I was thinking that a button that said “Make Me An Offer” might sound more inviting than “contact artist for price” or “buy through email”. “Make Me An Offer” portrays a certain urgency/desire to sell that might be inviting to buyers. Has this been tried before?
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I prefer the “Contact artist for price” myself. Make me an offer, to me, promotes haggling don’t you think?
I’d suggest just putting the price you need on it. They will make you a low ball offer anyway. I’d never contact anyone for a price personally.
A painting is not the same as used goods but I was thinking about ads written for “Auto Trader” car sales. Some sellers list the price they want and then say “or best offer”. Some sellers indicated that their stated price is firm. I think there may be more enquiries if it is clear that offers are welcomed, not that an offer will necessarily be accepted. At least it gets a conversation going with a prospective buyer. As a prospective buyer I’m more likely make an offer if I feel it won’t be scorned as :“low ball”.
After thinking about this more I realize that I can go ahead and invite people to make me an offer in the description part of my listings. The invitation wouldn’t be in a bolded font in a different colour like it would if it was a button option but it is better than not doing anything.
I kind of like the idea… maybe it would be good to have this option for some old work that’s just been sitting there too long. I would definitely use it for some of my older pieces.
I agree! I’ve seen a few create a “sale” page and then add key words to specific works so these works will show on that page in order to clear out older works but, I kinda prefer this button. It would at least get a conversation going on these works and maybe help clear some inventory that is too good for the scrap pile but been on the shelf too long.
I still think it would devalue the work.
I also think it will devalue the work. The auction feature may accomplish the same thing more gracefully and perhaps you will get more than you asked for.
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I have no wish to devalue anyone’s work. It is good to be able to discuss pros and cons of a suggestion in this community. It is easy for me to make a suggestion when I don’t have as much skin in the game as some of you do. I could always take my paintings “door to door” and try to sell them for $10-$15. I just have to get over my inhibitions.
You might find this interview interesting. At the 16:00 min. mark she talks about posting her art and letting customers name their own price for it.
Thank you David. That was a really interesting interview and there were lots of good ideas in it regarding how to market work. Everyone has her/his own level of comfort in dealing with the less traditional and accepted ways of selling.
I’ve found that it’s best to make it as easy and straightforward as possible. Put a price on it, put a Paypal button on it, and there you go. If they want to make a lower offer they’ll contact you, but in my experience, they never have.
That being said, the “make me an offer” idea goes fine for an auction.
@tbarts @terribarge eBay has had the “best offer” option for a while now, I think. I wonder how it’s working for sellers over there (I never use eBay, so I don’t know…)
I use ebay for abstracts, and only use buy it now, with make an offer on a lot of it. Generally, people offer 5-10% less with it. That’s fine with me.