Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
Hi All,
my 1st post and not strictly related to framing but a bit....
I work part time at a framers (after working 3.5 years as a full time framer) and also sell some of my imags on canvas (which I print and stretch at home in my own workshop) in his shop. Now, here's the query. I staple a canvas business 'card' to every canvas print I sell with my website, phone number etc on. The guy I work for has ripped off all cards from all of my canvases in his shop/gallery. He also seems to want to make a commision on everything I sell to anyone who gets my details from work in his shop or direct contact with me in the shop. Am I being unreasonable to think that he has no right to make any commision on sales made OUTSIDE of his business even though contact may have been made due to his business? He regularily sells mounted prints and framed art with the artists details atached to the back, why does he view me as being any different from them?
Please give me some feedback with this conundrum.
I sold a print from there today so tomorrow I replace with a different canvas with my web details/contact PRINTED directly on the edge of the canvas wrap - hopefully this will enable customers to view my other work aswell...........
Thanks for your attention
If he has introduced business to you I think it is only fair you should pay him some commission.
Remember he is covering all the business costs, rates, rent, lighting, wages, heating, property maintenance, advertising, depreciation, new machinery, employers NI contributions, telephone, internet..........................
Perhaps you need to get some sort of contract you both sign.
I suppose I can see his point. Although wanting commission on business gained by you through people reading your card is a bit OTT. How would he know anyway? And do you know for definite that the artists who he tolerates attaching contact details aren't giving him a kick-back?
If I take in work for sale with any contact details of the artist on them, I always remove them. It's as much to protect the privacy of the artist as anything else. He is in effect working as an agent for you and as such has a duty to retain your anonymity.
It's a bit like selling someone a sheet of mountboard with the suppliers address on. OK, the said supplier wouldn't sell them an odd sheet, but it not really the done thing.
I think if you want to sell things in his gallery you'll have to abide by his rules. This gallery can obviously sell your work and are creating a market for you with their customers who they will have worked hard and layed oyt money to attract.
I recently stopped showing an artist who asked to take a picture out of the gallery only to find out later they'd sold it to someone who'd seen it in my gallery. I got no commision and the customer had bought it cheaper than I was trying to sell it for making me look expensive.
I know of a gallerys who hold the work they show for 3 months after its been offered for sale to stop this happening.
Artist's / photographers need to understand the costs of running a gallery - My business rates alone are over £200.00 a week. Its very expensive to have a high street pressence.
his gaff, his rules.
Possibly legally and probably morally, if he or his premises are instrumental in making a sale, then you owe him commission.
Galleries and shops do NOT like URLs, he's probably barely tolerating other artists putting cards on there, and might expect an employee to play the game more. I would.
I've ditched artists who put their URL on prints, no hesitation. My window and walls are there to sell from this shop, not free advertsing for someone else, who will invariably be selling "direct" at half the price and in the process making the shop look like it's over-priced. Like getting stabbed in the back twice.
We've all had the issues, or similar, that Will outlines above, so no point in repeating our experiences along the same lines. Save to say it is common enough for artists to try and fiddle their way out of commissions and sell off-gallery for most gallery/shop owners to tar them all with the same brush. In the process they don't just shoot themselves in the foot, they blow their leg clean off because they lose an outlet to sell in, for good.
Putting your URL on the side of the picture, thin ice - obviously it's to drive people to your site so you can make off-gallery sales.... isn't that waving a red rag at the bull? Put your NAME on there, and people will still find your web site if they want to through search. www won't make much difference.
However good the picture was, there is no way it would get on my wall or in my window with a WWW on it.
Personally I dont sell pictures with a WWW on them, and wouldn't buy myself pictures with a www on them. Other potential customers might feel the same way. The WWW might not be a good idea, it might lose you more than it gains.
As for your boss, there's an issue with him treating you differently to other people whose stuff he sells. There may be a simple explanation. What does he say? What's the actual arrangement you have with him re commission? are you getting employees/mates-rates or same as everyone else. If it's same as everyone else, you should reasonably expect to be treated the same as everyone else.
That's the thing that would concern me. As a boss I would not treat staff less favourably than other people, in fact I would be biased towards treating my staff somewhat better, so it does seem a bit unfair on you.
Don't suppose that helped much, did it.
Without a doubt you should pay commission. I have lots of friends that leave me with their work to sell and one of my staff even makes her own hand painted cards which we sell. I am always clear that the price they sell with me should be the same as the price they sell for privately. The difference is that they pay comission to me for providing the premises, outlet, reputation, staff. Not to mention till, switch facility and even the bubblewrap and plastic bags...... How else are us gallery owners going to pay for all thes things? The comission is always offset by volume of sales through me, verses privately.
I also believe in trust and explain that any commissions for work that come from either my framing shop or the art gallery should be covered by a commission. I can't force it but my conscience is clear...Is yours?.If you sold your work elsewhere then you would definately pay commision so why should this be any different. Why not develop things and advertise the comission side of your busines. I have a professional photographer how has thousands of images for sale. If someone shows an interest I give them his website details and say to mention on the order where they saw his work. The photographer always asks anyway and explains that he likes to thank whoever puts them in contact (he sends a monthly cheque for comission to me).
The gallery owner still pays your wages and I bet he pays that without question every week.I also agree that if anyone wants to find you they can do it by name alone.
I personally think you are on a sticky wicket there. Perhaps you are a little
Naïve to the business world but surely it is commonsense not to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. If someone takes your work in and sells it then they are doing all the leg work if you then try stealing their business then they are going to be unhappy. I would take a look at the bigger picture and see how much the job really means to you as if you were my employee and hadn't got the hint then ex employee might give you the wake up call.
