Okay...

[silverthorne]

Need an opinion from some folks who would have a better idea than me at this point of what to charge for a piece of art.

I know at least three of you have seen my dragon print that I did way back in 1991 (Clue, you were there when I inked the little bugger in Carol's Texas apt.).

I have a trucker friend who's interested in buying a print of it to take to a friend as a tattoo pattern. I know he's the type to keep his word when he says he'll destroy the print once the tattoo is on, and not leave a copy for the tattoist to reuse.

Question is...how much should I charge him for the print? And...any other thoughts from the art-selling savvy amoungst you?

Comments

[rebl1969.livejournal.com]

$100

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

*nods*

...I think my problem is that it's a one time use--we've already agreed the print is going to be trashed after the tattoo transfer is made of it, so that it can't 'accidentally' be 'borrowed' and used again on other patrons.

Also, I'm not a known 'name'--it would be, like, oh say, some garage band trying to get the same asking price for tickets that Jon and the boys can ask for now.

[rebl1969.livejournal.com]

But it's art. If the friend could do it his own self, then he would. And it's not "one time use", it's gonna be inked into his flesh forever. You're the tattoo designer, dear. A custom and one-of-a-kind tattoo at that.

OK, $50. But no less! And only if it took you less than two hours to draw.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

I don't even remember how long it took. I did it way back in 1991...

[rebl1969.livejournal.com]

Tell him $50 and see what he says. You can always haggle...

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

True.

[rebl1969.livejournal.com]

AND! If you don't value your art, who will? Don't think of it as just a xerox print.

I always ask $100 when anyone offers to buy a piece of mine; $200 if it was a complicated piece. Most of the time, they pay it too. Something about paying "real" money makes it "real" art to people. If they counteroffer, we go from there.

[cluegirl.livejournal.com]

I'd say, since what you're selling is one-time right-of-use for the design, and not a print that's to be put up on someone's wall and displayed, that something low and simple would be appropriate. I mean he's already going to have to pay someone else to put it on him.

Now that said, I have seen tattoo designs sold for $250, but they were custom work, done by high dollar pros, and intended that they'd never be sold to anybody else, so that's kind of a different matter.

I think perhaps you ought to ask him what he's comfortable paying.

If I were selling what amounts to an unmounted, unmatted photocopy of one of my pictures, I'd have a price in mind somewhere between five and ten bucks, but I'd want to see what he thought of paying first. Kind of like a hold out bid on ebay, yaknow?

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was thinking somewhere between 10-20, but I wasn't sure if that was too high or too low. I have next to no name artistically speaking, and it'll be a cheap print of a piece of work that people can buy elsewhere (and destroyable), so going for the high dollar price seems both dishonest and greedy to me. I mean, he saw the old, dusty grey-paper print on my desk cubical, but all I would be giving him is a cardstock copy, which I can make, more or less, free at home. It just has to survive the 'ink copier' at the tattoo shop, and that's it.

Now, if I'd had a decade's worth of 'name' behind me, that would be different (of course, if that were the case, hopefully by then I'd have a really good idea of what my work was worth anyway. *g*), and I might consider selling it for more (or seriously suggest to him that he let me design one specifically for him).