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I have a knockoff (or a 'copy', as some like to say) Yue Minjun piece from one of these places. Aside from a couple minor flaws, it's actually fairly high quali

I have a knockoff (or a 'copy', as some like to say) Yue Minjun piece from one of these places. Aside from a couple minor flaws, it's actually fairly high quality. Having it framed was about 13x more expensive than the painting itself.

chrischen 11y ago
The economics of framing are tricky too. Frames are actually just as cheap in China FOB price, especially if they are a mass-produced size. Even if not mass-produced, a frame from China would be priced in line with a custom painting. The issue is that shipping prices are by weight, and the frames are usually much more heavy than a piece of canvas. This significantly drives up the total price of a frame from China, and lets American framing companies charge much higher prices. Pro tip: get the artwork in a size that already fits a standard frame size and you'll save a ton of money.
- ben010783 11y ago
  To add to your tip about standard frame size, you can also add a mat to make a piece fit into a standard frame.
- sithadmin 11y ago
  >The issue is that shipping prices are by weight, and the frames are usually much more heavy than a piece of canvas Which is precisely why I brought the canvas home in a tube. >Pro tip: get the artwork in a size that already fits a standard frame size and you'll save a ton of money. Eh. I looked at such options, but wasn't impressed. Ended up settling on a fairly oddball, incandescently red glossy frame. Goes well alongside the subjects (a bunch of PLA guys).
- drited 11y ago
  As an aside, the custom framing business in the US is a high ROIC business with have regional economies of scale (implies local but not national scalability and hence sustainable competitive advantage) which is dominated by a company that was bought by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
ww520 11y ago
Custom framing is expensive. Standard size frames are actually reasonably priced. What I ended up doing is to find a standard size frame first, then find the painting that fixes the frame. It's kind of backward but it works.

chrischen 11y ago

The economics of framing are tricky too. Frames are actually just as cheap in China FOB price, especially if they are a mass-produced size. Even if not mass-produced, a frame from China would be priced in line with a custom painting. The issue is that shipping prices are by weight, and the frames are usually much more heavy than a piece of canvas. This significantly drives up the total price of a frame from China, and lets American framing companies charge much higher prices. Pro tip: get the artwork in a size that already fits a standard frame size and you'll save a ton of money.

ben010783 11y ago
To add to your tip about standard frame size, you can also add a mat to make a piece fit into a standard frame.
sithadmin 11y ago
>The issue is that shipping prices are by weight, and the frames are usually much more heavy than a piece of canvas Which is precisely why I brought the canvas home in a tube. >Pro tip: get the artwork in a size that already fits a standard frame size and you'll save a ton of money. Eh. I looked at such options, but wasn't impressed. Ended up settling on a fairly oddball, incandescently red glossy frame. Goes well alongside the subjects (a bunch of PLA guys).
drited 11y ago
As an aside, the custom framing business in the US is a high ROIC business with have regional economies of scale (implies local but not national scalability and hence sustainable competitive advantage) which is dominated by a company that was bought by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

ww520 11y ago

Custom framing is expensive. Standard size frames are actually reasonably priced. What I ended up doing is to find a standard size frame first, then find the painting that fixes the frame. It's kind of backward but it works.