I see so many comments and even journals around deviantART with this idea. And in a lot of cases, it's absolutely ridiculous.
Since I opened commissions, I've been absolutely beyond lucky. Though my art is more expensive than a majority of what I see on dA, I've never had anyone tell me my prices are too much, so this isn't a personal thing for me (and for that I am extremely grateful). Instead I'm writing this on behalf of all the other artists who do get told this, and who are affected by this, because this needs to be heard.
When you commission an artist, it's just like hiring any other service, like a carpenter, or a car mechanic, or a pest control agent. You're hiring someone with a specialised set of skills to complete a specialised job for you. Essentially, you're not hiring the end product - you're hiring their time. With this in mind, let's continue.
This problem of perceived overpricing is particularly bad on dA - in the real world, people pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars for art, and I've seen people say a $5 illustration is too much. I think one of the main contributors to this is the currency of points. 100 points... well I mean, let's be real - 100 of anything sounds like a lot, right? In reality, 100 points is not a lot. 100 points is about $1 USD.
Let's go back to the idea of hiring an artist's time. Say the artist is selling a half-body painting for 100 points, and it takes them 2 hours to do. They are getting paid 50c an hour. It doesn't matter how inexperienced an artist is or how unconfident they are in their art, their time is worth more than 50c an hour.
A lot of people on this site are quite young, or don't make a lot of money, and I understand that in these circumstances, even prices in the $10 - $50 range can seem like a lot. But for complex, time-consuming illustrations, $10 is nowhere near enough. So please don't tell anyone their prices are too expensive, or that nobody will buy anything unless they lower them. Even if you're just trying to give them advice to get more sales, it can seem as if you're undervaluing their work or trying to get art for yourself for cheaper. Their pricing is their choice, and it's probably already less than what they should be getting!
And For Those Who Don't Feel That They Can Raise Their Prices
If you're selling art that you worked hard on for a pittance, remember that your time is worth more than that! If you're spending hours on commissions that are less than 500 points, or even less than 100 points, you're selling yourself immeasurably short.
You might feel that people won't buy from you if you increase your prices, but if more people priced themselves reasonably, there wouldn't be this idea that 200 points is expensive!
There are always people willing to pay a bit more, and if you haven't found them, you probably just haven't got the right amount of exposure yet.
Supply and demand is definitely something to take into account, but please - your time is worth more than 10 points!
Created at simplydevio.us
