How do I price my art? Should I use formulas based on time and materials?

Forget formulas based on time, materials, or talent. The secret to pricing is having a range. You must offer products at three tiers: $0-$100 (non-wall art items like stickers, phone cases, greeting cards, pillows—acquire new customers easily), $100-$1,000 (small prints, framed prints, canvas, metal, acrylic), and above $1,000 (limited editions, originals). The most important metric is the number of new customers you acquire per year—it doesn’t matter at what price point. It’s far easier to get someone to buy again than to buy for the first time. A range of pricing, including low-friction impulse buys, lets you acquire significantly more customers annually. For print-on-demand items, mark up the wholesale cost by 250% to leave room for negotiation and maintain healthy margins.

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Asked by an artist interested in pricing training · Answered by Patrick · Art Business Webinar · 2026-08-07