THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Miriam Schulman: Today we’re talking about raising your heart prices without losing collectors, and why curating what you sell will instantly raise the perceived value of everything you make. The real reason people push back on your prices and how to build a simple price ladder so you’re not relying on one price point, and you can raise your prices without feeling like you’re jumping off a cliff. By the end, you’ll know what to remove, what to raise, and how to do all of this without panicking.
Speaker 2: It’s The Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast, an art world insider podcast for artists by an artist, where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host, Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Well hey there, it’s Miriam Schulman, your curator of inspiration and welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast. This is probably the most loaded topic in art business, which is pricing, because I can’t tell you how many times I hear some version of yeah, I know I’m probably not pricing enough, but if I raise my prices, no one’s going to buy or my personal favorite. But I get pushback even at these low prices, so clearly I can’t charge more. No, because that’s not what that means. And today I’m going to say something that might sting a little, but it’s the truth. If you’re pricing your art so that the most price sensitive, bargain hunting stranger on the internet or in your neighborhood won’t complain, you’re building your entire business around the wrong person. You should always build your business, whether it’s an art business or any business around your Ideal customer, not the customer you don’t want. You’re building your entire business around the wrong person. If you’re doing it that way, you’re not building a brand. You’re kind of running a garage sale. And listen, before you get defensive, this is so incredibly common. Artists do this because I know it feels safer. It feels nice. It feels like you’re making your art affordable. And those reasons might sound good to you. But what it actually does is it quietly caps your demand and attracts the wrong buyers.
Miriam Schulman: Or even worse, those people complaining about your prices. They never buy anything. So it’s repelling the right buyers, and it’s keeping you stuck in that exhausting loop of needing more and more sales just to make the same money. So in this episode, I’m going to help you step into 2026 with pricing that matches the level of your work and the level of the collector you actually want. So in this episode, you’re going to learn how to stop the garage sale mentality and why curating what you sell will instantly raise the perceived value of everything you make. The real reason people push back on your prices, and why that pushback is often a sign you’re finally pricing like a professional, and how to build a simple price ladder so you’re not relying on one price point, and you can raise your prices without feeling like you’re jumping off a cliff. I promise you by the end that you’ll know what to remove, what to raise, and how to do all of this without panicking. Okay, so take a deep breath. You’re not doing anything wrong. You just haven’t been taught how this works. So let’s get into it. Let’s start with something I’ve been talking about a lot inside the Artist Incubator lately, because it’s one of the biggest reasons artists stay underpriced without realizing it.
Miriam Schulman: And I call it garage sale mentality. And it kind of sounds like this. So, Miriam, I have old work and sometimes I get a sale on Etsy, but it really doesn’t represent my new work. And honestly, I don’t even really like it anymore. But hey, I figure if it sells, it sells and I’m like, no, no, stop right there. That is garage sale mentality. That’s you putting everything you’ve ever made on a folding table with neon stickers that says, buy this, make an offer. Stop cleaning out your attic. I need you to understand what you’re accidentally communicating when you do that. When you put everything up for sale, especially the work that you’ve outgrown your broadcasting. I don’t know what’s valuable, and I’ll just sell anything. And I’m not even really sure what I stand for as an artist. And collectors can feel that. And galleries can especially feel that, especially people who don’t know anything about art. Guess what? The collectors, they feel that too, because the opposite of a premium brand is not low prices. The opposite of a premium brand is no curation like target sells everything. You can get soccer balls, you can get jewelry, you can get purses, you can get apples. Tiffany’s only sells jewelry. So here’s a filter that I want you to start using. This is something I gave one of the Artist Incubator members recently.
Miriam Schulman: If a gallerist landed on that print you have for sale on Etsy, and that was the only thing that he or she saw of your work, is that what you want them judging you on that old artwork? Because that’s the game you’re playing online. People are not browsing your shop like they’re scrolling through the met. They might be landing on one page, one product, one image, one thing, one listing, and they’re making a split second judgment about you. I know it doesn’t sound fair, but it’s true. And if the first thing they see is some old piece that you don’t even like. Price. Like you’re just trying to get rid of it. What do you think they’re going to assume about the rest of your work? They may not even look at it, by the way, but they’ll assume it’s all negotiable. They assume it’s all random. They assume that you’re not serious. And then artists wonder why raising prices feel impossible. Because you can’t price like a luxury brand while merchandizing your art like a garage sale. So what do you do instead? Well, curate your storefront, meaning the work you show publicly should support your current positioning and your style. Period. I don’t care if it’s your website. I don’t care if it’s Etsy. Wherever you’re showing up, it has to be consistent.
