Why eBay and I aren't a good match.

[ellenmillion]

I went through my personal site a little bit yesterday. I haven't sold any prints or many originals through it, and if I were a normal kind of person, I might have a sale or mark things down, figuring they were too expensive. Me, being me, I looked at my prices and said 'I'd be sad if they sold to a stranger for that,' and went through and marked almost everything up. Some of it by a lot. Screw this whole 'art must be cheap or they will not buy it' mentality. I would rather sit on my originals until I DIE than sell them for the pathetic low eBay minimums that make artists cry, or pretend that I didn't spend hours and HOURS of valuable time on those pieces.

If I don't show that I value that time and those pieces, no one else will think to do so, either.

I buy the same way I sell, too. If an artist I know is having a 'desperation sale,' I will sometimes buy art - but I rarely, rarely buy it at the desperation prices. Almost never. I don't buy much, but I try to make sure I buy fairly.

(I appreciate that much of this may be colored by the fact that I have a good-paying, steady job, and I am not at all at the point where I am selling things that are precious to me at whatever I can get because I need to pay rent*.)

Plugging away at my licensing article, and I also found a half-written, not-awful article on doing bazaars that is further along that I thought. Selina totally saved the day by finishing an article on growing pains, and I've got time this weekend slotted to finish a brewing short story for the crystal theme of EMG.

(You've all got your unicorns in for EMG-Zine, right??)

Now then, an advertising banner, a shower, some dishes, some lunch, and to ze day job!


*I also TOTALLY appreciate giving friends deals, so if I've marked something you had an eye on up out of your range, holler and I will give you guys, and you guys only, the original price or better. I also do trades. Hint, hint.

Comments

[uminomamori.livejournal.com]

I've heard plenty of stories of things not selling until the artist marks it up. Newbies always think it's the price that must be the problem and not their skill or marketing ability. The right person hasn't found it yet, it's not too expensive :)