A picture frame should not cost more than the print or poster it was bought for

Many Customers who walk into a picture framer's shop thinking that a picture frame should not cost more than the print that they want framed.  And in our many years of picture framing experience, by far the most of Customers' artwork brought in for picture framing, is commercial, mass-produced, disposable and inexpensive. This is particularly so with oil paintings and batiks or similar art bought for a few dollars at popular, overseas tourist holiday resorts. This art often comes in various media, shapes and  sizes. Frequently, it can be cheaply put into cheap ready-made picture frames by the Customers themselves. Infrequently, some will need to be custom picture framed locally, and this will invariably cost more. Many customers are shocked to learn that their big, cheap Balinese oil painting bought for $30 may cost them a few hundred to get  picture framed locally.

One reason for this is our higher, Australian living standards and our greater, expected R.O.I. than many overseas, developing countries. Developing countries' materials, rents, taxes, imposts, utilities and labour costs to produce local art is usually a fraction of the production costs of Western countries. This is why it can easily cost $50 or more to custom picture frame a cheap, $50 Balinese batik or oil painting.

That said, another, disparate reason as to why picture framing is too expensive for lot of customers is that many older, established picture framers often adopt very conservative picture framing practices. These framers tend to price and practise conservation picture framing on every customer who walks in and with each picture frame they do. In part, they're abetted to do so by various, self-interested picture framing suppliers and industry bodies.

These often maintain that since they supply the very best materials, conservation framing proffers the greatest profit margin potential. Conservation picture framing is an excellent work practice as it requires using more elaborate picture framing methods and high-quality materials. However this is often over-framing and over-pricing for much of the digitally printed, low-value, commercial work that customers bring in.

Put in in another way, Volvo and Saab are reputed to be amongst the world's safest cars.  But do most average Australians workers want and buy them? No, because while these are good, safe cars, they're just to expensive to buy. And so they instead buy cheaper Kias Hyundais. We maintain that many picture framers do themselves and their industry a disservice by not embracing a broader, pricing democracy which ought to proffer customers not just conservation or museum picture framing, but also, cheap ready-made frames, plastic frames, clip frames and other inexpensive framing products. Thank you for reading this post " A picture frame should cost no more than the print or poster it was bought for.".