gallery commission

Anyone know the fair range of consignment for photography at an art gallery? And should the fact that a gallery isn't in a large city be a major consideration of commission the gallery takes? Thanks.

I live in a small city. The going rate here is 40%. I don't know if this changes with the location.

In Michigan I also found 40% the going rate.

The going rate in New England is 40%. If you can prove your value to the gallery, you can sometimes negotiate a better deal like 30%.

I recently had an exhibit at an artist-owned gallery. The rate was 30%. Privately owned, for profit galleries usually take 40%.

Thank you all. Very helpful and about what I'd thought.


lucy

I pay 40%. They do all the advertising and marketing of the gallery. Unfortunately, you need to raise your price to cover the costs and sometimes that puts it out of range for a lot of potential buyers. I have some of my work hanging in a local coffee shop and I get all the profit from the sale so I can offer lower pricing and I've sold several prints that way too.

Hey Jack-

Does the gallery give you any grief for having prints available at a lower price? Or do you have separate selections of prints in each location? We catch grief if the prices are lower in any one place.

Not really Hank...the gallery isn't in the same market area as the coffee shop and I was specific with them when i put my work in there. I do understand what you are saying though and I'm sure there are galleries who would not allow it.

Depends on the gallery, but you might be able to make a deal in the opposite direction - tell them you need to make X on the print and they can sell it for whatever they want and keep the leftover.