The biggest question most artists have is how to sell their work. This is something I battled with for years. Sure, I would sell a piece every now and then, but I was making better money in my full-time job at Maccas or Coles and the small amount of art I did sell was to friends and family. I’m sure in most cases this was of some sort of charity.
I did a couple of joint exhibitions with varying success. On the night of my first of these I sold the three pieces entered before the opening. So I didn’t put large prices on them but it proved to me that there were people out there who saw something in my art. I look back and cringe when I think of the standard of work I was creating 25 years ago. I hope it was used for fire kindling. I was occasionally selling art but it was only a very small business for me. It didn’t put me into a position so that I could quit my day job.
There is an Australian online art market called Blue Thumb. I dare say they are the largest company out there who helped a lot of artists get recognition. The idea behind this website was for the artist to do their thing by creating the art and BT would take care of the shipping logistics and present the artists work in a professional manner. I never had any luck with this mob. They charged a significant amount of coin to host the artists work too. It’s worth having a look at their site if you are wanting to purchase out of a selection of a good variety of art but the artist needs to build up a lot of sales and credit on the site before they start to see a steady income. I didn’t mean to make this post into a review blog but I thought they should be mentioned.
So how do I sell my work if I don’t use Blue Thumb or exhibit my art at exhibitions? It’s called Marketplace. The last place one wouldn't expect to purchase or sell art, but it has worked for me. Let me first state that one will never become a millionaire through using this meathod but if you play your cards right, it can become as good as a full-time job. I average a painting every day or two that would successfully sell. There is nowhere else I would be able to execute this. The key is to start off making sales that are small. I made transactions where I actually lost money. This was in the early days. Some other tthings I have learnt is to create smaller canvases and not using the most expesive materials. Potential buyers aren’t looking for this in the artwork. They want to pay as little as they can and you will often find people try to beat you down, so it doesn’t hurt to put a few extra dollars on the work to allow for this. Also, remember that people don’t visit Marketplace expecting to pay an absorbent amount of money. Don’t try and sell to many pieces at once. I have found that I sell more work when people don’t have a huge folio of work to go through. People can become overwhelmed when they are delivered too much choice and may go elsewhere. Be friendly and reliable!! Even if you are dealing with someone who is rude or frustrating to deal with. Watch out for scammers as they are plentiful. Advertise your website or social media on each post you make. Take good quality photos of your art. You should post more than one or two photos of the piece you are selling. If you are comfortable having people make the pickup at your home, always have a selection of other works you are wanting to sell. I have found in most cases the customer will consider buying more if there is a selection of your best works for them to look through.
These are just a few tips on how to sell your work on Marketplace and now that I have shared all of my selling secrets…. Good luck!