Pricing work can be a difficult task. As part of being a self-employed artist you are legally required to keep records of your sales by keeping copies of your invoices. In addition, expenses are an important aspect of weighing up the costing and pricing of work.

Read the new article 'How to Price Your Artwork', written for Artquest by Medeia Cohan-Petrolino of the University of the Arts London Emerging Artists Programme. 

When creating work, there are the usual costs of materials, equipment, travel, studio rent, utility bills, and services such as framing or casting. It is a difficult task pricing work when first starting out, Whatever price level is decided, these should be adhered to. Varying prices on the same piece of work in a series of exhibitions, for example, undermines your market and affects the confidence of any potential buyer.  For a brief introduction on how to think about pricing your work, see the Self-Promotion Guide: Selling at an Exhibiton article.

You should also bear in mind that primary market selling prices for work (i.e. direct from the artist, not in auction or between dealers) can never can be reduced once a higher price is set.  New graduates in particular can be tempted to set prices too high for degree show work and thus 'trap' themselves in a market price bracket too high for their future sales to sustain.