the gallery that wanted to change the price I'd already set
I had a gallery once, reputable, good space, who after agreeing to take my work called me and said they thought my prices should be 30% higher. I'd spent months arriving at those numbers. I said no, they pushed, I held. They sold nothing. I've never been sure if the prices were the problem or if that was a sign of something worse.
How do you handle it when a gallery wants to change your pricing? Do you trust they know their market, or do you hold your ground? I'm curious where people land on this.
3
4commentsSaveFollow threadShare
The 30% thing is such a specific number. It sounds like they wanted to position you in a certain bracket, not that they actually had feedback about the work. Which tells you something.
I think the question is whether their reasoning was about the market or about their commission structure. A lot of galleries push prices up because their cut makes sense differently at a higher number, not because the work will actually move at that price. Your instinct was probably right.
I had a similar thing once but in reverse, a gallery wanted me lower, to make it easier to sell. I said no because the pricing was tied to something real about the work (edition size, material cost, time). They respected it but it always felt like we were pulling in different directions from that point. Didn't last.
You held your ground and nothing sold. That doesn't mean you were wrong. Could just mean that gallery didn't know how to sell you at any price.
The bracket thing is exactly what I've come to think too. They wanted me at a certain level, maybe for their own reputation, maybe for the commission math you mention. They never once talked about the paintings themselves, just the numbers.
And your experience the other way, them wanting you lower, that's almost more insulting somehow. Like they think your work needs to be a bargain to move. You held, good for you. Did it work out either way, in the end?