If you are an artist looking to sell your art
online, there is no other better and easier platform to push your
paintings into the masses than eBay, this "how to sell your art on
eBay" guide will feature general advice plus lots of resources geared
specifically towards serving your eBay needs and help you understand
the eBay art market.
The benefits behind eBay
Why you should sell your art on eBay
The number one reason for choosing eBay as your
primary output channel is its vast market size and deep outreach. There
is not one person who hasn't heard about eBay at least once. Many are
using eBay to find art for their friends and loved ones or to decorate
their walls, right now! Another reason to sell your art on eBay and use
eBay as your distribution channel is its easiness of operation. No
contracts, no qualifications, no (or little to none) fees are required
in order to sell your art on eBay. The internet giant lures in with its
"no nonsense" approach to online selling, perfect for artists who want
to pull a stable monthly profit without spending an unnecessary amount
of time on the business side of things. Last but not least, it is quite
inexpensive to sell your art on eBay.
But how to sell your art on eBay when there are so
many talented and resourceful artists to compete with? Selling art on
eBay, requires a lot of patience and dedication. As with anything,
there is no easy money to be had, but with the right attitude as well
as the right material it is possible to generate a considerable income
from your art work. You might want to check out this how to sell your art on
eBay guide as it offers comprehensive mentoring and tons of
material (like eBay templates and eBay tools for art selling).
Some points to consider before you can sell your
art on eBay
Who should sell art on eBay?
eBay is a tough market. While, as said before, it
does get a gigantic amount of traffic, do consider that some categories
of art are a lot more popular than others. Your chosen category might
not get any traffic at all. If you want to make "Art" your professional
career and become a recognized painter (sculptor, photographer, etc.)
than I would advice against selling art on eBay as it WILL undervalue
your future potential. Not everyone should sell their art on eBay.
Selling art on eBay is for individuals who would like to sell art as a
hobby or make it a side business. You should concentrate your efforts
on gaining a representative or being featured at a gallery and let them
do the marketing and pricing strategies, if you want to become a
renowned artist.
How to sell your art on eBay - Part 1
Who buys art on eBay?
In a buyer-dominated market (eBay offers a lot of
purchasing power to the consumer, as it presents the average eBay
shopper with many opportunities to buy cheap and to buy diverse, hence
it is a buyer dominated market) price is king. It is important to
understand who buys on eBay and why they buy on eBay before beginning
to understand how to sell your art on eBay and how to price your art
work. Lets look at the general demographics of eBay shoppers.
People who buy on eBay are looking for a bargain. Thats all there is to
it. Many artists who sell their art on eBay make the mistake of pricing
their art similar to an art gallery. Ebay shoppers are not prepared to
spend a lump of money on art, especially on unknown art. Do understand
that you can not sell your art on eBay by pricing your artwork akin to
an art gallery, as they are promoting already established, renowned
artists, who have spent an extensive amount of time promoting their
paintings.
Now the next step in understanding how to sell your art on eBay and how
to choose an appropriate pricing strategy is finding out the motives of
buyers who shop for art on eBay. Usually a buyer will become interested
in your artwork because:
- a) He likes your style/movement of choice
- b) He likes your subject
- c) (Most common reason) The buyer believes that
the painting will complement a room's decor
Those are the top 3 reasons behind an eBay art
purchase. Keep this in mind to find out how to sell your art on eBay
effectively. There is another common reason, which is buying art for
investment value, but we can rule this one out since you are not an
established artist and do not hold any investment value at this point
(hey, things can only improve from here on!)
How to sell your art on eBay - Part 1.1
Helping you choose an appropriate
pricing strategy to sell your art on eBay effectively
You might be asking yourself "How to sell my art
on eBay if the competition is so fierce?" The explanation is easy. Ebay
is a buyer-dominated market, as apparent from the points described
above. Basically the demand for art work as well as levels of
competitions are prime factors in determining ones price range. Ebay's
economy is characterized by (nearly) perfect competition. That is, from
a certain point onwards (usually determined by buyer rating and
shipping price/time), it does not matter who to buy from and selling
your art on eBay becomes a matter of superior pricing strategy and
understanding of the consumer as well as the provider (your
competition) market. This creates lots of rivalry as well as lots of
choices for the buyer (hence eBay's popularity).
To successfully sell your art on eBay you have to
figure out competition and price levels for your field first. As basic
economics dictates: do not sway away from the average price level, in a
perfectly competitive market. Research your competitors, conclude the
average price level, set a price for your art work and then sell your
art on eBay. A shortcut to price determination is figuring out the
average price for the type of art work you are selling and then asking
yourself "Based on the average price level, what is the lowest price
which would make a sale on eBay reasonable?"
Here is one how to sell your art on
eBay resource that will provide you with tools to help you
determine your perfect price range as well as crush the competition.
Find out the number one mistake of failed eBay artists and why selling
your art for an opening bid of 1$ or less is a huge NO-NO.
A number of tips to sell your art on eBay
Make your eBay art dealing
experience more fruitful
- Choosing the right category is very important.
Listing your art work in the wrong category will devalue your pieces
considerably. Before listing your art work, find out what kind of art
is listed in what kind of categories, making sure that your pieces
match the other pieces listed in the category of your choice.
- It takes some time to build up a following,
selling your art on eBay. Be patient and you will be rewarded.
- Make sure your auctions end on the weekend,
preferably in the evening hours, to sell your art on eBay more
efficiently.
- Research, research, research!
How to sell your art on eBay - Part 2
What sells on eBay?
The question behind how to sell your art on eBay
can be resolved by identifying art demand. Working out what sells and
what doesn't will provide you with further understanding of the eBay
art market. Hammertap and TeraPeak are two market research solutions
which you can take advantage of. Please consider that although painting
to a market may sound as a great way to sell your art on eBay and drive
in more sales, it may reflect on your artwork and diminish its quality
if you don't enjoy painting motives which are hot on eBay right now.
How to sell your art on eBay - Part 3
Conclusion
In conclusion I would like to say that it is not
as easy as it may seem to sell your art on eBay, but it can be done
with the right tools and the right attitude. We would really like to
recommend the "how
to sell your art on eBay" online course, as it is
specifically geared towards any artist who would like to sell his/her
art on the eBay market. The course is packed with detailed advice on
everything eBay, covering the topics of eBay research, how to figure
out the right price, secrets of successful eBay art listings and much,
much more (including professional template files and image optimization
tools). Do check it out if you are looking for a superior and very
comprehensive "how to sell your art on eBay" guide!
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/
how-to-sell-your-art-on-ebay-1727101.html
About the Author
Hello my name is Chris, an art enthusiast and art
dealer, I'm running Pocket
of Tea, a private gallery based in Bologna, Italy. Apart from
dealing art we blog about the arts world, new and upcoming artist and
feature lots of advice on how to make money through art. Hope you
enjoyed the article.
Cheers,
Chris
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