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Online Sites to List and Sell Your Paintings and Art!
Selling Your Art Online
If you think you could make some extra money with your art, photography, jewelry, handmade pottery or ceramics, or sculptures, this hub would be a good one to check out! First, if your art is "images" (paintings, computer generated art, photography..)you need to decide whether you want to sell the originals or giclee prints. I personally like to keep my originals and sell prints, but some buyers want to buy the original, so it is up to you. Following, you will find some good places to try listing your art Some are better for images only, and some are great for any kind of art, jewelry, sculpture and photography.
1. Imagekind.com - This is a great FREE site to upload and sell your images as prints or greeting cards, whether you do paintings, drawings or photography. They don't charge to list or sell your images, they make their profit on the printing and the frames. Just upload images in your own "store", categorize into different sections, add good descriptions and keywords and you are done. They have a community blog, and people can become your "fan", which is great, since they also can give you feedback on your art.
2. CafePress.com - This site is really neat and can bring out the "fashion designer" in you! You can design and make phrases and images for anything, from lapel buttons and stickers to aprons and jogging suits with matching caps! You can even publish books, journals and a music player with your own music on it, I believe. There is plenty here to choose from, and the only thing stopping you is your imagination. This could really turn into a full time printing business if you marketed it right and have some talent and a witty sense of humor!
3. NoBullArt.com - You may syndicate (re-publish) your existing Artist's Blog on your NoBullART Gallery. NoBullART will automatically incorporate your Artist's Blog in to your NoBullART Gallery with an RSS Feed. It is also FREE to list your art here, and you can list everything from paintings and drawings to jewelry and sculptures, as long as you made it yourself. They don't charge a commission, and on here, you will be selling your originals, though. Be sure to calculate enough in to cover shipping and insurance. You can submit your things for inclusion in the main gallery, and after reviewing, they will decide whether to add it or not. It will already be in your OWN gallery.
4. DeviantArt.com - Kind of like a "Myspace" for artists, this is a great site for all ages! Here you will find everything from poetry and literature to beautiful, artistic nudes, sculptures and photography. Some of the computer generated, digital work is unbelievable! You create a homepage with all kinds of options, like a journal, comments, polls, visitor book, and so much more. Really a nice site, FREE, and you can sell reasonably priced, framed or unframed prints of all sizes (depending on the resolution of your image you uploaded).
5. Art-Exchange.com - is a site that contacted me instead of me contacting them. They gave me a much better, lifetime membership that is NOT listed in their selection of subscriptions. They are a more upper-class website that has two shows a year, plus your art has to be approved before a jury of artists before it will be listed on their site. No sales yet, but we will see what happens. Here you ship them your piece, then they ship it to the buyer. They are basically an agent or broker and charge (me) 10% of the selling price of the piece. I get to set the selling price myself, which is good.
6. Etsy.com - It costs 20 cents to list an item for four months. When your item sells, you’ll pay a 3.5% transaction feeYou can list and find everything from handmade soap to crafts and art to vintage clothing. Beautiful website, more tuned to the artisan or crafter.
7. CraigsList.org - Here is where you can get REALLY creative and come up with a good classified ad for one or all of the sites where you have your art listed! Be sure to put up images if your prints or art, as well as a link to the website your email address for any questions, if I thought it would help sell the item. This is of course FREE also.
Photographs and Art
Now That You Are Listed...
You need to advertise! Print up some business cards, take out an ad in the local paper with your website included, submit your site to Jayde.com, and be sure to put any and all sites your items are listed on your email signature, so that every email you send will be an advertisement for your art. You HAVE to get your name and your art out there.
You can even print up flyers and distribute them, with a coupon on them for a percentage off. If your city has fairs, trade days, art fairs, etc., think about getting a booth to show off your art. While you are there, work on an art project-people love to see you creating, and they will strike up conversations with you, asking questions about your art. If they like YOU, they are more prone to buy something you have created, and can become a repeat buyer. You have to sell yourself as well as your art. BE YOUR OWN ART AGENT!