Re-frame....charge?

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Tommy P

Tommy P

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Nov 16, 2003
Posts
870
Location
Mid North Indiana
I can't see the forest for the trees or....whatever. We have several pieces in our gallery that we have matted and framed for display purposes. They are mostly original watercolors....makes them sell very well, etc. The problem is this. Most of the time they go out the door "as presented" and everybody is happy. But occasionally a customer will say "I like the work and the matting but I would like a different frame on this!" The piece is say marked at $300. How do I handle the change of the frame? Charge full price for the new chosen frame and add that to the $300 for the already framed piece and give them the "unwanted" frame or keep the "unwanted frame and give them some kind of allowance? Do I just say "take it as is or leave it)?
I just can't figure this out............aaaargh!
(Happens with matting also)
 
In most cases, I would change the framing as the customer dictates, and charge as though it were being framed that way from scratch. That is, assuming the take-off frame could be used for something else.

If the take-off frame or other parts would be wasted, I'd probably reconsider the pricing & cover whatever the loss might be.

Or, if I were confident that the pre-framed art would sell as-is, I might offer to get another copy -- assuming it's available -- for the customer & frame it from scratch.
 
Thanks Jim.....just couldn't make sense at first. When my partner and I talked further we came up with your exact recommendation. Makes the most sense to "start from scratch" as you say.....thanks for the input. The gray areas of business or always a challenge....

Tom
 
Hi Tom,
When you display framed original art, how about having both a framed price and an unframed price. When we frame art for sale, we add on the retail of that framing, which we chose, to the art retail price. If the customer wants different framing, sell the art plus the retail on the new framing. You'll still own the original framing which you can then use on another piece of art for sale.
Does this help?
Froptop
 
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