Second Edition: A Silver Lining
My article about selling patterns online has been one of my most popular blog posts. When I dug a little deeper, I found out many designers find it while looking for answers after having been rejected from selling their work on pattern bank sites. If that is you, consider yourself lucky. Hold tight. We will get to it.
You may be extra salty if the site you applied to has a one time application policy, meaning they won't even consider your work in the future. How could they do this? Don't they know artists and designers evolve and get better over time? (Hint: they do not really support independent designers.)
Let's consider this: my original article was written a few years ago. Inflation has hit all of us hard. I saw a package of 3 chicken breasts at the grocery today for $22 dollars. Are you even kidding me? It made me wonder: what inflation has done to pattern pricing?
Out of curiosity, I decided to do the math again on some of the most popular pattern bank sites, comparing the original prices to inflation. I started with the low-end, non-exclusive print prices. To my surprise, they have mostly kept pace with the 15.9% inflation. However, they are running a sale, as they most always are, for 20% off. That brings the price back down BELOW the rate it was a few years ago.
Now let's talk about the exclusive /premium option. They were selling a premium exclusive print for $350 a few years ago. Remember, one sale and then the premium design is off the site. The price is now $390* in most cases*. Just to keep up with inflation it would have to be $405. With the 20% off sale, the price is $312. The designer gets 50% of this, less taxes. You have officially taken a huge pay cut when selling exclusive designs.
I had a colleague message me last week saying that he had not seen a price increase in pattern buyout pricing in 20 years. This is not the fault of the pattern banks and stock sites. It's our fault. As artists and designers we need to stand firm and demand what our work is worth. We will never be able to make a reasonable living if we accept deflated pricing while everything else inflates around us. (Read: $22 for chicken!)
"This is not the fault of the pattern banks and stock sites. It's our fault."
Don't be too upset if you've been rejected. If you are into working for pennies, there are still plenty of companies and "friends" who will offer you exposure for your work. Personally, I'd recommend getting creative and finding other ways to sell your work.
Here are just a few things to consider as you move forward:
1. Your sales process & method should be mostly in your control. What things can you do to have some control over having your work seen by the right people? Remember, social media is marketing, not sales. Algorithms will never be under your control. How can you directly reach the buyers/ licensors of artwork when you are ready to show something new?
2. You should have a say in negotiating the amount for which your work is licensed (or sold, if you must). If you have an agent, they should be openly discussing this with you. If they accept a steep discount you should know why. If a studio or other entity is selling your work, do you have a stop limit on how low you will go to sell your work?
3. You need to know your clients and customers. Part of the drawback of stock and pattern sites is that you have no idea who is interested in and buying your work. Sure, you can see it out in the wild and put it in your portfolio, but from a business standpoint, it is much easier to keep an existing customer than it is to find another one. You should be building relationships. That means having their email addresses and phone numbers and, honestly, a pretty good idea of what they might like.
So, while you may have found my post out of sheer frustration (rejection always stings), you should take this as a sign to take control of your sales process rather than relying on sites that will undercut your value every time. Your talent, skill, and time are worth more than you know.
