To Display Pricing
To Display, or Not Display, Pricing
There are a few schools of thought as it pertains how to display pricing at art fairs. One view is to price everything, placing the pricing prominently next to (or on) the print. The thought that drives this approach is people want to know the pricing.
A direct opposite approach is to price nothing. Interested viewers will ask about pricing.
My method is, not necessarily by design, a hybrid of both.
My Pricing Philosophy
Rather than have a different price for each print, I price everything by size. All prints within one size are all the same price. As an example, all 16×20 matted prints are one price, all 20×24 matted prints are another. The image itself, does not matter.
If an individual is viewing two 16×20 prints, they are both the same price, regardless of the print subject. Doing so – I believe – helps facilitate the decision to make a purchase.
The Viewer’s Experience
When a viewer visits my booth, I want them to have the full sensory experience (as much as one can have at an art fair). Feel as if they are part of the image, captured by how it “speaks” to them.
It is my goal to allow the viewer to enjoy this full experience without distraction.
Why I Don’t Price Prints Individually
Image viewing a print with great interest, being drawn completely into the scene.
Your eye casually drifts within the scene to the border. There – you've just noticed the white price tag.
Your eye no longer views the image with the same level of curiosity as before. Rather, you keep drifting back, even subconsciously, to the price tag.
As you view other images within this booth, you are now pulled immediately to the price tag, each prominently displayed. You can no longer ignore this distraction.
Since I want you to be absorbed into your favorite image, it is necessary to remove distractions. The price tag is the first to go.
Where I Display Pricing
I prominently display pricing in three different locations.
Left wall below the credit card sign
Left wall between the two 16×20 print bins
Right wall between the two 20×24 print bins
Each pricing schedule – displayed as a Dura Plaq – is exactly the same, listing all prices of the different sizes of prints. The Dura Plaq style, approximately 6×9 inches, matches both the prints and other signage on the walls.
The Hybrid
With the pricing not clearly visible by each print, I do receive the question “What is its price?” I’ll mention the price as I point out the location of the pricing schedule. Customers are then quick to view the pricing, but do so away from their favorite print.
This may start a conversation – sometimes it does not. The viewer often returns to viewing the print, giving it much more thought about its purchase.
They are now well aware of the investment, without having a price tag as a visual negative distraction.
The Perfect Solution?
I’m not sure there is one. I’ve always had my pricing displayed in this manner, and it seems to work for me.
Would it work for others? Only they can make that determination.