Interesting some of the comments here.
Possibly an "attitude adjustment" for a few artists is in order......
Should the artist control the retail price?
I have an opinion about this......and that opinion is the artist should, in most cases, forget completely about the price your item fetches in the gallery. He should concern himself with what amount of money he gets, and leave the final price up to the gallery.
A gallery owner, or manager, will give you a percentage of retail figure.....and when he does, it binds you both to a price agreement based on percentage of retail price. For most galleries, this is simply the way things are done......and, whatever percentage they consider is their fair share of the sale is THEIR business, not yours. Some galleries have contracts they feel are mandatory, and if they do, that's that! .....sign the contract, and be done with it!
However, if you give the gallery some leeway to make big profits, they just might put a little more effort into selling your items. Some of you might be well advised to consider telling a high potential gallery that you just don't care what their mark-up is......but you need to price your items according to what you need to get for them. You NEED to be specific about this, and make no room for misunderstanding. They need to know, without any doubt, that they have this extra profit potential when taking your work.
Would you take 25% of the total price your item sells for, if that gallery is very enthusiastic about promoting you, gives you the money you ask for your work.....and, MOVES your items? That is a question that sounds like some of you would answer "no way" to.....but, one or two of you might say..........."hell yeah!"
On a related note, I once had a gallery owner ask for me to sign an agreement that gave her the exclusive rights to my turned bowls for a specific region of territory. I did not sign that agreement, but I did promise her that if she were successful in selling the bowls I gave her....I would. (Turns out, she does not sell very many of my bowls, but does produce a few sales...........not worth signing any agreements, in my opinion.)
Bottom line.......forget about concerning yourself with what the final retail price is.....if they sell your items, and you get the money you ask for, that's all that matters!
ooc