DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a fine artist, with a studio attached to my home. Friends and visitors often ask to see the studio, and I am happy to oblige. Sometimes, a visitor will ask how much a particular piece costs.
This puts me on the spot. I usually say, “Well, I would normally charge $300 for that painting, but with my ‘friends and family’ discount, I would charge $150.”
On a few occasions, I’ve had a visitor who looks aghast and murmurs something to the effect of, “I didn’t think it would be so expensive.”
Miss Manners, I do not know how to respond! I have already halved the price (which is never outlandish to begin with), and am now made to feel I’m being greedy or unreasonable. My reaction has been a strained smile and some breezy comment about how the piece was particularly time-consuming, etc., but by then the atmosphere has changed, and is difficult to undo.
Am I being rude? Should I have declined to discuss prices in this context? I suspect my guest has been rude by implying my work is not worth the (discounted!) price. How can I handle this situation more politely in the future?
GENTLE READER: Although the studio is adjacent to your home, you keep it separate for a reason (less paint in the yogurt). Miss Manners wonders if your guests need more space between their slightly impertinent question and the implied sales pitch of your answer: They may have asked the price out of mere curiosity.
Either tell them you have not yet set a price, or, if you think they are serious about a purchase, tell them that you would sell it to a commercial dealer for $300 — with an emphasis on the word “commercial” that invites them to ask a further question.
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(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)
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