Moving with the times.

[Keia]

Good morning all.
Hope you're all taking so much needed time off after all the xmas chaos.

As a certain search engine has decided it would make things almost impossible for little fish like me to be seen on their shopping search and on their main searches infact, without paying their extortionate rates I have to move onto galleries sooner than I would have liked too.
I'm currently selling with an excellent craft shop who's rental rates are fantastic and even though I've only been there a few months it's proving to be the best move I ever made.
However, I would now like to expand a little.
A very dear friend of mine has pointed me to another local gallery, but this one operates on a sale or return basis at 30% comission.
As I need to move with times or risk loosing my business, I would like to know what rates are fair for galleries to charge?

As I'm a complete nooblet to galleries, I'm wide open to be taken advantage off, potentially. So I would love to gain more knowledge to avoid any nasty surprises.
Thankyou in advance.

[Dennis]

I don't know about the rates Sian, but sale or return makes me nervous about getting stuff back. Some galleries don't rate their jewellers very highly and mess them about. They can also suddenly close down. That's me---the eternal pessimist. Dennis.

[Keia]

I'm the same, Dennis. I trust no-one. To be honest I do prefer the shelf rental way rather than sale or return for exactly the reasons you mentioned. You're ~probably~ more likely to get any unsold stuff back if you've paid the shelf rent should their business close. What would be more ideal is someone to buy on wholesale type terms, but as yet I haven't found one of those.
The 30% seems a bit steep to me too, but again as I'm a nooblet with galleries, for all I know that could be the norm.
It would be a shame to pass up the oppertunity, but as you already said the sale or return is the biggest worry, it's a bit dodgy xx
Ho hum, off to ponder some more

[CJ57]

I haven't come across any galleries that do anything other than sale or return and jewellery is never high on their list of priorities to try and sell. Most galleries take at least 30 to 40% up here but I had work in a gallery across the border one Christmas marked up 100% which made it difficult to make anything from it.

[Keia]

I haven't come across any galleries that do anything other than sale or return and jewellery is never high on their list of priorities to try and sell. Most galleries take at least 30 to 40% up here but I had work in a gallery across the border one Christmas marked up 100% which made it difficult to make anything from it.

Ouch, that's shocking. How mean spirited of them to expect the artists to work for nothing =( xx

[CJ57]

She was a bit of a one. I sold a pair of ear rings and everything was sent back. The following Christmas she got in touch to say one of her customers had liked a statement necklace but hadn't had the money but did now, was it sold or could I make another. I had sold it during the summer but said on this occasion I would repeat it as it wouldn't be exactly the same and put the same price on it as I had the one I sold. She sent me a cheque for half the amount as she said the customers was hers and that was the policy of the gallery. There ensued a rather heated argument in which she told me she was doing me a favour by taking my work in the first place and she has to pay her overheads even though I pointed out it was the cost of a phone call to me. We eventually agreed on a 60/40 split and I've never gone near a gallery again.
Work comes back dirty, finger printed so it's not a surprise if it doesn't sell after the opening.It is invariably stuck in a cabinet and left to sell itself often alongside cheap imports that they make their bread and butter on. In my opinion if galleries want to promote British handmade then that's what they should sell and not stick it in a cabinet with something they have bought at Harrogate!! Sorry rant over, as you can tell I love gallery owners

When they mark up 100% they double the price but that can often make a piece so expensive that you have to lower your price so low in the hope of it selling that she was getting more than me for having it for 3 weeks