Miriam Schulman: So you got to get rid of this. Like you’re treating your website like an art history survey course where you have work from the year 2000 or from 2020 or whatever. We’re in 2026. Just your most recent collection. That’s it. Now, if you’re evolving, that’s great. We love that. But don’t drag your old identity around like a clearance rack. Now, I’m not saying you can never sell older work. In fact, the best place to do that is at an open studio. But don’t fill your walls with the older work. Don’t confuse them. Maybe you have an area in your studio where they can discover an older piece that is not really part of your new collection. That’s great. That’s fine. But as long as it’s something you still believe in, if you don’t believe in it anymore. Do what Van Gogh did paint over it. He would paint over canvases multiple times. Or Monet? After he had cataract surgery at the end of his life, he took a look at some of his art and said, uh oh, that doesn’t look so good. And he destroyed it. So not everything that we create is worth selling. It just isn’t. Otherwise, you’re holding yourself to a higher standard than Monet and Van Gogh. So I’m not saying you can never sell older work, but I am saying don’t put it front and center as your main representation.
Miriam Schulman: So here’s what you do. Older inventory belongs in a different container. Maybe it is included in a private studio sale locals only event. You don’t want it screaming at people because your public shop is not storage. Your shop is part of your marketing and here’s why this matters for pricing. Curated portfolio equals higher perceived value, which equals pricing power when you curate your signaling, leadership, taste, confidence, and intention. And that’s what makes someone feel safe paying you more. So if you’ve been holding on to a bunch of. Well, I don’t love this, but maybe someone will buy it. This is your permission slip to stop doing that. Your job as an artist is not to sell everything you’ve ever made. Your job is to be known for something and price it like you mean it. Hey, managing your mindset is powerful. It really is. But if you want to build real wealth from your art, you know mindset alone won’t get you there by now. You know you need a coach who not only understands the inner game, but also knows how to get results in your creative business. And that’s what the Inner Circle is all about. I want you to hear from two Inner Circle clients about their results.
Bret Neathery: I had no idea how hard it would be to market my art. I had assumptions, but it’s hard to be able to sort of sift through the clutter and the noise and be able to have a defined strategy that is tried and true. Tested makes all the difference in the world. I saw results probably within 30 days. I started in February, and by June I had already sold over $30,000 in artwork.
Sangeetha Gopalakrishnan: The number one thing is you taking action based on all the strategies in Miriam’s program every week, pick one strategy that you want to try out and focus on that.
Miriam Schulman: Am I right to say you’ve made over $13,000 since you’ve joined?
Sangeetha Gopalakrishnan: Now it’s like slightly more, um, but yeah.
Miriam Schulman: The inner circle is something that’s not for everyone. And you won’t find it on my website because it is by application only. And to learn more, go to SchulmanArt.com/APPLY. The Inner Circle gives you private coaching, strategic support, and a powerful peer group to keep you accountable and on track. If you’re ready to turn your mindset shifts into actual income shifts. Apply now. Go to SchulmanArt.com/APPLY. Eye spots are very limited and I run it in semesters, so this is not open any time to see if I do have room available. You can either email me or like I said, learn more over on my website SchulmanArt.com/APPLY. I. Am going to give you the three real reasons why artists stay underpriced, and these are not very polite. Sorry. So reason number one, you’re trying to avoid rejection. Reason number two, you’re pricing for the wrong buyer. And reason number three you confuse time spent with value delivered especially with intricate work. And here’s the problem. Your buyers, they don’t care how long you spent on anything. They really don’t. They just care how much they want it. That could also be good news for you. If you don’t spend a lot of time on your piece, you can price it high. It doesn’t matter how long you spend on it. That’s the point I’m trying to get across. Your prices are not just numbers, it’s part of your positioning. Okay. Next section. All right. Now I want to talk about the question I get constantly. And you may have asked it too. How do I transition from being a hobby artist to a full time artist? And here’s my answer, which people don’t expect for a lot of you.
