Hello Sabine, and everyone!
I totally agree with everything that has been said about this
subject so far! It is very important to have something in
writing…not just to protect you, the artist, but, to protect
all parties involved.
My consignment contract is pretty straight forward (no
"legal-ese"). I cover everything from the payment date (1st,
15th, or 30th of each month), responsibility for loss (galleries’
responsibility!), upkeep of items while in their gallery
(something that is sometimes overlooks and is very important,
esp. when dealing with jewelry), ownership of the items (items
should remain the artist’s property until the item is paid for),
termination of contract (2 weeks unless another arrangement is
agreed upon by both parties), condition of items returned (must
be returned in “resaleable” condition - any items not returned in
good condition will be subject to a “restocking fee” of 5% of
the wholesale price), set retail price (contracted at keystone
unless another amount is agreed upon by both parties), and a
statement that has the store agree to abide by all the terms
stated. Both you and they should then sign and date the contract.
(I probably left something out, but, most of it was covered in
other responses)
Some other things you should consider before committing to
consignment - Be certain that a large percentage of the items the
gallery are on consignment. If they don’t have a lot of
experience with consignment, it could be too much of a risk. Find
out how they keep track of their sales. Make sure you get a list
of all of the items sold in the previous month. Ask the gallery
to do a physical inventory periodically. If they say they don’t
have the time, send them a pre-made list of inventory so they can
just check off the items they still have. (I figure, why not make
it easy for them to take good care of your work? Besides, it is
still legally “your inventory” and you’ll need to know where your
inventory stands at least quarterly!)
You can find sample consignment contracts in books that talk
about the “business of being an artist” in the arts section and
small business section of larger book stores. I also found a
pretty good consignment contract in a comprehensive book in the
"legal forms" section of my local Office Max…hmm…I forgot the
name of the book. It was pretty big and had all kinds of
contracts for a small business.
Anyway, bottom line…follow your instincts, ask for artist
references if necessary, and understand that the gallery isn’t
thinking about your work as much as you are.
Good Luck!
Marlo M.
Seattle, WA