A young struggling Artist took to Reddit to complain about a low-ball offer she received for her art, but questions whether she should have taken it anyway.
I’m Alex (27F), a struggling artist, and I recently had a run-in with a potential customer that made me question my entire career choice.
As background, I’ve been trying to make a living off my art for a while now. Things haven’t been easy, but I’m passionate about what I do. Last week, I was at a local art fair, showcasing my work.
That’s when a man about of about 50-60 years old approached the booth. He seemed genuinely interested in my paintings and spent a long time at my booth. He told me that he really liked how I used color and asked me what inspired me to paint.
After much deliberation, he picked out a piece I was particularly proud of. He asked me how much I wanted for that piece. I quoted him $600, which I think is fair for a hand-painted, original piece.
But after Alex gave him the price, things took a turn, and the man’s attitude changed
He immediately scoffed, saying, “I was thinking more like $100.” I thought he was joking, but he was dead serious. He insisted that I should be grateful for any sale, that I wasn’t ‘that good a painter’ anyway and that my quoted price was hopelessly unrealistic.
I tried explaining the cost of materials, the time invested, and the value of original art, but he wouldn’t budge. He kept pushing for a deeper discount, saying things like, “Well, if you don’t sell it to me, it’ll just sit unsold.”
When I told him that under no circumstances would I sell for less than $600 he started getting nasty, accusing me of being greedy and unrealistic and of having lead him on.
I felt belittled and undervalued. In the end, he left in a huff,
Of course, it’s all well and good to be principled when you can afford it, but this Redditor struggles to find enough money even to feed herself.As she explains:
The rest of the fair didn’t go too well and I finished having made only one sale and a net loss of about $100 after paying booth costs. I can’t afford to lose $100, not with the cost of rent, gas and groceries nowadays.
So now, I’m second-guessing myself. Was I wrong for standing my ground on the price? I know art is subjective, but because I missed a sale I’ll be eating canned beans and packet soup for the next week.
Should I have just taken the $100 and moved on?
Most people thought she was right for standing her ground
u/ArtLover99: You’re definitely not the a**hole here. Your art is your hard work, and you have every right to set a price that you believe is fair. Don’t let anyone undervalue your talent and effort
u/weirddimensions25: I own a gallery, and I see this often. You did the right thing. Your art and time are valuable. Under pricing devalues not only your work but also the art market in general
u/surrealsatire38 You have the right to ask for a price that you think is fair for your art. At the same time, the man had the right to negotiate or refuse. It’s just how business goes sometimes
But others thought she was being too picky and that as an upcoming artist she needed to price her art appropriately.
u/ratnibbler758 I get where you’re coming from, but as a struggling artist, you can’t afford to be picky. Maybe selling at a lower price would have led to more sales in the future. You might have missed an opportunity here
u/sequestralanime23 Did you even try to compromise or haggle a bit on the price? You could have offered a discount and met half-way. Standing your ground like this is just pointless.
