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Best Practices for Selling Art Online
Valerie Atkisson / ArtBistro
October 12, 2009
More artists are selling their work online. Have you ever thought of just making some art that people might like to buy (the kind you mother wishes you would make) and sell it on Ebay? Who knows it could be a lucrative second career! Or perhaps you just love to photograph or paint anything and everything and you are are talented. People like your work. Well, why not sell it on the web?
Commissions
Any commission from an online website is determined by the Terms of Use contract that you agreed to. Different sites charge a different percentage of a commission. Anywhere between 1-5% is normal; 10% is on the high end. Other sites charge a membership fee to cover their overhead. The reason that their commission is not as much as a gallery in Chelsea is that online galleries’ overhead is much less and they do not promote your work as much as a gallery who represents you.
Is it Original?
Some “art” that is sold online is not “original” by the traditional sense. Instead of buying canvass and painting on it, some artists print images of their paitings on canvass. If this process involves numbering the work as prints, it could eventually have value but not as much as one original painting. Some artists choose to sell work this way to make ends meet. The people who buy it are not concerned with authenticity, they just like it and want it.
BrJaws
about 1 month ago
16 comments
Thanks for the tips & info.
BrJaws
about 1 month ago
16 comments
Thanks for the tips & info.
syhming
about 1 month ago
6 comments
Sounds good. Let's buy Iceland!
klockarsdesign
4 months ago
3148 comments
If the people who are selling custom writing on artbistro are correct in their assumptions, the best way to sell art on-line MUST be to sell somebody else's and put your own name on it!
So, who's right?
[Sorry for the segue.]
Dylanation
5 months ago
98 comments
I think artists should buy Iceland and turn it into an Artists paradise, then sell there Art to the whole world kinda like China did with retail.
Dylanation
5 months ago
98 comments
That's pretty romantic
Pebbles623
6 months ago
4 comments
Very interesting article. When I am ready I will keep the suggestions in mind.
JenDott
6 months ago
20 comments
Another site is http://www.etsy.com/. I have begun exploring the possibility of selling some of my work online, and this is the first site I had looked into.
b_bell
9 months ago
16 comments
The only one I know of off hand would be www.deviantart.com I haven't looked into it too much, but if someone wants a site to look at, there's one that you can sell your art from.
vindog
9 months ago
2 comments
So, the "best practices" are:
a. a decent photo
b. proper grammar, spelling, case
c. fully describe the art, honestly
d. do a bunch of research on the online selling tool (but no idea on what to research), and pick only one
e. don't screw over a gallery that is selling your work by undercutting them
OOOkkaaay....
How about listing the "recommended" sites? What should people be looking for when "researching" the best site?
Nina_1
10 months ago
440 comments
This is a great article, I have been toying with the idea of selling some of my art online and even creating new pieces for sell. This article gave me some new ideas and kind of took the "what if" fear away.
hoosierartist2
10 months ago
236 comments
Excellent article. I have been debating the idea of selling online. However, you have cleared up some doubts.
Californicator
11 months ago
18 comments
I love this site! Currently, working on creating individual pieces for others to match their spirit!
kmsdesigns
11 months ago
2 comments
Only a 10% commission for selling online? That seems very low. I would expect an online gallery to have expenses in marketing, website development, and personnel just as a brick and mortar gallery would. It would be great to get it, but I certainly would wonder what I would get in return.
Bluepixel0821
11 months ago
8 comments
How about Imagekind.com , they are part of Flickr.com . I have several galleries with imagekind.com , You are actually promoting thier frames and Matts.
I am very disapointed . I have not sold on piece.
bluepixel0821