Where can I sell my art?

This article is not limited to just art or painting, but it can apply to everything you want to sell online.

Are you an artist who are looking to sell your art or painting online? But you don’t know where to start..? Where is the best place to sale? How to do? How much should you set your painting’s price? How to process the payment? There seem to be more than one question coming up in your mind.

As an artist I know that selling or marketing is not your professional field, therefore I have collect here some good art auction sites where you can start your art / painting list for sale immediately. Start with a small listing of 10 – 20 items first, once you get used to how the auction work you can then add up to 100 items or more as you like.

The best and biggest art auction site for our first try would be eBay. I too have listed my painting for sale on eBay 6 years ago. But I stopped after 3 months because I don’t like to pay anymore fee for my listing. Also I have found a better way to sale my painting.

How to sale on eBay?

I like eBay because it’s the most busiest site where you can sale almost everything. You can easily create your listing using properly keywords and there you will have a big chance to sale your items with reasonable price. The process start with creating an eBay seller’s account, list your item for sale, get sell and ship. View eBay quick start selling’s guide. You may also need to register a PayPal’s account to receive payment from your customer. And you will also need a credit card to verify your eBay seller’s account.

The advantage of selling on eBay:
There is only one point that I like eBay as being said, they are the most busiest site. Once you get your item listed using appropriate keywords you will have a huge chance to get sale. All you have to do is waiting for the end of your auction, get money and ship.

The disadvantage of selling on eBay:
All of these are the reason that I quitted from selling on eBay.

1. Listing fee is too high for me. Although eBay say that “Your first 100 auction-style listings in a month won’t be charged an insertion fee if:
- Your starting price is between $0.01 and $0.99, and
- There is no reserve price

What if your painting is more than $200 value, will you dare to add list price for only $0.99?

2. Final value fee also too high for me. For example, if I list my painting for $200, if I cannot get sale I will not pay anything but if I can sale it then I have to pay 9% of $200 = $18. So, from start to get sale I have to pay: $4 + $18 = $22 plus I have to pay 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD to receive money via PayPal.

However, there is the option for fixed price listings on eBay where you can pay cheaper insertion fee for $0.50 but you still have to pay high rate for final value fee. For example of the $200-painting above. Final value fee you have to pay eBay is (12% x $50) + (6% x $150) = $6 + $9 = $15. Don’t forget 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD for PayPal’s fee. More detail on eBay listing fee.

There you go, the eBay fixed price listings is the way to go but you have to make sure that if you would like to make $200, you may have to add up your listing’s price to $220 or more.

Sale your art / painting on ETSY.com

The second site which would be of your interest is ETSY.com. I have to admit that I never try their service but several of my friends currently using them. So, I start my registration now. Here are the processes:

1. First I click “Sign up to sell” -> filling up all required information (make sure that your username is the name you intend to use for your art shop, as you will not be able to change it later) -> waiting for confirmation email to your inbox -> click email confirmation link to confirm your ETSY account. That’s it; you’re ready to rock and roll.

2. As I see now, sign up for seller’s account at ETSY is free but you will need a credit card for verification purposes (same eBay), listing fee is $0.20 per item for 4 months, when your item sells, you’ll also have to pay a 3.5% transaction fee. However, ETSY say 3.5% transaction fee but I see it’s the same as eBay’s final value fee because in order to receive payment from buyer you will still need PayPal account or other third party payment, which is mean you are required to pay transaction fee to them. One thing I like on ETSY is that I won’t be forced to use PayPal.

So, if I would like to sale one painting for $200, I have to pay $0.20 + $7 = $7.20, no transaction fee if I ask buyer to send money directly to my bank account. And if I won’t be able to sale it in the first month, I still have 3 months left. Sounds good? Will start some listing with them soon and I will let you know how it go.

Sale your art / painting on iOffer.com

Other site which I see is interesting, is iOffer.com, I have an account with them but never list any painting for sale yet because I think they are not really busy yet. If you have free time, no other thing to do then I would recommend you to try their service.

1. Create an account at iOffer is free, but to be able to list product for sale, you are required to upgrade your account to a seller account. There are 2 methods to upgrade your iOffer’s account to a seller account.

1.1 Place a credit card on file, gives you a full seller account to sell in all categories. It will be authorized for $1.00 to verify your identity and the card. This is not a fee, as the authorization will expire and your credit card will not be charged.

1.2 Pre-paying $20.00 via PayPal to your account allows you to start listing items in following categories.

• Antiques & Art
• Books
• Coins & Money
• Collectibles
• Dolls & Bears
• Hobbies & Crafts
• Home & Garden
• Miscellaneous
• Music
• Pottery, China & Glass
• Real Estate
• Sports Mem, Cards, & Merchandise
• Stamps
• Toys & Games
• Travel & Events
• Virtual Gaming Items

The $20.00 will be credit to your seller account, any account balance owed to iOffer will be automatically deducted from this pre-payment each month.

2. Listing your item (including art or painting) for sale on iOffer is FREE. However, they will charge for final value fee for your sale. Total charge seems cheaper than eBay, but higher than ETSY. For example, if I sale my painting for $200, I will have to pay the final value fee = $10.00 + (5.0% x $100) = $15, exclude PayPal fee. More detail on iOffer selling’s fee.

One impressive tool I am really like on iOffer is “Mr. Grabber”; it seems to be a powerful online tool that enables you to bring over your items and ratings from your eBay account.

Ok, by now you know where you can sale your art / painting online. How much should you set your art or painting’s price? This will depend on your time, your effort, material used to create an art or painting. If you are not sure, it’s wise to take a look around to get an idea from other sellers.


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