Price Range for Plushes and On-Site Commissions at the AA?

[octorok]

Hey guys! Sorry, I know there's another price range thread already going around, but I've posted in it multiple times and no one seems to have any input on plushes or on-site commissions. Plenty of info on prints, though.

So, any ideas on how to price plushies and on-site commissions? So far I'm developing midsized (6" tall) plushes and smaller 3" plushes.

As for on-site commissions, I mostly want to do bust or full body pencil sketches, MAYBE colored, MAYBE inked. I know this depends largely on the artist's skill, but does anyone have a sort of price range for what people are generally willing to pay?

[ladyvoid]

I was asking for the price of on-sight commissions in the previous thread too, but everybody got carried away with the button-making and print websites, lol. Those were good websites, though.

[octorok]

Yeah, super informative! I bookmarked the thread for if/when I start making prints too.

[Alexie828]

Last year, I charged about $3 for headshots, $4 for waist-up, $5 for fullbody, and $1 extra per head added. Any background details or extra additions I said was negotiable based on what the person asked for. I feel like I undercharged, to be honest. I think I'll up the ante a bit this year. (Considering since I consider my art to have improved tremendously since last year.)

[octorok]

:O that does seem a bit low. About how many commissions did you garner all weekend?

I'm trying to improve my skills by Fanime as well. Personally, I don't want to draw anything for less than $7 (maybe for a bust), so I have to try and improve my skills to at least that level by then.

Has anyone here ordered on-site commissions? What were they and how much did you pay? Any links to the artist's work would be greatly appreciated too, if you have them.

[LiL Moon]

Sorry that noone responded to your questions about plushies. I sell tons of plushies at Fanime. The price really depends on lots of factors; cost of materials, the time you put into them, and the amount of detail. My cheapest plushie is $5 and is 5" tall, but it's super cheap because it is incredibally easy to make and it sells out fast. But here is estimate for price ranges. Small 3" plushies should range around $3-$8 depending on detail. For plushies that are 6", maybe around the higher end of the 3" price range or a couple of bucks more. It depends on what you decide to make. Like a simple animal plushie would be much cheaper than a complex anime character plushie no matter what size.

[octorok]

Sorry that noone responded to your questions about plushies. I sell tons of plushies at Fanime. The price really depends on lots of factors; cost of materials, the time you put into them, and the amount of detail. My cheapest plushie is $5 and is 5" tall, but it's super cheap because it is incredibally easy to make and it sells out fast. But here is estimate for price ranges. Small 3" plushies should range around $3-$8 depending on detail. For plushies that are 6", maybe around the higher end of the 3" price range or a couple of bucks more. It depends on what you decide to make. Like a simple animal plushie would be much cheaper than a complex anime character plushie no matter what size.

Thank you so much for the info! This is quite eye opening.

Both my small and mid-sized plushes are 3D mushroom plushes (felt stalk, faux fur cap). How would you recommend pricing those?  I'm not sure if it counts as complex or not. it doesn't involve any clothing or fingers, but it's more than just a 2D shape :x

[Alexie828]

Hmmm problem is, people at Fanime are really stingy with money (I guess we can't all be spendthrifts like me when it comes to art). Unless you can pop out amazing sketches in a short amount of time, many people aren't willing to pay more than $5 for a bust sketch. (Unless its large and kinda detailed.) 

Sometimes, for more complicated commissions, I had people come back the next day and I'll have it finished for them. That means I have to spend off time working on art too, but if it's for money, I didn't mind all that much. I only got about...7 commissions last year? Made around $30 something dollars I think...

Then again, there were many factors as to why I didn't sell as well as I had hoped last year. I have one of the tables in the very back of the room (next to the Guest of Honor, actually. It was super neat meeting him) but most people are usually out of money by then, or are trying to control their spending. The little exposure didn't get me much business either(since some people give up walking the room halfway through). I think table location is a major factor of how you price your things, really. For sketches, I'd stick to prices under $10 for anything that isn't past the waist.

Just experiment with prices. See if people go for what you have out. If you feel like people are being turned off by your prices, offer a slight discount on the spot and see if they jump at it. If it works, I'd recommend sticking with those prices if another person is hesistating the next time. Sometimes, it's better to make a little money than no money at all, eh? ;D

[Arcane]

Last year my commissions ranged from 20 to 50 dollars.  Though pretty much all my work was colored.  I think I had one or two inked commissions.

I ended up charging what I did mostly due to material costs and demand.  (Have to pay off the ink on the Copics, and I had to mail out quite a number after the con.)

