sales on art-agent.com

[bluespade]

Howdy...

Can anybody give some stories (AND numbers, if you can) on your sales on art-agent.com? What have you been selling and how many did you sell over what time frame, etc. How was the experience.

I wanted to hear a bit about people's good and bad experiences before jumping into sales at art-agent.com over the next few weeks. I myself would be very leary about buying art over the internet. Who is buying your art? Friends and family, complete strangers, chance encouters, agents, decorators?

Thanks! (If this topic was covered before, please feel free to direct me to those topics, etc., too.....)

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Doug
Blue Spade Productions

[scottb]

Hi there, Doug.

This has been discussed several times - you might want to search the forums to see what you can find.

One thing to keep in mind, while some folks have a fairly strong record of sales at AA, we have not yet begun advertising in earnest. Soon....

Cheers.
Scott

[bluespade]

I poked around alittle, but only found one person who said they sold two works from another site and everybody else said, "no sales, but I think its still worth it to have a site". Not clear what that means. Are there topic threads you can direct me to?

Does art-agent have any stats they can release? How many unique visitors/time period? How many purchases? I've heard that some internet commerce studies believe that you have to have over 1,000 visitors for a sale or two to happen. Not sure if that applies to art sites, too......

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Doug
Blue Spade Productions

[scottb]

Due to the current investor landscape, we cannot release certain pieces of data... However, I can tell you that MANY artists have sold here (including David Swartwood, Jen de la Cruz, Shawn Hair, Larry Seiler, and many others).

Forget what you've heard about ratios of visitors to purchases. It means nothing in the scheme of things. The bottom line is, for someone to buy a piece, they either have to (A) have a need which matches a piece (in the case of an interior designer), or (B) a piece strikes their fancy (the consumer market).

I can safely say that our program tops anything else out there, both in terms of exposure, and benefit to the artist. We also don't take advantage of the artist, unlike most online venues. Business models such as 30-75% commissions are ridiculous, and antiquated. We have none of that here. Just a minimalist approach to commissions.

When you start tacking on other goodies, such as free web sites, free web-based email, access to the open and private commission marketplace, and other items to come, it's a no brainer.

Cheers.
Scott

[bluespade]

It's not the issue of it being a tough decision or a "no brainer" to post my art here (I haven't done enough printing yet to sell things with confidence that the product is good and the inks/paper as stable as I want). It's just a curiosity about the facts, i.e. what are peoples' experiences? I guess its my analytical and sociological training as much as my art selling lust....I just wanna know.

Also, I am not comparing services, just learning. And that includes the info from people who sell or have sold. I'm not asking them to critique the site, so to speak, but rather to discuss how it worked for them (as buyers or sellers).

Personally, I have one trade in the works with an artist half way across the country. We are going to swap some art. If it works, it will have been a great experience for me, and I'll post it here. (Sorta like a sale.) What are others' experiences?

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Doug
Blue Spade Productions

[juanice]

Originally posted by scottb:

we have not yet begun advertising in earnest. Soon....



Hey Scott - can you elaborate on that?

[scottb]

No problem, Doug. :-)

Juanice - can't elaborate too much. All I can say at this point is we will begin doing some "creative" things around driving traffic toward art-agent.com, with the end game being one of altering buyer behavior. :-)

Cheers.
Scott

[shair]

Doug et. all,



I have had a great experience using artistnation to track my inventory and to showcase my husband's work. I have had minimal sales through art-agent, however, I feel it is my responsibility to get out there and do my own promotion and get my sales, and I do. This will be the case no matter what you do on the internet, you will have to hustle. Learn how to design your site for easy use and max. sales, promote your site where it matters, and let your potential customers know why they should be actual customers and how to do it.



I sell through my web site, my advertisements, (free and paid) and take mail-in sales, gallery sales, online sales, I am willing to take any sales I can get, quite frankly! We do well with the site because I can put time into marketing it. Sales that I take through my site are different than sales through art-agent though, and I track my successes and advertising, so that I know where to concentrate my time/energy.



I am convinced that art-agent will corner the market in no time when it comes to online sales. They have the BEST selection and prices for their customers, since they have the BEST tools and support for their artists. This is why I am putting effort into my artistnation site even before I have had a lot of sales there. It is paying off.