Miriam Schulman: It’s mostly a pricing problem, not an Instagram problem, not an audience problem, not an email problem. Not I need more followers. Problem. Not even I need more time problem. It’s that you are trying to build a full time income on hobby pricing. And I’m going to tell you a story. Now I’m going to anonymize it to protect the innocent, because I’m never here to shame anybody. And honestly, I see this story so many times anyway. So it’s like I could substitute anybody in this right now. But this happened recently with an artist who lives in the northeast in an affluent area kind of place where people actually have disposable income, actually value art, actually pay high prices for art. And she does these very intricate portraits, like real legit skill, real legit real labor, real artistry. She was asking me, how do I transition from my job to being a full time artist? And I looked at her website and she was pricing these portraits at $200 And that was low even in the year 2000 2002 when I first started out and I was charging like $2200 or $250. That was low. 25 years ago, it’s really low. So I told her instantly, oh my gosh, you should be charging $1,000. So if you need to ease into it, at the very least put them at $750 right now. Because here’s the thing at $200, she can work her face off and still never create enough margin to make a full time leap.
Miriam Schulman: At $200. You are not building a business. You are building a treadmill. And then she says, what I always hear artists say next, she says, but Miriam, I get pushback, even at $200. And this is the part where I need you to hear me because it’s going to set you free. The people who push you back at $200, they’re not going to buy your art at $200. And so they can go to Times Square and get a caricature made. They are not going to buy your fine art. They can get a camera and take a picture, or they can not even a camera. They can use their cell phone and take a picture of their kid. That’s not your customer. They weren’t going to buy your art at any price. So if you’re the type of person who wants a deal because the deal is the point, that person doesn’t want your art. They want the feeling of getting something for nothing. And if you build your pricing around that person, you end up in the worst possible position. You’re basically designing your business for the worst possible customer, and you’ll be exhausted, resentful, and broke. And by the way, you’re still going to get complaints at those prices. Your ideal customer, a real portrait client, wants something personal, meaningful, beautifully made, and they want to feel proud of commissioning it. They want a story. They want quality. They want an artist they can trust. And here’s what most artists don’t understand.
Miriam Schulman: Your ideal customer will respect you more when you charge a professional price, not less. Because price signals confidence and price signals standards and price signals that you know what you’re doing. You don’t want to be that $5 hooker, because when you charge $200 for a gorgeous artwork in an affluent market, you don’t come across as accessible. You come across as questionable. I had this experience recently. I got an email from an artist that I liked, and they had put their art on sale for Black Friday. And the original was $1,000 and it was marked down to 750. I spent days trying to decide if this was a legitimate original painting or if it was a print. And I kept sending emails to the artist and then even when it arrived. So I made the decision I bought. Even when it arrived, I was still like, is this real? Let me make sure because of the price they paid was so low, it definitely eroded my trust. And my husband’s like, you paid what? It’s like, should there have been another zero after that? So people will start wondering, is this a side thing? Is this going to be awkward? Is the quality inconsistent? Is she desperate? Is she going to be using AI to make my portrait? I know that’s harsh, but that’s really how buyer psychology works. So here’s the cleaner metaphor I want you to remember because it makes this click instantly. You’re not the McDonald’s of the art world. You’re building a steakhouse and a steakhouse is not for everyone.
Miriam Schulman: It’s not supposed to be. So don’t stand outside the steakhouse arguing with somebody who only wants a slice of pizza. Just let them go and get the slice of pizza. Because your job is not to convince bargain hunters. Your job is to serve the people who already value what you do. And once you raised the price, even just moving to that 750 to $1000 range, suddenly the math of going full time started to become realistic. Not because she became a better artist, not because she got more followers. Not because she built her email list, but because she stopped asking her business to survive on scraps. So if you’re sitting there thinking, I can’t go full time yet, I want you to look at your prices before you look at anything else, because you might not need a new life. You might just need new numbers. So let me teach this to you as a rule that you can follow. Pushback does not mean your prices are wrong. Pushback often means you finally crossed the line where bargain hunters notice, and what changes when you raise your ideal customer respects you more when you respect your art and price communicates confidence. And confidence is what sells. So you’ve probably heard that your thoughts create your reality. And it’s true. But without a clear plan, expert strategy and real time feedback, mindset alone can only get you so far. The artists inside my inner circle don’t just think like wealthy creators, they act like them. And here’s how it’s paying off.
