Why Do People Buy Giclees?

Why do they buy? Because they have wall space to fill and think your work would look nice there.

Since you have a lot of industrial work I image many buy for offices or lobbies of companies what deal with the industries in the photos.

Why do you hang the art you hang? People buy within their price range. Not everyone can afford rarity.

There is no pat answer to this. I think people buy for a variety of reasons. Much of what I've sold is specific to a vacation area or of the Milwaukee Art Museum. Places and things that people have a connection to or have an emotional attachment to. I can't imagine the Art Museum shots being hung in a living room, but an office or den, most certainly.

If a customer has thousands of dollars to spend on art, they are not going to spend it on an ink jet print.

^ What Marlene said :))

Edward. Good answer for why some buy my photos. I also sell to lonely wives of sailors and rig workers. I wasn't asking about my art. I was aking about yours.
Chuck, no pat answer, the purpose of the thread is to find the many answers not the one reason

Marlene i set a limit of one thousand and no limit on quantity to get the focus away from price. I don't think you read my post and that answer has nothing to do with a budget of a thousand or less per print. I certainly have had many sales of multiple pieces adding up to a thousand.

Zeanna. If I make the budget lower does that make it easier to answer?

Some of this was touched on in a thread about paintings. I had already been planning this thread for a week.
No one knows why people buy their own prints or why they would buy a print for themselves. I gave imaginary money to get away from strictly price.

in this day i think only the rich buy art to invest. most just want something pretty to look at. giclee is an inkjet but it sounds fancy. its like saying i'm eating escargot. it sounds better than a pile of snails.

people spend all kind of money on luxuries, just to show they can. and for those that can't afford peter lik's stuff, or a painting, they may instead want art from my store http://www.MikeSavad.com where the images all look like paintings.

for me i'm selling a memory.

its more than just the art, it's a part of someone's life, something they can identify with, it makes them happy. and that's why they get it from me. i try to pay attention to the different things sold to get a better idea of who my people are. there is always a pattern. education doesn't matter, the finished piece matters. i don't buy art, i make it, if i had a $1000 i would get something else. i have no wall space.

this is a better question to ask on facebook.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I think it's a great way to collect an artist. People will also buy a print of the original they bought.

Here is a blog article on matching your art to sofa pillow :)
http://mary-ellen-anderson-fine-art.blogspot.com/2013/07/selling-art-does-your-wall-art-match.html

-- mary ellen anderson

Bradford, I didn't misread..perhaps, you mistyped...
"Assume you had a thousand US dollars to work with to buy one or more pieces."

I answered having thousands of dollars to spend on one piece as was inferred.

Good answers Mike. Memories yes. I sell them too. Photos I take today are the futures memories. Those that paint can go far beyond memories and recreate history also. But it is still a visual connection to the past.

Why Facebook? We are selling here. Shouldn't we be looking a why people buy? I didn'y post this thread to know what you wold buy if you had a thousand. I mentioned the thousand to make it easier to imagine what you would buy. That seems to be confusing some. Most of what is here as giclees is under a thousand. So you could even buy more than one. If you are buying what would you be looking for? It could even be a gift.

Ok Marlene. I meant a thousand total budget.( "a thousand to work with'). You still have given no answer on why people buy giclees. The is for a giclees on substrate of choice and shipped. I didn't think I was making it a large budget. You realize that decorators spend a lot more than that here?

I don't buy prints ( I can make them myself). I think the buyers brought my prints here are being use to decorate their walls and I don't consider as art collectors. One doesn't needs to spent a thousand US dollar for good original art. Last week, I brought three glass marbles from an artist, all one of a kind pieces for less than a $100.

Wow Mary Ellen! To match art you already own as original. I never would have thought of that, but then I only sell prints.

Alfred. Decorate walls. That's pretty straight forward. But why one over the other? You have not even given an answer. Yes originals can be had for much less than $1,000. That is a reason to buy an original not a giclee.

Here is an answer for art that has originals. If the person likes the original but it has already sold perhaps that would buy the print instead.

Here is another angle. People buy art for their wall to express part of themselves to others. It could range from "I like football", "Went to Yellowstone" to "We are in the oil business" to "I'm a complex person with deep emotional thoughts and I thought this abstract painting express my inner turmoil perfectly without words" or whatever.

The print part comes from being affordable or not caring that its a one of a kind or not.

Bradford, why not just clarify your opener, so that others will not be confused by your confusing statement? I wasn't giving you a hard time, but simply responding to what YOU wrote.

To answer the question, I haven't a clue.
I have always lived by the following rule....Buy the largest piece of original art that you can afford by an artist whose work you love. I always recommend that to clients as well.

Good thing about "disposable" art as another thread put it, is that tastes change. If you don't want to be stuck with your decisions for the rest of your life, affordable art can easily be swapped out. No need to worry about forcing your tastes on your off spring via inheritance.

Sure those big eyed kids were cool in the 70s but now they rank along with Cabbage Patch dolls and beanie babies. No need to advertise via your living room that you are stuck in a previous decade. Update your decor and your artwork with affordable glicees from quality artists. Even those Ansel Adams posters look rather dated yet I have a friend who still hangs his (circa college years) art work in the family room.

Giclee as opposed to what?

Original paintings? Probably because the originals are out of their budget or unavailable.

Photographs? Unless someone is shooting transparencies, there are no originals, and giclee is generally a better medium than chemical prints.

Good reasons Edward. Marlene I amended the opener.

