The Strategies Art Dealers Use to Discount Artists’ Work

The art market is notoriously opaque when it comes to pricing. While some auction results are publicly available, prices for works on the primary market are rarely bandied about. To add to the opacity, these prices are often subject to negotiable discounts, meaning the asking price a gallerist provides may not be the market price for the work in question.

These discounts are sometimes axiomatic; per conventional wisdom, no one pays “sticker price.” Generally, collectors, even new collectors, can ask for a discount of 10% without insulting anyone. Institutions and museums, or private individuals who exhibit their collections to the public, can get as much as 20%. But dealers and collectors say discounts are not necessarily standard, and can be proffered, expanded, or ignored depending on the circumstances. …Read More