It is Annual Show time and we all have the matter of working out what price we should put on our pieces.
Over the years a number of people have asked me how to work this out. My response is always that it should start with an objective calculation as to what it should bring and then a subjective decision as to what you think is reasonable.
For the first stage, a basic accounting exercise is needed- how long did it take and what is your hourly rate, what were the cash costs involved, what are the costs of subcontractors, ie bronzecasting, what are the overheads which you have to spend to maintain your capacity to make the piece, what was the cost of equipment required, cost of entering, transport and other associated costs. Finally, what is your idea and technical ability worth.
Working out each of these items can be difficult as some will be tangled up with domestic expenditure or combined with other works, ie where you use the same equipment for other pieces. However, each sculptor must work things out according to their own situation. You will arrive at a figure which is a reasonable reflection of the true value of the work.
Having done this, you come to the subjective part of the process. You have to ask such questions as," Can I expect a potential buyer to pay this?’, "Do I want to part with the work for this amount?","Can I justify this price to a potential buyer?", " Does this price bear a reasonable relationship to the prices of other works I have done and what I see as my status or public image?", "How keen am I to sell this work and will this price give a good chance of it selling?".
You will either decide that the calculated price is too high, too low or about right. Your personal judgement will be needed to make this decision, but the accounted price will give you a fair basis for making this judgement.
This process gives you your take-home price. You will have to add the relevant commission for the exhibition and if registered for GST you will have to add that on to the result of that calculation. At this point you will have to reassess your subjective judgement of the total sale price to determine if the price is still reasonable
If all else fails, ask a fellow sculptor for an opinion.
Over the years a number of people have asked me how to work this out. My response is always that it should start with an objective calculation as to what it should bring and then a subjective decision as to what you think is reasonable.
For the first stage, a basic accounting exercise is needed- how long did it take and what is your hourly rate, what were the cash costs involved, what are the costs of subcontractors, ie bronzecasting, what are the overheads which you have to spend to maintain your capacity to make the piece, what was the cost of equipment required, cost of entering, transport and other associated costs. Finally, what is your idea and technical ability worth.
Working out each of these items can be difficult as some will be tangled up with domestic expenditure or combined with other works, ie where you use the same equipment for other pieces. However, each sculptor must work things out according to their own situation. You will arrive at a figure which is a reasonable reflection of the true value of the work.
Having done this, you come to the subjective part of the process. You have to ask such questions as," Can I expect a potential buyer to pay this?’, "Do I want to part with the work for this amount?","Can I justify this price to a potential buyer?", " Does this price bear a reasonable relationship to the prices of other works I have done and what I see as my status or public image?", "How keen am I to sell this work and will this price give a good chance of it selling?".
You will either decide that the calculated price is too high, too low or about right. Your personal judgement will be needed to make this decision, but the accounted price will give you a fair basis for making this judgement.
This process gives you your take-home price. You will have to add the relevant commission for the exhibition and if registered for GST you will have to add that on to the result of that calculation. At this point you will have to reassess your subjective judgement of the total sale price to determine if the price is still reasonable
If all else fails, ask a fellow sculptor for an opinion.
Michael Meszaros
Calculating the catalogue price of your work.
A common trap for young players is the calculation of the ASV or gallery commission on your price.
In the case of the Annual and Awards Exhibition 2015 the ASV commission on sales is 30% of the pre GST catalogue price.
What our treasurer does when sending you your money is
first he checks as to whether you are registered for GST - if yes he quarantines 1/11 of the price as GST which is the sculptor’s responsibility to get to the ATO.
then he takes 30% ASV commission and remits the remaining 70% to the sculptor. (Plus the GST if applicable)
So in order to calculate the catalogue price when you know what you would like to receive - let’s call that the studio price - divide the studio price by 0.7 - this will give you the 100% pre GST catalogue price, This is the final catalogue price if you are not registered for GST.
Then IF YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR GST multiply by 1.1
WARNING!
Many new sculptors add 30% of the studio price to get the catalogue price and end up selling the work too cheap... DO NOT DO THIS!
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