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The Other Side of Customizing - Pricing Your Art

 


    Everyone loves a beautiful model at a price that fits our pocketbook. It's quite common for a potential customer to ask the artist if they will take a lower price, or pay for postage, or both. 

    Let's do a little math to see if a hypothetical artist should take an offer that is lower than her asking price of $100 postage paid. To simplify the math, let's say the model is a repainted Breyer Stablemate (in bay) without any customizing. We'll look at the costs of the model, supplies, the time it takes to create the art, and the costs of doing business online as an individual not running a business. I'll use Michigan's 6% sales tax, 4.25 state income tax, and 12% federal income tax.

Stablemate:                 $3.99 plus .24 tax = $4.23

Cost of the Stablemate (let's assume they didn't have to pay shipping)

Prepping supplies:

Files (Harbor Freight):    $6.99 + .42 Tax = $7.41

Sanding sticks ten per pack (Hobby Lobby): $1.99 +.12 Tax = $2.11

Sandpaper (2 grits): $6.96 x 2 + .83 tax = $14.75

Primer (Home Depot): $6.48 + .39 tax = $6.86


 


Let's assume that the artist can use the sanding supplies on 50 models and the primer on 5. 

Sanding supplies: $24.27 divided by 50 = .48

Primer: $6.86 divided by 5 = $1.37


Art supplies:

Dull Cote (Hobby Lobby):    $8.49 + .50 = $9.99


 

12 Pan Pastel colors for a bay with metallic highlights: $78.72 + $4.72 tax = $83.44


 

A selection of 8 Golden & JoSonia Acrylic Paint (Cheap Joe's Art Stuff): $47.98 + 2.87 tax = $50.85


 

Inexpensive Paint brush set (Dick Blick): $11.18 + .67 tax = $11.85

Microbrushes (Hobby Lobby): $1.99 + .12 tax = $2.11

Let's assume the artist uses one microbrush; and can use the art supplies on 100 models and the Dull Cote on 2 for a total of $6.67

Art Supplies: $146.14 divided by 100 = $1.46

Each microbrush: $.21

Dull Cote: $9.99 divided by 2 models= $5.00


Costs of doing business include utilities (electricity, water, internet) and travel (gas, car insurance), but for simplicity's sake I'm going leave those out and focus on the immediate costs of getting the model to the customer. Also, let's assume she has used free advertising on social media in this example instead of a MH$P paid account or a boost on MHP.

Shipping box (I always end up paying shipping from Uline, so I've included it here.) 

Box (Uline): $17.23 divided by 25 = .69




Bubble Wrap (Walmart):

Let's say she uses 2 linear feet of new bubble wrap and the rest of her packing is recycled.

10.64 + .64 tax = $11.30 divided by 30 = .37

Here I have a Business Card, but this could be a sticker,  pop rocks, a pony pouch or something the artist sends with her model to make it special. (I always have to pay shipping on business cards, about $9.99):

20.23 + 9.99 = $30.22 divided by 100 = .30


Pay Pal Fees: $3.98 on $100.00

 

For simplicity, let's say the artist pays federal income tax on the entire $100.00 and does not itemize and deduct her expenses because she uses the standard deduction instead. She is operating as an individual, not as a business. She also pays state income tax in Michigan which is 4.25%. Please note I am not a tax professional.

Federal Income tax at 12% on $100 = $12.00; State Income tax at 4.25% on 100 = $4.25

All taxes paid = $16.25

First class postage to Florida (comes with tracking, no insurance): $5.90


In summary:

Stablemate:  $4.23

Sanding supplies: $.48

Primer: $1.37 

Art Supplies: $1.46

Microbrush: $.21

Dull Cote:  $5.00

Box: $.69

Bubble Wrap: $.37

Business Card: $.30

Pay Pal Fees: $3.98 

Taxes: $16.25

Postage: $5.90

Total Cost: $40.24


Now let's look at the artist's time. Perhaps she spent 8 hours working on this bay repaint.

Prepping/Priming: 2 hours

Pastelling: 2.5 hours

Detailing: 2.5 hours

Photography/Advertising/Email/Post Office: 1 hour


If she sells this model for $100 postage paid she will make $59.76. Her hourly compensation will be $7.47.

 

Here is where asking questions about the hypothetical artist and her bay repainted Stablemate can be asked. Can she cut corners by recycling a box and bubble wrap? Yes. Can she reuse her Microbrush, waste less paint, take better care of her paintbrushes? Yes. Can she save by not sending a business card and writing a note instead? Yes. Can she sell locally or at shows and not have to wrap and ship? Yes.

Should the artist take an offer that is lower than her asking price? Maybe.



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