W - Wholesale

Wholesale - Wholesale orders can help artists stay afloat and produce an income apart from online and show sales. Wholesale orders are usually placed by shops or art dealers for a set number of a particular product. The shop owners receive a discount by ordering in bulk. By selling wholesale artists also gain greater exposure and can sell their work in different parts of the country.

The average wholesale price will be 60% of the normal purchase price of the item. Some artists also offer discounts to wholesale buyers when they purchase over a certain amount of product, as determined by the artist. Though the artist loses 40% of the income, they also don't have to worry about sales or advertising for those items. In this way, the artist might be making only slightly less than he or she would normally be making on the items.

To market items to wholesalers, artists need to create a line sheet. A line sheet is a document that showcases that artist's work by piece. The line sheet should show the following pieces of information for each item:

• A high-quality photo
• Suggested retail price
• Wholesale price per # of items
• How long from point of purchase wholesalers should expect to receive items
• Materials used in creation of product
• Artist contact information

It is important for artists to have a line sheet ready at shows and online if wholesalers want to quickly review the prices. Having a line sheet handy could translate into immediate orders and possible steady future business.