How to Sell Paintings on eBay
Set up a personal website before advertising on eBay., Create a detailed eBay account., Set up a PayPal account so that users can pay through this secured means., Obtain Certificates of Authenticity (COA) for all the art you plan to sell., Do...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Set up a personal website before advertising on eBay.
This is important if you are an art dealer or an artist.
Setting up a professional website with ways to contact you, photos of artwork, a shopping cart and information about yourself will characterize you as an authentic seller.
The best Internet-based art marketing is done with cross-promotion.
You should link your eBay account to your website and also consider creating marketing emails or a Facebook account to advertise your auctions to your customers.
Ebay is simply 1 part of the art selling puzzle. -
Step 2: Create a detailed eBay account.
You should write about yourself in the "My World" and "About Me" sections.
Your ability to distinguish yourself as a reputable buyer will pay off in increased sales. , PayPal allows a delayed payment function, which means that you are paid when the customer is satisfied.
Consider creating a premier or business account on PayPal. , In order to gain a rating as a reputable art seller, you should aim to have a painting's documentation that you will transfer to the buyer.
You can advertise this in the item description when you sell online. , If this is rare art, you should have the work appraised.
If it is art that is available elsewhere, you should find what other sellers are charging in galleries and online.
Visit eBay's Art Seller Central to research how paintings are selling on eBay.
This will help you look at past and current auctions. , Art lovers are visual people, so ensure that you have good quality photography for each of your paintings.
Hire a professional photographer to photograph all the paintings, if you do not have the ability to do it well yourself.
Use the proper lighting.
Indirect natural light is likely to give the best representations of color.
Try to use a shaded spot outside.
Use a contrasting background.
Black or white walls or sheets can help to create a gallery effect and bring attention to the item.
Photograph your paintings without extra clutter in the room.
Other items or people will serve as a distraction and make the painting less likely to sell.
Take a photo from all angles, in order to give a good representation of the painting.
Also, include a gallery photo with the painting hanging on a wall.
Art buyers are used to seeing paintings in this setting, and it gives some perspective.
Consider upgrading to the Gallery Plus option to show your painting.
Ebay will charge you some extra money to do this, but it is less than $1 per listing. , Use a blog, Facebook and your own website to advertise regular painting sales.
Some people have found success with a "painting a day," which encourages people to check their blog or social media accounts regularly. , Most Internet marketing is driven by using keywords that users type into a search engine to look for items.
In the case of eBay items, you have 55 words that should include "painting," "art," and the artist, medium, country, style and any other items that will help to specify your art in a search.
You can research keywords to use by going onto the eBay art shop, art.shop.ebay.com.
Look for "Popular Searches" to see what terms people are using to look for art. , If someone doesn't want to buy the item they have found, they may like another painting that is in your banner and go directly to your account. , Regular art buyers will recognize and respect these terms. , Ebay tells people to put a low starting price for their items and to avoid using a reserve price, or minimum bid.
They suggest that following these guidelines will help to increase the number of bids you get on your items.
You may want to experiment with these rules occasionally, in order to see what will work best for the type of paintings you are selling. , Wrap the items in bubble wrap, box them and seal them very well with high-quality packaging tape.
Make sure that you detail how the item will be shipped and how much it costs on your eBay seller account.
Use crates, if the items is big.
If your item is above 150 lbs., you may choose to ship it with freight.
Take out shipping insurance on paintings.
If your package is worth a lot of money, make sure you invest in insurance in case of damage. , Notify your buyer if there is a delay, send them the tracking confirmation and thank them for their purchase.
Ebay is a wonderful environment for repeat customers and seller reviews determine how reputable you look.
Write feedback to your customers.
Feedback is important if you intend to sell a lot of art, because it will distinguish you from fraudulent art sellers.
If there is a problem with an order, the way that you fix the problem may be more telling to potential customers than a perfect selling record. , Paying a fee of approximately $16 per month will allow you to have an attractive eBay store front, and it will give you access to an email list.
This will increase the number of people who hear about your auctions. -
Step 3: Set up a PayPal account so that users can pay through this secured means.
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Step 4: Obtain Certificates of Authenticity (COA) for all the art you plan to sell.
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Step 5: Do research into how much the painting is worth.
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Step 6: Take excellent photos of your artwork.