I actually find that the Bust, Waist, Full-body system doesn't quite work too well for me.  I tend to choose the best composition to do the picture justice, and charge people based on the materials, number of characters, background and time needed to finish.

[Hachimitsu]

yeah im having some issues with the waist and bust images..
and decided to go full body only with minimal or a price cut from my online commissions..

not only that but I had to speed the process from 2 hours to 45 minutes!
wanted to give the customer as fast as I can with the best quality even though im not as popular as anyone.

[LiL Moon]

Thank you so much for the info! This is quite eye opening.

Both my small and mid-sized plushes are 3D mushroom plushes (felt stalk, faux fur cap). How would you recommend pricing those?  I'm not sure if it counts as complex or not. it doesn't involve any clothing or fingers, but it's more than just a 2D shape :x

Ok, well this is just all based on my opinion so you do what you feel is best. But, for me, I start all keychains at a base price of $5 and go up from there. I would say, for your 3" mushrooms, they should be around $5-$8. I wouldn't get into the 2 figured prices since it might scare some people off. As for the 6" ones, maybe like $10-$15. I'm actually going to be selling mushroom plushies myself. Mine are 8" and I sell them for $15 and $20 each depending on their details. And they have sold quite well online for my prices.

[Alexie828]

Last year my commissions ranged from 20 to 50 dollars.  Though pretty much all my work was colored.  I think I had one or two inked commissions.

I ended up charging what I did mostly due to material costs and demand.  (Have to pay off the ink on the Copics, and I had to mail out quite a number after the con.)

I actually find that the Bust, Waist, Full-body system doesn't quite work too well for me.  I tend to choose the best composition to do the picture justice, and charge people based on the materials, number of characters, background and time needed to finish.

Wait, people actually took color commissions from you, and allowed you to send out the pictures once you were done? :O I wanted to do something like that last year, but I wasn't sure who would go for that. ;n; How did that work out for you?

[Arcane]

Last year my commissions ranged from 20 to 50 dollars.  Though pretty much all my work was colored.  I think I had one or two inked commissions.

I ended up charging what I did mostly due to material costs and demand.  (Have to pay off the ink on the Copics, and I had to mail out quite a number after the con.)

I actually find that the Bust, Waist, Full-body system doesn't quite work too well for me.  I tend to choose the best composition to do the picture justice, and charge people based on the materials, number of characters, background and time needed to finish.

Wait, people actually took color commissions from you, and allowed you to send out the pictures once you were done? :O I wanted to do something like that last year, but I wasn't sure who would go for that. ;n; How did that work out for you?

Well I did them as they came in.  I finished about... 12 colored pictures before the con ended.  I only resorted to mailing out the overflow.  Overall I think I had about 23 commissions, can't say I remember how many there were exactly.  I suppose that ends up being 11 commissions I had to mail out.  Quite the doozie.

After a certain point, when people asked for a commission, I had to tell them that I was willing to do it, but due to the backup, I would have to mail it to them.  I assured them that by waiting for it in the mail, they would get a superior picture compared to what they would get if I rushed it during the con.  Most people were okay with it.  I think only a small hand full backed off.

[octorok]

Hmmm problem is, people at Fanime are really stingy with money (I guess we can't all be spendthrifts like me when it comes to art). Unless you can pop out amazing sketches in a short amount of time, many people aren't willing to pay more than $5 for a bust sketch. (Unless its large and kinda detailed.) 

Darn )x I've been sota suspecting this anyway, I'm trying to think of how I can add some more color or vavoom to my commissions. Mybe I should be practicing with colored pencils right about now.

How big of an issue do con-goers have with waiting? What's a good chunk of time to give myself that won't scare people off? :X I figured people would be okay with waiting a couple hours, or having it mailed to them or something D:

I tend to choose the best composition to do the picture justice, and charge people based on the materials, number of characters, background and time needed to finish.

That sounds like something I'd like to do too. How did you go about explaining this process to people? Did you just say "Tell me what you want and I'll tell you what it costs" or something like that?

[Arcane]

I tend to choose the best composition to do the picture justice, and charge people based on the materials, number of characters, background and time needed to finish.

That sounds like something I'd like to do too. How did you go about explaining this process to people? Did you just say "Tell me what you want and I'll tell you what it costs" or something like that?

People tend to ask pricing based on bust, waist, etc., at which point I tell them that's not a specification I really need, unless they want it specifically.  I ask them more about feel.  Should it be serious, comical, serene, and then I give them a price based on my intuition.  Generally my commission sign is "prices vary, please ask me".  Though I think I need a bigger sign or something, people tend to walk up and ask if I do commissions.