Question
I have the possibility to display my works in a store. What is the normal procedure for this? I mean do I have to lower my prices? And how much can a store owner add on to my price?

Answer
There are a few ways that selling through a store can work. The store will either take your items on consignment, have you do a trunk show, lease space to you (Co-op), or buy your items at wholesale.

In a Consignment situation, the shop would take your items for display in their store and when an item sells, the store would take a percentage of the agreed upon selling price for that item. Generally the store will take about 40% of the selling price for selling the item for you. Store owners are much more likely to take your items on consignment because they have no money tied up in inventory and thus no risk of loss if the item does not sell.

A second way that you can sell your items through a store is with a "trunk show". The store will advertise to their customer that they will be having a trunk show on a specific date and time and they will give you a temporary space to set up your display in their store at that time. This is usually a one day event and the store will take a much smaller portion of your sales (around 20%) to allow you to sell in their store. You have the option of what the selling price for your items will be.

Some stores are set up as Co-ops where you can rent space in the store to display your items. You are responsible for the display of your items and the selling price of your items. You may have to actually put some time in working at the store as part of your agreement. The Co-op charges a monthly rent plus a percentage of your sales. Rent and percentages vary greatly from place to place.

The fourth option is to sell your products at wholesale to the store. Most likely, you will need to sell you items to the store for about 50% of the price that you would sell them for yourself. Price is an important factor in the mind of the store owner. When a store owner looks at a product that they may potentially carry in their store, they immediately think, "How much can I sell this for?" The store owner will want to buy the product for 33% to 50% of the price that they think they can sell it for. This does not necessarily mean that you will have to sell your item for 1/3 the price that you usually sell it for.

The store may be able to sell your item for more than you have been selling it for because of their location and customer base. So, if you have been selling an item for $30, that they think they can sell for $45, they would be happy to buy it from you for $15. You would be wholesaling it for 50% off but their selling price would be 3 times their cost. Typically, you will have to sell your item to a store for no more than 1/2 your usual selling price.

We have chosen to only do wholesale when dealing with stores. Your items will sell faster in a store where the owner has a vested interest in seeing the merchandise sell. Even though you don't make as much on each item, you sell more items at one time when you are selling wholesale. You can even require a minimum order of a few hundred dollars or a certain number of pieces so that the sale is truly a wholesale sale and not someone trying to buy one piece at 1/2 price.