One reason to buy giclees online is the sizes are often larger than what can be offered from a traditional C print or R print that you get from a photo lab. For paintings you can go larger than the original, which is nice if you like the painting but need larger for decor.
Also if you like an artist it is often more affordable to buy a print than the original. But if the original is not available buying a favorite work by the artist is a nice way to build a collection.
Oh David beat me to it on the C print.

But why one over the other?
there could be million different reasons and we would never know, I just sold one yesterday of a green cymbidium orchid, perhaps it was the color green which matches the color of the curtains? the square size fit perfectly for that empty space in the bathroom? or the buyer loves orchid or maybe they just like my icon on my page? LOL

David you gave reasons to buy giclees in general. The question was posed to those selling. "Why do people buy your art? "

The question was posed to those buying.
What would make you want to buy art prints here? What would you look for?

Sorry I guess that was not clear. I am not asking why buy a giclee. I am asking what qualities of a giclee you would look for. Subject, style etc.

The budget was to take price out of the equation a bit.

This is an except on why people rent art, but the same would apply to buying.

Why Rent Art


The most common reason for renting, among all types of art renters, is to have pieces rotating in and out of their space that enables them to spark up conversations with guests either on a continuous basis or just for special occasions at a lower cost. Keep your waiting room, home, or business engaging with your personally selected fine art collection.
Why Individuals Rent Art:

People choosing art for their homes are often intimidated by the thought of making a major investment in art. Renting allows the customer to “try” before they buy. Want to check if your art matches your couch cushions? Rent it for a week and see. The vast majority of renters do end up purchasing but renting allows buyers to spread this cost out, afford more art, and allow them to fine tune their collection.
Renting artwork allows home owners to have beautiful art in their home at any time (maybe they are staging their home for sale, or trying to impress visitors for a party, need ‘props’ for wedding pictures or family portraits, etc), and when they want a new look they can simply rent a different piece.
Apartment renters and student housing residents like rental because their space may change frequently.
As your taste change so can your art, or maybe you have limited space. Keep it at least 3 months at low LT rates and you can return it or swap it for new art. Just perfect for a new look each season of the year.
Just got to have the original or commissioned piece but need to make payments, rent-to-own is for you.

Why Companies Rent Art:
Many businesses are choosing art rentals instead of purchasing because it allows them to keep their decor fresh without having to invest a lot of money into new art.
Changing the artwork regularly enables employers to set the tone of the room(s) depending on how they want to be seen by their clients or create an atmosphere for their employees.

Find out for yourself how practical and easy renting art is at MEA Fine Art.

-- mary ellen anderson

Honestly, I think it is just a market like any other, and the prices range from as small to as high as anyone can imagine. The average person buying a giclee print may do it for a number of reasons:

* they can get a work done by a documented, identifiable (if not "known") artist rather than a generic mass produced anonymous piece
* they might be able to get a work by an artist they appreciate at a more affordable price for them
* in many cases the original a person wants from a specific artist could simply be unavailable - so a giclee could be the next best thing
* one may have a greater selection of choices with giclees than if limited to originals
* definitely the spontaneous or impulse purchase

In a way, I think this question relates to the thread about Peter Lik.

For starters, any photo ever sold is some kind of a print. If Jeff Wall or Peter Lik sells an "ink jet" or any other kind of print, it will still have substantial value. The type of print or terminology (giclee, etc...) does have a bearing but doesn't tell anything definitive.

I have a printer sitting in front of me to my left that cost $119 that I use for printing invoices. The one behind me cost $7000 and that is the one I use for giclees. Both printers are technically "ink jets". So it is could be misleading to base any conclusions on ones interpretation of this kind of a term.

What a print will sell for depends mostly on the profile and the marketing of the artist.

Alfred I guess we would never know unless they old us honestly. That's why I also asked what you would want. But you said you don't buy. So maybe square is the main thing. Square and green are market niches. So are orchids.
Finding reasons why people but is not easy, but basic to selling.

Alfred I guess we would never know unless they old us honestly. That's why I also asked what you would want. But you said you don't buy. So maybe square is the main thing. Square and green are market niches. So are orchids.
Finding reasons why people but is not easy, but basic to selling.

When I started collecting art, it was back in the 80s. Many of the reasons I wanted art were stated by Edward above.

But the originals I liked were nearly 100K, so the only choices were serigraphs. They were a mere $2,000 to $6,000 each.

We are sooooooo fortunate to live in this world where practically anyone can afford larger copies of the art they love.

So my answer is: Because they can.

you ask on facebook because you'll find more buyers of art there, then in a place where we make the art and ask the same questions. i understood the question, i just don't buy things like that. i get practical things i can use, not things to look at.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Art is the most practical thing of all!

So Mike. I am asking artists because I would have thought they have devoted a considerable amount of time finding out the answers. Apparently a lot of people are just posting up art and hoping people will buy it because it is their art. There must be a reason to make that final choice of one piece over another.

nope. i make art for myself. usually all it takes is to create something you like. in the way you like doing it. and if others like it, they will buy it. from there you can custom tailor it to the things that people buy. usually when someone likes something, the money doesn't matter so much. since you had a certain amount of money set aside for art of some kind. then it all depends on the art they like. for some people money doesn't matter, they like it, so they get it. the final choice is - they like it better than the other one. no different than preferring one flavor over another.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Bradford, you will have far more success if you ask the buyers. ;)
We are the makers.

Yes Marlene. Thanks to those who gave some answers. This is far too much work so I am closing this.

I was expecting a different response. My fault.

Yes Marlene. Thanks to those who gave some answers. This is far too much work so I am closing this.

I was expecting a different response. My fault.