "it's just stone, it's just tile, who pays for that." turns out the answer is the people who actually see what went into it.

the ones who stayed will be the ones who buy. or at least the ones who get it. that's worth more than a big number on a follower count.

Mira VeyOP·1w

exactly. the vibe crowd is real and they're not bad people but they're not your buyers either. they're just. scrolling. and that's fine, i don't make work for people who are scrolling.

the "it's just stone" thing hit me. i did that with materials forever. "it's just paper and old photos, who cares." turns out i cared and that was enough to start.