Megan Maberry: Part of the reason I wanted to do the inner Circle is so that you would push me, because I can be a pushover in that way, and you’re a little more no nonsense. And then our latest discussion, we arrived at a price that was comfortable enough for me, but I know I still need to go higher. But you’re helping me get there.
Bret Neathery: You had to convince me to raise my prices because I thought living in Springfield, Missouri, you know, that there was a perception that my prices need to be lower than they would in another market. And so that was that took a little bit of coaching on Miriam’s part to get me to, to really believe in myself and my art, but also that people are willing to pay, you know, a little more for your art. I was selling my big paintings, like at $3,500, and Miriam’s like, if they’ll buy, if they’re going to pay 3500, they’ll buy it 5000. And so raised my prices up several thousand dollars. And, you know, still I’m selling paintings. So that’s the really I think the value that Miriam brought was just sort of get me out of that mindset of, doesn’t matter what market you’re in, it doesn’t matter what type of art you do. It’s about having a good messaging and good marketing, and you can sell your art.
Miriam Schulman: If you’re ready to stop second guessing and start growing with an artist business coach who sees your potential and knows exactly how to build your success. Then the inner circle is for you. Learn more and apply now at SchulmanArt.com/APPLY. Spots are very limited and it is by application only. To see if you qualify. Go to SchulmanArt.com/APPLY. So let’s talk about how to fix all this. The goal is to stop relying on one price point and stop acting like a flea market table or a garage sale. So your originals the work you want to be known for, they should be priced the highest. Now you can have an accessible entry point, but that should be prints and it should match the same esthetic as your flagship originals. And there is a collector pathway. So commission tiers Series sets, limited editions, upgrades. It’s a ladder. So here’s the key rule your entry point should support your premium work, not sabotage it. So the entry point could be $100 or $200 print, not 100 or $200. Original. Okay. So let’s talk about when it’s time to raise your prices. So I’ve had several artists inside the inner circle who’ve been raising their prices consistently throughout the year, throughout 2025, because they were selling consistently. They had repeat buyers, they were booked out.
Miriam Schulman: They were improving their skill, their materials, and they were getting more recognition. Those are all reasons to raise your prices. But I’m going to give you one more. If you feel resentment or burnout at the current price, that’s a huge tell. That’s when I raised my every time I felt icky about a portrait. I raised my price and the commissions didn’t stop. I remember when I was so tired of doing pet portraits, and I told Anna she was still working for me. This was Anna’s been with me a long time, by the way, like 11 years now. But I remember selling her double the prices and I got three orders in the same week, and one of them was by somebody who had bought it at the lower price. And did they complain? No, no they didn’t. Just a bigger sign that my prices were too low all along. Let’s keep this really simple. You can raise your prices twice a year. You can raise your prices after every milestone. Maybe once you get a waitlist, maybe after you get new press, a new collection. A good sign of it is that you’re not keeping art in stock. That’s true of my clients, Sangeetha. She is not keeping her art in stock. She definitely needs to keep raising her prices.
Miriam Schulman: So let’s talk about now your 2026 pricing reset plan. It is a seven step checklist. Number one, remove anything you wouldn’t be proud to be judged by. Number two curate your shop like a gallery wall, not a storage unit. Number three pick your flagship work and set a serious anchor price. Number four build the ladder. Flagship entry point. Pathway five raise your prices. You don’t have to boil the ocean though. Number six update your language. Pricing reflects demand, craftsmanship, and the experience of owning the work. And number seven, practice saying the price like it’s normal because for your buyer it is. So if $5,000 if saying that freaks you out, practice this 5000 bananas 5000 monkeys. Five K. All right. You don’t become full time by selling cheap work. Nobody ever did that. You become full time by selling the right work at the right price. All right, my friend, if you liked today’s episode, make sure you hit subscribe. Hit the thumbs up. Leave a comment below to let me know what you thought. And if you know an artist you think would benefit from this episode, make sure you share it with them. They’ll thank you for it. I’ll see you next week. Same time, same place. Until then, stay inspired. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to the Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/SchulmanArt, on Instagram at @SchulmanArt, and of course, on SchulmanArt.com.
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