Hi there!
Today I received an email from a representative of a somewhat local art gallery shop, asking if I would be interested to sell/stock my handmade items with them. After trying to supply my items to similar shops in the past with little result I’m definitely interested in this offer!
Obviously they charge a sales commision fee which I totally understand, but because this is all new territory to me the part I’m unsure about is the actual process. So I was wondering if anyone had personal experience or advice they could give me please.
I presume I would need to increase my item prices when selling in their shop, to cover the sales fee? What questions should I ask the shop? Would I need to have any kind of written agreement with them if I’m happy to go ahead?
Hi Gemma,
I would definitely get a written agreement with them. Ask them if they have a standard contract.
Is this sale or return? Do you know what commission rate they charge? The usual in my area is 40% but rates do vary. If it is 40% you need to multiply the amount you want to receive for your item by 1.67 to get the retail price. A word of warning though, galleries I have worked with take a very dim view of people underselling them i.e. you would probably need to increase your own prices to be in line with the gallery’s.
(Looking at your prices I definitely think you could/should charge more!)
Also things like, how do they notify you of sales, how/when do they pay you. Who is responsible for insuring the items while they are in the gallery.
I’m sure other people will come up with other stuff.
Hi Gemma, Good advice from Helen there. I would add that if its sale or return, make sure you have a really accurate list of the description and nos of the items you deliver. The shop may have a standardised delivery form, if not do one of your own, print a copy and save it. Make sure someone in the gallery signs it to say that those are the items delivered. It’s surprisingly easy for items to go astray, and sales not to be recorded in a busy shop, and you need to be able to fight your ground if need be! Good luck, its great to be asked to sell in a shop.
Hi helen,
Thank you so much for the help I greatly appreciate it! Thankfully they have been upfront in stating they mainly do a sale on return process, and the commision fee is 30% each item sale in their council run gallery/cafe/shop. When I say local the shop it’s actually in a different country area to me but not too far away that I could get to the shop within an hours drive, I also have family who live in that direction if not closer to the shop which helps.
I applied to a self run craft shop years ago and in the interview they stated they would charge me £45 a month on top of sales fees, as well as working their shop 3 days a week for free (£55 charge if I could only work 2 days) which seemed ridiculous to me considering I would be on a trial run in the worse business months of the year and had only just started drawing/making my animal crafts!
That’s very nice of you to say! I have recently updated my items quality and started incorporating locally sourced materials such as welsh fabric (which I think is the reason I’ve been contacted), so will look at altering my prices. Those are great questions which I will definitely ask, Thank you! ~
Hi Petra,
Thank you for the help I greatly appreciate it! Yes it’s a sale on return process with a 30% fee for each item sale. Do you mean like a stock list stating which items I specifically send (for example, 1x polar bear pin cushion)? I may not be able to deliver the items myself due to being almost an hours drive away from the shop and not to mention on local lockdown here, so would them sending me an email stating they have received my items be enough? (I would of course send through a tracked and signed for service) ~
Yes, just a simple but accurate delivery note, with a description of each piece.They may well provide you with one, or a template. Then keep up to date with what you have delivered, and when, and keep a record of it. Also useful to have price plus commision, and price minus commision so you can check when you get a payment that its what you expect!! I guess an email would be fine, or a photo of the form signed. Its just really good when you know that they have actually ticked off each item from your delivery, so there can be no doubt about how much of your stock that they hold.
I would also ask what their procedure is for paying you. Some shops do it at month end as a matter of course, whilst others, in my experience, won’t do anything unless you chase it up. (usually because they’re a bit scatty and disorganised!)
Just to give an update, I pretty much asked all the questions you advised me on and I feel more confident now!
Being a council run shop they told me I will need to sign a form with my details so they can send me a monthly payment for any sales I have, there will also be a trial 3 month period to see how things go from both sides.
Due to the current circumstances and being unable to visit the shop in person, they will accept items being sent by post and would then send me photos of the display which I can also post to my social media.
Nothing is decided yet as we’re still discussing things, I’m going to ask a few more questions involving the insurance side of things for example possible theft ect. But they did mention the form would include responsibility of both sides, so it may be explained in there when I receive it.
Lastly they stated I would need to set a price of how much payment I would like to receive for each of my items when sold, and I’m pretty sure they will be the ones adding the 30% on top of my stated price (will ask them to clarify this) ~
Hi Helen,
I’ve posted an update in this thread after asking the questions you advised me on, thank you again I feel more confident now!
From their reply I’m pretty sure they will be the ones to add the 30% commission on top of my item prices, but I was just wondering… How did you work out the the retail cost for the 40% (multiply price by 1.67)? Do you know the calculation for 30%? I would very much like to know in case I need to double check the pricing.
Hi Gemma,
Sure, it’s a percentages thing.
It’s easy to go from the retail price to your cut - the retail price is 100%. The retailer is taking 30% of that and you are getting 70%. So if you’re selling at £10, you get £7 and the retailer gets £3.
To get a formula to go back the other way, divide the retail price (100%) by the amount you want (70%), so 100/70 = 1.43 and that’s what you need to multiply your price by to get the retail price.
Trying it out on the example above - £7 (your price) multiplied by 1.43 = £10 (give or take a penny).
And because it was worked out from percentages, that figure of 1.43 will work with whatever price you want to throw at it.
Maths lesson over - I hope that was clear and not confusing!
Make sure you are very clear on your paperwork how much you expect for your item. The way I would do it would be to give them the retail price and say they are entitled to take 30% commission, then everyone knows where they stand.
The other advantage of specifying the retail price (and accepting that the shop takes their commission out of that so you receive less) is that a buyer pays the same for your item whether they buy from the shop or direct from you.
This is quite important from the shop’s point of view, as otherwise they are likely to lose sales.
I have recently updated my items quality and started incorporating locally sourced materials such as welsh fabric (which I think is the reason I’ve been contacted), so will look at altering my prices. Those are great questions which I will definitely ask, Thank you! ~