Pricing visible or hidden on your own site?

Visible pricing, no question. When I list limited edition prints from my night shoots, I want someone browsing at 1 a.m. to be able to just decide and buy. Adding a "contact for price" step is friction that kills the momentum of someone who already connected with the image. People don't want to send an email and wait for a reply just to learn whether something fits their budget. That waiting period is where you lose them. For original one offs you could note that the price reflects it being a unique piece, but let them see the number and act on it.

Showing the price does something beyond just saving people an email. It anchors the value of your work publicly, which matters when you also sell through other channels or at events. I list prices on my site even though most of my sales still involve a conversation first. That number sitting next to the piece sets a reference point. If someone later sees the same print at a market or a gallery, there is no confusion about what it costs or what it is worth. For warm, moody work like yours, the conversation will still happen naturally. The price just makes sure you are not undermining yourself elsewhere by being opaque in one place.

Hi there! The debate is real, and the fact that you're wrestling with it instead of defaulting to one or the other puts you ahead of most.

The pattern that holds across artists selling direct: show the price. Here's why:

- Hiding it doesn't open a conversation with serious buyers — it filters them out before they ever reach out. The people who DO email to ask the price often ghost when they hear it, because the friction of asking meant they were never in range to begin with.

- Visible pricing eliminates the "am I wasting this artist's time?" fear that stops borderline buyers cold. They self-qualify, and the ones who click buy were always going to buy.

- The personal exchange still happens — it just happens AFTER the sale when someone emails with a framing question, a custom request, or to say the piece arrived. That's a better conversation than "how much?"

- For original work specifically, the price IS part of the story. Hiding it creates suspicion ("if I have to ask, I can't afford it") more often than it creates intrigue.

The move: price visible, buy button live. Let the work and the price do the first filter, and save your energy for the buyers who are already in.

Other resources you might find helpful:

- Should Artists List Prices on Their Website? The Gallery Test (Art Marketing Podcast) — Data-driven argument for displaying prices publicly on artist websites, with the 'Gallery Test' framework for making website decisions.

- Artworks With Visible Prices Sell Up to Six Times More Often. Patrick Explains Why Most Artists Still Won't Show Theirs. — Data shows visible pricing increases sales 2-6x; concrete reasons why artists should display prices rather than hide them.

- Three Artists Got Honest About Pricing Their Work. The Part About Matching the Couch Changed How I Think About Collectors. — Deep dive into artists' mindsets about pricing and value that addresses underlying hesitation about displaying prices publicly.

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I totally agree with all those who've already commented.

I changed my website package recently and am no longer able to show prices. However, I'm aiming to add them again as soon as I can. Seeing the price gives viewers a feel for your value as an artist, allows them to act immediately to purchase and, if you're offering limited edition prints as well as original work, having the price for each option helps you justify the pricing.

I really support having prices clear and visible. And the reason is not about saving the buyer time or being transparent; it's about treating your website as a transactional avenue. Your visitor are there for one reason only, and that is that they like your art and might want to buy it; hence, they are thinking about what artwork in your collection accommodates both their needs and their budget.

I agree that you should show your pricing on your site. Purchasing art online already has a lot of friction points (print size, print media options, framing,etc) -not showing your prices will cause people to move on.

price on the piece ,
as has been said, you want the viewer to make the decision there and then.
if you want to add something about contacting you for a curated set of images that you might not have on your site, then that could be an option