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Step 7: Advertise your painting auctions elsewhere.
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Step 8: Learn to use keywords.
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Step 9: Create a banner for your page that has several of your auction items in it.
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Step 10: Include the terms COA (Certificate of Authenticity) and O/C (Oil on Canvas) with any item description where they are relevant.
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Step 11: Consider using eBay's advice when selling items.
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Step 12: Pay attention to shipping.
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Step 13: Pay attention to customer service.
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Step 14: Subscribe to an eBay store if you sell a lot of art.
Detailed Guide
This is important if you are an art dealer or an artist.
Setting up a professional website with ways to contact you, photos of artwork, a shopping cart and information about yourself will characterize you as an authentic seller.
The best Internet-based art marketing is done with cross-promotion.
You should link your eBay account to your website and also consider creating marketing emails or a Facebook account to advertise your auctions to your customers.
Ebay is simply 1 part of the art selling puzzle.
You should write about yourself in the "My World" and "About Me" sections.
Your ability to distinguish yourself as a reputable buyer will pay off in increased sales. , PayPal allows a delayed payment function, which means that you are paid when the customer is satisfied.
Consider creating a premier or business account on PayPal. , In order to gain a rating as a reputable art seller, you should aim to have a painting's documentation that you will transfer to the buyer.
You can advertise this in the item description when you sell online. , If this is rare art, you should have the work appraised.
If it is art that is available elsewhere, you should find what other sellers are charging in galleries and online.
Visit eBay's Art Seller Central to research how paintings are selling on eBay.
This will help you look at past and current auctions. , Art lovers are visual people, so ensure that you have good quality photography for each of your paintings.
Hire a professional photographer to photograph all the paintings, if you do not have the ability to do it well yourself.
Use the proper lighting.
Indirect natural light is likely to give the best representations of color.
Try to use a shaded spot outside.
Use a contrasting background.
Black or white walls or sheets can help to create a gallery effect and bring attention to the item.
Photograph your paintings without extra clutter in the room.
Other items or people will serve as a distraction and make the painting less likely to sell.
Take a photo from all angles, in order to give a good representation of the painting.
Also, include a gallery photo with the painting hanging on a wall.
Art buyers are used to seeing paintings in this setting, and it gives some perspective.
Consider upgrading to the Gallery Plus option to show your painting.
Ebay will charge you some extra money to do this, but it is less than $1 per listing. , Use a blog, Facebook and your own website to advertise regular painting sales.
Some people have found success with a "painting a day," which encourages people to check their blog or social media accounts regularly. , Most Internet marketing is driven by using keywords that users type into a search engine to look for items.
In the case of eBay items, you have 55 words that should include "painting," "art," and the artist, medium, country, style and any other items that will help to specify your art in a search.
You can research keywords to use by going onto the eBay art shop, art.shop.ebay.com.
Look for "Popular Searches" to see what terms people are using to look for art. , If someone doesn't want to buy the item they have found, they may like another painting that is in your banner and go directly to your account. , Regular art buyers will recognize and respect these terms. , Ebay tells people to put a low starting price for their items and to avoid using a reserve price, or minimum bid.
They suggest that following these guidelines will help to increase the number of bids you get on your items.
You may want to experiment with these rules occasionally, in order to see what will work best for the type of paintings you are selling. , Wrap the items in bubble wrap, box them and seal them very well with high-quality packaging tape.
Make sure that you detail how the item will be shipped and how much it costs on your eBay seller account.
Use crates, if the items is big.
If your item is above 150 lbs., you may choose to ship it with freight.
Take out shipping insurance on paintings.
If your package is worth a lot of money, make sure you invest in insurance in case of damage. , Notify your buyer if there is a delay, send them the tracking confirmation and thank them for their purchase.
Ebay is a wonderful environment for repeat customers and seller reviews determine how reputable you look.
Write feedback to your customers.
Feedback is important if you intend to sell a lot of art, because it will distinguish you from fraudulent art sellers.
If there is a problem with an order, the way that you fix the problem may be more telling to potential customers than a perfect selling record. , Paying a fee of approximately $16 per month will allow you to have an attractive eBay store front, and it will give you access to an email list.
This will increase the number of people who hear about your auctions.
About the Author
Paul Wells
Committed to making cooking accessible and understandable for everyone.
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