Sellers Guide - Guide To Selling Art Online
Artplode Seller Guide
Photos of artworks
The old saying a picture speaks a thousand words is never truer than when you are offering something for sale. Whether it is a car, house, jewelry or artwork the pictures that accompany your listing are a principal factor in generating the interest of potential buyers.
If you are not able to take good quality photographs of your artwork we strongly suggest you find someone who can – whether it is someone who you know or a professional photographer.
Artplode competes at the highest level in the art sales market and it is expected that sellers will only submit quality photographs of artwork they are listing for sale. We may on occasion ask a seller to submit better quality photographs for their listing.
We suggest you include photos of the work with and without frame, the back of the work, close up photo of artist’s signature (if signed), photo of any condition issues and paperwork confirming appraisal or authenticity. If the work is a numbered edition include a close up photo of the edition number and foundary stamp in the case of sculptures.
Detailed close up photographs will give buyers confidence to enquire about your artwork.
Description of artworks
We have put a lot of thought into designing the listing form where you submit details of the artwork you are selling. This is the same information that your would see if your artwork was listed for sale in one of the leading auction houses in the world.
If you are a private seller you should be aware that buyers are very interested in information regarding the history of ownership of the artworks they are considering purchasing on the secondary market – whether in galleries, at auctions or online.
On your listing it will be helpful for buyers if you provide information about when and where you purchased the artwork such as invoices from galleries or auction houses.Buyers are also very interest in the condition of the artwork and and if and when you have had it appraised or authenticated by an expert. If an artwork has condition issues it is important that these be noted in the comments section of the listing. If you have documents supporting the provenance or authenticity of your artwork you should include that information in the comments section of your listing.
Private sellers who are unsure what price to put on an artwork may find it helpful to pay a small fee for the assistance of our Artplode Assistant. An experienced art professional will research and assess an artwork by an established artist based on information and photos provided by the seller and then suggest a price for the work. The seller is of course at all times at liberty to set the price for their artworks on Artplode. The opinion of our Artplode Assistant is merely a guide which can be accepted or rejected by a seller.
If you are an artist selling your own work we suggest you provide detailed information about past exhibitions and collections which include your work, prizes or awards you have won and media coverage of you or your work.. You should also include information or the story behind each artwork you are selling that may be of interest to potential buyers.
After uploading your listing you may wish to consider whether you would like to have it included in the featured listing section for the fine art category eg paintings or the subject of the work or price category which applies in respect of your artwork. The featured listings are a great way of promoting your artwork to visitors to artplode.
We also suggest that you upload your listing on twitter, facebook, pinterest and linkedin as a great way of promoting your artwork to a potentially unlimited audience of art lovers.
Fielding enquiries from buyers
A message has arrived in your inbox from someone who is interested in your artwork and with it comes the potential for a sale!
We recommend a quick reply answering any questions the prospective buyer might have and offering your telephone number for further contact.
It is up to you whether your include shipping in your price or ask the seller to cover the cost of packing and shipping the artwork. A quote for packing and shipping is easy to obtain from UPS stores in the USA, Mailboxes in the UK and Pack and Send in Australia and New Zealand. Each of these companies offers reasonably priced packing and shipping services. It is our view that it best leave packing artwork to experts!!
We strongly suggest you NEVER ship artwork to a buyer unless payment has been made to you via paypal, merchant services or bank transfer.
Some private sellers may wish to engage the services of one of the fine art consultants who advertise on artplode to assist with the sale of your artwork on artplode. These experienced professionals can handle enquiries from buyers on your behalf and negotiate the sale and packing and shipping arrangements to the buyer for you. The fees that they charge for these services is significantly lower than Gallery or auction commission charges.
