Sales through galleries and direct customers sales

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hello everyone!

I am jumping in here and changing the subject line.

I sell most of my product through galleries. If I am in the gallery
and have a chance to engage the customer about an item and they want
something different I let them know I can do that. If they want to
buy right away I let the gallery handle the transaction while I
handle the details. But I will still give them my card for contact
If they come back to me direct later, I still sell for
the same price that they would have paid at the gallery and sometimes
for even more because it is a custom or special order. I am very
careful to make sure that prices are the same at all places that I
have consigned items. I have yet to sell direct wholesale to a
gallery. I think that an artist that sells direct and undercuts the
gallery is doing damage to their self. I think that in most cases
even the very well know names now started in a gallery somewhere
years ago. No one springs from the ground and you work is widely know
the next day. I am sure there are a few cases of a very unique work
that may have gone a different route than through the galleries. So
the gallery needs us and we need the gallery. So my selling at a
discount direct to the customer you are damaging your relationship
with the gallery.

Regards,
Rodney Carroll

2

On the post

...And this practice may be a new topic of discussion. Why do so
many artists sell "wholesale" to what should be "retail" customers
and raise prices when they are being represented by a gallery???

My comments: I don’t have the time to have people calling me or
“dropping by” out of the blue to look through my work. I have work to
do after all. When someone calls, I explain most of my work is in
galleries anyway, very little finished work is kept in my workshop. I
tell them I will sell the production piece for the same price as the
gallery and then give the gallery where they have seen my work their
commission. This has happened very seldom since I don’t have the work
to show them here and a lot of my work is one-of-a-kind anyway. I do
make exceptions for friends…

In the case of the current Zyzyx gallery problem, I guess I would
sell the customer the piece, same price as the gallery and keep all
of it, then call the gallery and tell them what happened and if it
happened again they would receive no more of my work. I don’t need
“help” like that.

My thoughts, Kathy