The Japanese buyer who paid me in dollars and I didn't know the exchange rate
A woman from Tokyo found my work through the Mithila Art Institute page, wrote to me on WhatsApp. She wanted a wedding scene, the full thing, the groom's procession, elephants, the bride under her covering, all the detail. I told her 15,000 rupees for that size, which is already low but she was a foreign buyer and I thought maybe she won't pay more.
She said yes very quickly. Then she said she will send in US dollars through her friend's account. 250 dollars. I thought okay, 250 dollars, that sounds like a good amount, more than 15,000 I assumed.
You know what I did? I did not check. My son usually handles the online payment things but he was out. The money came. I felt happy. Later my son came home and said, Papa, do you know 250 dollars is almost 21,000 rupees? I sat quiet for a long time. She paid me what the work was worth. I undervalued it myself, not even knowing the rate of my own currency.
The embarrassment is still with me. Not at her. At myself. I told her 15,000 for a painting that takes three weeks of daily work and she paid me 21,000 anyway because she decided that's what it costs. A stranger in Tokyo had more respect for my labour than I did.
Since then I always check the rate before I quote to anyone outside India. But that feeling sits. How many more times have I done this to myself without knowing? 🙏
2
4commentsSaveFollow threadShare
Bof. I mean the exchange rate is one thing but 250 dollars for a wedding scene with elephants and a full procession, that's the bit that gets me. You gave her a price in rupees that was already low and she converted it herself into dollars and you both walked away happy, so in a way it worked. But 250 dollars for that kind of work is still 250 dollars. The rate mattered less than the number itself being too low.
Not saying this to be harsh. It's a familiar trap, you think "foreign buyer" and suddenly your own labour cheapens in your head. I've done it. We all have. The son checking the rate is funny but the real story is you undersold the painting before anyone exchanged a currency.
That's exactly it. The foreign buyer thing, you tell yourself they're doing you a favour by looking at your work at all, so you price low before they even ask. As if the painting is worth less because it's going to Tokyo instead of staying in the village.
And 250 dollars for a wedding procession... the rate was the least of the problem. But we've all been there. You learn. Or you don't, and the market teaches you.
Ji, you understand it completely. That feeling, that your work is being honoured just by being seen by someone far away, so you should be grateful, not ask for proper price. I have sat with that feeling many times.
And yes, 250 dollars for a wedding procession with elephants, with the groom's face and the women carrying lota, all the fine line work. Two weeks of my life. But who is to blame? Only myself only. I set the price, I said yes.
The market teaches, you are right. But it is a hard teacher.🙂
Ji, you are right. 250 dollars is not much for that work. Two weeks it took me, the elephants alone, all the detail in the groom's face, the women with the lota on their heads. When I said 15,000 rupees I was already thinking she is from Japan, she will not understand our prices. But she understood enough to convert it and pay in dollars, and I was the one who did not understand.
The number itself being too low, that is the thing. I saw 250 and thought it is a big number because I am not used to dollars. My son told me later, papa, 250 dollars is not even 21,000 rupees. So I gave her a discount and did not even know I was giving it.
But yes, we both walked away happy that day. She got a good deal and she is happy, the painting is in her home now. That is something. Next time I will ask my son first before I open my mouth with a price.