Brasstastic
Blessed Sex Symbol
A guide to learning the art market, finding your worth, and making decisions regarding your shop.
Purpose
The purpose of this guide is to aid YOU in pricing YOURSELF. I'm sick and tired of people claiming they can't price themselves properly, yet believe they can price others perfectly fine. WTF IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY. If you can price others properly, you can certainly price yourself perfectly fine. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. You don't have to be the best artist in the world to price yourself, and you don't have to even sell art(you could sell graphics for all I care).
This guide is NOT for me to price you, or for advertising your shop. I will on occasion roam the P,A,&S to price people, but I will not go to your little threads going to price you(if you give me price back links), because you don't NEED a thread if you read my guide. Geez, I thought this would be obvious, but I'm putting it here JUST IN CASE I get a few lazy n00bz that dun kno how tew r33d t3h 3NgRiisshhh.
This guide is for pricing whatever you plan to sell, it's just aimed at art shops since that's what people tend to come here for. I really hope this guide assists you in pricing(because having a good price can improve business in your minishop). If something is unclear you can ask.
F.A.Q.
Q. Why can't I just create a thread here for them to price me?
A. Keep in mind the majority of the pricers here are looking to be priced like you. If they are looking to be priced, that means they can't price themselves. You'll learn later in the guide that in order to price yourself you need to know the market, so if the people here are looking to be priced because they can't price themselves, that means they do not know the market. If they don't know the market, how can you honestly expect an accurate estimate on what to charge from the same people asking to be priced? That's right, you can't. (which is exactly why my guide was made, to help people like you reading this to gain the ability price yourselves and people with similar art styles)
For the few that CAN price art properly, they generally don't leave "price back" links(since they can price themselves confidently), price others to help people "see the light", and give constructive criticism(not a full blown crit[although I love those, since they help people improve by pointing out flaws you may not notice] but suggestions, since this is the Pricing, Assistance, and Suggestions forum).
Q. Can't I just make a temporary bribe shop of some sort to find my value? Are temporary shops even worth wasting my time on?
A. Well, you certainly can do that, I'm not stopping you, however, try and hear me out here. If you create a temporary shop, YOU ARE NOT LEARNING THE MARKET, and by learning the market, I mean actually knowing what other people charge so you can work towards a standard shop in the future or any permanent shop in the future. You cannot appropriately price yourself without having some knowledge prior as to what your competition is charging and how well they do what they do. Temporary shops help you realize what people will pay for a temporary, or "limited edition" time, and not for a permanent time. Yes, people will be willing to pay different knowing that this will only be available for a limited time. I think that if you are planning to have a form of permanent shop, doing a temporary shop to 'save time' will not be beneficiary to yourself in the future and a waste of your own time.
Q. What's the point of looking at other shops???
A. By looking at other shops, better known as your competition(because yes, believe it or not your are/will be running some form of business, even if virtual)...
- ▶ You get an idea of what they are charging(to help you price at a good rate).
▶ You get to see their layout(which is important).
▶ You get to see the quality of their art.
▶ You get to make comparisons of all types of sorts.
▶ You get to see what you're up against. You must stay on top, and be nothing but the best in the eyes of the customers! You cannot do this if you can't see your competition, now can you?
Q. Will the fact that I use a Mouse or Tablet affect my Value?!
A. The answer is ABSOLUTELY NO. Buyers don't give a hoot if you draw with a tablet or mouse. All they care about is the art and it's QUALITY. Saying they'll pay more for tablet(or mouse) art just for the fact it's done with a tablet(or mouse) is like saying Photoshop art has more value than GIMP art just for the fact it's done with Photoshop. I've seen art done with tablets that are worse than art done with a mouse, I've also seen art that's better than art done with a mouse that was done with a Tablet, just like I've seen art done with GIMP that's better than art done with Photoshop(and vice versa). It's clearly not what you use people, it's HOW IT'S USED. If they see it's done with a mouse, big whoop. Done with a tablet? Cool you spent more money to get something that might help you get done faster.
Q. What do I do if I know I'm a crappy artist D:" I'm scared I won't value my art properly?
A. If you think you suck you either actually suck, or are a perfectionist like me and think you suck 24/7. Most really good artists think their art isn't good enough, because they always want to improve[ie. nit picky about details], which brings me to my next point...
THIS GUIDE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE CONFIDENT THEIR ART WILL SELL.
If you don't think you are ready or if you even have to ask, "will this sell?" then you need to leave this guide, better yet this forum & work on your art. If you don't know if it will sell, then you are not ready for a shop of any kind. IF YOU AREN'T CONFIDENT, PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL WITH ALL YOUR " :SWEAT: " SMILEYS.
+++*Yes, there are a FEW exceptions like people with unusual styles(NOT EVERYONE'S STYLE IS UNUSUAL! -.- By, unusual I'm talking like a chibi with a Tim Burton and Van Gogh mashup, like something you don't see everyday...many artists I've seen with styles like this are already aware to some extent that they are different, but for those that may not, you'll know when you have issues finding your market e.e. You may want to consider an art auction to get a feel for the demand for your style. Or maybe a temp. bribe shop(I only advise temporary shops in situations where you need to find out if you even have a demand). This doesn't mean you are an exception to confidence though! Confidence is key! You need to be confident with your artistic ability as well.
Good job of this thread! C: