Fair market value

[Jake Helmboldt]

I'm donating a hollow form of ~10" diameter to a fundraiser auction and need to submit a fair market/retail value. I usually put a value of ~$60-80 for a typical medium size bowl (decorative, not utility), but have not donated a hollow form before. Any guidance is appreciated. I was thinking something in the realm of $200. Exact price isn't crucial, but I wanted to get an idea what others would typically consider a fair price/value.

[Todd Bin]

What wood did you use? Sometimes if it is an exotic you could have over $100 just in the wood. Imagine a 10" sphere made of ebony vs. a 10" sphere made of red oak.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Sorry, it was a stump burl I got from a bum tree. Nothing crazy, and free wood.

[Dan Forman]

Keep in mind that in the art world, the value of the object is associated more with the name recognition of the artist than the size of the form or type of wood.

Dan

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jake - a photo would really help.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I'll post a photo when finished. I need to turn the tennon off and apply the finish

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Jake I hope that your not going to try to use the fair market value as a tax deduction. Artist are only able to take a charitable deduction for the Actual Cost of Materials for the piece. They Can Not deduct the sale price or market value.

[John Keeton]

Joe, I would imagine they have asked him for the retail value because the purchaser can deduct the amount paid for the piece that exceeds the value - assuming, of course, that it is a charitable organization under 501C(3). It may also have an effect on the bidding, though the lower the value the better the deduction for the purchaser!!

[Reed Gray]

Fair market value is as fickle as sales at shows. It depends on a lot of things. Part is how famous you are. Part is the materials. Part is the actual form. Part is how much people are willing to pay for the piece. I have to almost give away hollow forms here. It might be because I do mostly bowls, and hollow forms are strange to my customers. It might be because my forms are rather primitive as I don't do that many. It might be because people don't really appreciate what goes into making them. My sister, who was in PA at the time bought a spaulted elm vase from some one I had never heard of. She paid over $300 for it. I would have had a hard time selling the same piece for $50 here.

robo hippy

[Jake Helmboldt]

John is correct. The donation form asks for this value. It is for my daughter's school fundraiser auction.

[Pat Scott]

I've donated items to my niece's fundraiser auctions as well. I do it to help her, but boy have I learned that is the wrong audience (cheap). This last auction I donated a nice 11" Maple Salad Bowl that should easily sell for $125 to $140. I think I was conservative and put $125 on the form. There were just two bids on it, the final sale price was $40. Someone got a great bowl for next to nothing. It's almost not worth me doing it, but my niece appreciates it.
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Another year I donated a 12" x 16" end-grain cutting board out of Maple, Walnut, and Cherry. This type of cutting board goes for $175 to $200 in stores, so I put $160 on the auction form. It sold for $60. I think the fundraiser is just the wrong audience, people don't want to spend the money or don't appreciate handmade items. Or they need to make it a free bar and get people loosened up!
Board 1-1.jpg

[John Keeton]

Pat, this has been my experience, as well. There is an added problem - your name is on the piece, and I fear the public gets the perception that your work in inexpensive. I wonder how many folks will tell others - yeah, I bought that for $40! For that reason, I prefer to not donate work for an auction, and in lieu, simply make a donation. Sounds selfish, I guess, but when one is trying to create a market for turned art, it just is counterproductive.

I do believe there are auction venues where this might not occur, but most of the local charity causes have results similar to what you describe. I have a friend that donated some very nice cherry flatwork, and he ended up buying it back at the auction simply because he could not bear to see it go so cheap.

[Curt Fuller]

Pat, this has been my experience, as well. There is an added problem - your name is on the piece, and I fear the public gets the perception that your work in inexpensive. I wonder how many folks will tell others - yeah, I bought that for $40! For that reason, I prefer to not donate work for an auction, and in lieu, simply make a donation. Sounds selfish, I guess, but when one is trying to create a market for turned art, it just is counterproductive.

I do believe there are auction venues where this might not occur, but most of the local charity causes have results similar to what you describe. I have a friend that donated some very nice cherry flatwork, and he ended up buying it back at the auction simply because he could not bear to see it go so cheap.

That's interesting that you would receive less at a charity auction. I donate every year to three fundraising events and every time my pieces have sold for far higher prices than I've ever been able to sell them for myself. I think it might depend on the type of event. All three I donate to are black tie, la-ti-da affairs that I can't afford to even attend. But they raise big money for a local nature center, the community art center, and a handicapped childrens charity. Our turning club donates a Christmas tree every year and we learned that at that particular event the fair market value we state also happens to be the minimum bid price they attach to the tree. The first year we calculate the material costs of the tree as the market value and it sold for just slightly over that. We have since put a $2500 market value on the trees and they have far exceeded that every year.

[Paul Williams]

My experience is similar to Curt's. The people attending make all the difference. One charity event I contribute to attracts people looking for bargains. My work doesn't bring what I could sell it for. Another supports a local school. It attracts people who support the school and know they are there to raise money. I just wish I could charge what they pay at auction. One piece went for ten times what I valued it at. The buyer was obviously making a contribution more than buying a bowl.

[Bill Wyko]

You may start by going to your local wood supplier and see what they would sell a blank similar to yours for, then factor in your time. At least it's a starting point. I have burls that were over $100.00 just for the wood. You may have more value in your piece than you realize. Good luck on the sale.

I have to agree with John K about the perception of your worth. I went to a woodworking show anticipating setting up a booth. When I saw people selling segmented turnings for 60 bucks, I browsed and left.
I've also been in reputable shows and made substantial money on my work. It's always easy to come down on price but a steep climb to raise them.