Profile your customers, think of who will want to buy your art, and look for those people. Tell them how to give you money, and they will! It is amazing how easy the internet is to use for marketing!



Sarah

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www.orchidisle.pair.com (http://www.orchidisle.pair.com)

Helping artists utilize the e-market.

[CarlyHardy]

Just thought I'd let you know that my artwork is viewed on the average of 300 times a month...some works more....some a bit less. That is far more than I have with an actual gallery setting...although I've sold a number of paintings in the past few months thru a regular gallery. It will take time for the buyers to recognize that online purchases of art can be worth their time and effort. I want to have an established online presence with a good dealer when that happens and Art-Agent is the best!

carly clements

[bluespade]

I guess the main issues in on line selling that a buyer would have are:

1) trust that what they see is what they will get. or that they'll get it at all....
2) quality of the visual representation, by which I mean, does your photo of the art and the limitations of the internet/browsers allow people to have a real feel for what your art is like
3) no-fault returns.

I myself would be very anxious about buying anthing on line that isn't backed up by a firm I think I can trust or who's trust has been verified by a third party.

There is lots of literature in the economic field now about how trust is one of the main social factors which allows markets to work at all. (So much for the idea that markets are just "natural". : ) )

If, I am right, then thinking of ways to increase this level of trust for visitors (either individual buyers or designers) should be a big goal. One advantage that some sites might have, is creating a sense that the art has been inspected and verified. In otherwords, somebody other than the artist is putting their name on the line to the buyer. Thus, some more credibility is placed on the transaction. Risk is lowered this way for the buyer.

Since this site is all about artists having less overhead and posting their own things themselves, how do we build a mechanism for trust for visitors we don't even now are stopping by? http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif

I might try and dig up some more literature o n this topic thru some arts management people I knew in graduate school...if folks are interested....

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Doug
Blue Spade Productions

[scottb]

Doug, what you have described is a consumer-focused market. It is important to understand that the primary distribution channel for art-agent.com is a private network of buyers, on the business procurement side of the fence - markedly different.

I, like others, would probably love to see any literature that you could cobble up on the consumer side, though - fascinating stuff, and very appropriate for artists building their own consumer networks using our tools.

Cheers.
Scott

[bluespade]

Still, Scott, what kind of trust building processes can you build with the buyers? Through interpersonal relationships and going to the trade shows? Or through guarantees? Maybe some new visual technologies will come down the pike to allow for better displays without eating up bandwith, too. Have you heard anything about this new JPEG that is supposed to come out?

RE:consumer market. Are a lot of people are buying posters and prints on line? E.g., art.com? If so, it might be that that market could be brought over here, too. For $50-150 you can get some art for your living room that is one of a kind or at least not mass produced vs. $20 for a poster everybody has. Then again, maybe those consumers want a print, because everybody has it.

What's the latin for: "no accounting for taste"? : )

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Doug
Blue Spade Productions

[scottb]

Doug, Art-Agent is (will be) tackling both consumer and business markets. A significant amount of personal, professional, and investor relationships are at play for the latter. The former is a matter of simple marketing and partnerships.

Cheers.
Scott

[shair]

Doug,
The things you are speaking about are very valid points. It is very important to have your work displayed ACCURATELY the colors MUST match, and you MUST offer your buyers everything they will need to jump in and make the purchase.

Offer impulse items (t-shirts, prints, coffee mugs, whatever you like) and keep them cheap. If someone wants to buy a $2,000. painting, expect them to buy a $20.00 print first to check quality and service.

It is not that hard to do, but, you cannot expect a place like artistnation to get out there and make all the contacts, ads, and eventually sales for you. You have to do it yourself. After all, they are only taking 5%, and they are not in control of inventory, shipping, or your reputation. I wouldn't even do it for that kind of profit (thank you art-agent & artistnation, youre is obviously a selfless mission)

There are so many things to do to get (and keep) your customers. They are not very hard, but you have to do them, and you have to put your own energy into it.

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www.orchidisle.pair.com (http://www.orchidisle.pair.com)

Helping artists utilize the e-market.

[scottb]

Very well spoken, Sarah. http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Cheers.
Scott