To price surface pattern designs, first decide whether each design is sold exclusive (to one buyer, then off sale for good) or non-exclusive (to many buyers), then set a price for each. As a starting point, we suggest non-exclusive from around £50 and exclusive from £500–£550, around €400 or around $700. On The Pattern Cloud the price is always yours to set, so treat these as a place to begin, not a price list.
When a buyer asks "Is this one exclusive? And what's your price?", "Erm, it depends" has already lost some of the negotiation. Here is how to answer confidently.
Key takeaways
- Exclusive means one buyer, once. Non-exclusive means many buyers, and a design sold that way can't become exclusive later.
- Exclusives cost more because you give up every future sale of that design, and the buyer gets a print no competitor can use.
- Start from around £50 non-exclusive and £500–£550 exclusive, write it into a rate card and review it every season.
What is the difference between exclusive and non-exclusive designs?
- Exclusive designs are sold to one buyer only, then come off your storefront for good. The buyer usually expects the design to be theirs, so agree in writing exactly what they're getting.
- Non-exclusive designs can be sold to many buyers. The price per sale is lower, but one design can earn again and again, which makes it the steadiest income in many studio archives.
One rule: a design already sold non-exclusively can't later be sold as exclusive, because other buyers already have it, so decide before the first sale. For the basics, see our guide to selling surface pattern designs.
Why do exclusive designs cost more?
- You give up every future sale. A non-exclusive print might sell ten, twenty or fifty times. An exclusive sells once, so its price has to cover the income you'll never earn from it again.
- The buyer gets an edge. A print no competitor can use protects their range, their marketing and their margins.
- The design becomes theirs. Buyers typically expect to adapt, recolour and use an exclusive across products without coming back to you.
- It's usually your strongest work. The prints buyers want exclusively tend to be your most original, trend-led and time-consuming, often with engineered repeats and several colourways.
Other studios price the same way. Lovely People Studio's published price list puts exclusives at roughly three times the non-exclusive equivalent, and Pattern Observer suggests two to four times. Our gap is wider because a non-exclusive design on your own storefront is a volume product, priced to sell often.
How much should you charge for a print design?
These are our suggested starting points, and many studios price well above them.
- Non-exclusive: from around £50 in the UK, with your own equivalent for Europe and the US. Sold again and again to many buyers.
- Exclusive: £500–£550 in the UK, around €400 in Europe and around $700 in the US. Sold once, then off sale for good.
A quick sanity check: at these prices, a non-exclusive design has to sell about ten times to earn what one exclusive does. If it's likely to sell that often, sell it non-exclusive. If it's a one-off hero print a buyer is fighting for, sell it exclusive.
The Europe and US figures are not straight currency conversions, because buyers in different markets pay differently. Our upcoming guide to territory pricing covers this.
What moves your price up or down?
- Originality and craft. Hand-painted, detailed or technically complex work deserves more than a quick blender.
- Repeats and colourways. Engineered repeats, placements and extra colourways add real time. Include a set number in your price and charge for more.
- Timing. A print that hits the season's direction (painterly florals and paisley in the SS27 print trends, for example) is worth more while buyers are sourcing it.
- Category and buyer. Home and interiors buyers often pay more than fashion buyers, and a global brand using your print across a whole range gets more from it than a small label.
- Collections. A hero, two coordinates and a blender can be priced slightly below the sum of their parts to lift your average order.
Which designs should you sell exclusive or non-exclusive?
Most studios sell both. Keep exclusive for hero prints, new trend-led work and anything a buyer has shown strong interest in. Sell blenders, coordinates, classic motifs and archive work non-exclusive, often priced lower to keep it selling.
Review the split each season. An exclusive unsold for a year might earn more as a non-exclusive, but the move only works one way.
How to build a print studio rate card
- Set two base prices: non-exclusive and exclusive, in one colourway, in your main market.
- Add extras, not new prices: a fixed fee per extra colourway, for repeat engineering and for rush turnaround.
- Set a price per territory, in your buyers' currencies, rounded to clean numbers.
- Write down your floor: the lowest you'll accept for an exclusive, and when you'd go there (a strategic new buyer, an older design). A floor set calmly now protects you from a nervous decision in January.
- Review it every season. Before Heimtextil (12–15 January 2027) and Première Vision Paris (26–28 January 2027) is the natural moment to prepare for the busiest season in surface pattern design.
How to handle buyer pushback on price
Buyers negotiate. It's their job, not a sign your price is wrong.
- Offer the non-exclusive option instead of cutting your exclusive price, or remove a colourway.
- Add value instead of discounting. An extra coordinate may cost you less than a price cut and keeps your headline price intact.
- Keep it brief and know your floor. One sentence on why it's exclusive is enough.
How pricing works on The Pattern Cloud
You choose, design by design, exclusive or non-exclusive, and set a price for each territory. A sold exclusive comes off your storefront and The Design Agent automatically, so it's never sold twice. Invoices go out the moment a buyer purchases, and with 0% commission on direct sales, the price you set is the price you keep.
FAQ
How much should I charge for a non-exclusive design?
Start from around £50 and adjust for complexity, colourways and demand. Because it can sell many times, a lower price that sells often can out-earn a higher one.
How much should I charge for an exclusive design?
Start from £500–£550 in the UK, around €400 in Europe or around $700 in the US, and go higher for complex, trend-led or in-demand work. It has to cover every future sale you give up.
Can I sell a non-exclusive design as exclusive later?
Only if it has never been sold. Once one buyer has a design, you can't promise another buyer that nobody else will have it.
Walk into January with prices you can quote without hesitating. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial, so set up your storefront and your prices, or book a 20-minute demo and we'll walk you through it.
