Selling artwork

Ladykernow

I am thinking of selling some artwork on ebay or etsy, but slightly worried about the recession going on! Another problem I think I will have is how to traffic it so people actually see it!
At the moment I was going to start with Aceo's, some artists I have spoke to have priced them at £25, but I think for me it's probably too much to pay for my artwork! So maybe £3-£5, then again, I don't know how much ebay would take of that!
I was wondering whether anyone else from the forum has done this with their art. What about setting up a stall at the local market? Did anyone have any joy with that?

Thank you!

Badger_Lady

How do you sell at the moment - do you do craft fairs and 'real life' events?

It's very difficult to get anyone on eBay to see the value in an artistic item - factory-produced mass items are much more successful purely because they're well-known and well searched-for. Etsy will allow for your creativity and won't be time-limited, but your main problem there is that its so US-focused.

If you can build up a name for yourself in the real world, and perhaps make affiliations with other artists, you'll be much more likely to be able to sell online to people searching for your work.

It's really difficult to advise without knowing what it is you do! My family do soft furnishings (cushions etc), jewellery and paintings. We're a creative family but everyone has their own niche . What do you do?

JayneTay

Facebook has thriving online craft fairs - people sell alot through there! Theres one group called Supermums Craft Fair, and Mums who Make UK etc - just search facebook - there are loads of groups that don't charge (you shouldn't be asked to pay a penny!)

Its a good place to start and network - theres loads of Art on there!!

Jayne x

fluffpot

I've bought some original artwork through this website - not sure how much they charge artists though

http://www.artgallery.co.uk

indigenous

folksy.com is a good UK based alternative to etsy and then coriandr.com but there are others.

Varying in if they are free/how much they cost per month and commissions. Heres some examples for you to consider:
storenvy.com
allthingsoriginal.com
bigcartel.com

Also with regard to your local market stall. In my localmarket there would be 1000 people tops in a day walking past, and then cut down to the percentage of these that will actually look at your stall, and then again to those that will take a closer look at individual items. This number will be quite low. Whereas even the smaller versions of these sites can have in excess of 50,000 active users. More views would mean an increased chance of selling.


indi

mallymal

1.Design yourself a freeby website through Moonfruit....

Heres an example which I put together for my woodturning club

https://www.dovedale.org.uk

2. Get yourself some free business cards through VistaPrint:
(hope link works.... if not, one popped up on Ebay homepage the other day)

link

3. Get some free exposure through 'lifestyle magazines'.
A colleague of mine does quirky portraits & wrote to Lancashire Life. They did a double page spread on him! And as a result he's got a couple of commissions for work.

Good luck and hey, why not post a pic here via photobucket etc for all to see!