Why You Should Buy Art from An Online Art Marketplace
Why You Should Buy Art from An Online ArtMarketplace
Online art marketplaces make it very easyfor customers of all ages and experience ranges to buy art! One of the waysthey do this is by connecting the buyer and the artist directly over theinternet and letting them set the terms of the sale by themselves with nomiddle-man. By dealing directly with the artists, prospective buyers can buyart at a price that suits both parties involved, and both can be satisfied withthe deal they have made knowing that all of the details of the arrangement havebeen made before any money changes hands. If you want to buy art but do nothave a lot of money to spend, why not discuss the price of a piece with theartist and see if there is any way they will reduce the cost of the piece youare interested in? In a traditional brick and mortar gallery setting this wouldbe very difficult, if not impossible because of gallery fees that the artistmust pay either directly or indirectly in the form of commissions fees. Whendealing directly with the artist online, it is often possible to contact theartist and make an offer on a piece of work they have for sale. An artist willlikely be much more open to discussing their prices in this situation, as theyare avoiding the usual commissions of 50 or 60 per cent they would be paying toa gallery. A word of advice on this topic: never offer less than 75% of thetotal asking price, because under most circumstances this sort of offer willnot be accepted by the artist and will have been a use of time that could havebeen better spent elsewhere.
If you choose to buy art from an online art marketplace, brace yourselffor all of the benefits and beauty of a traditional gallery setting with farfewer drawbacks! If you have ever been to a classic gallery, you know howdifficult it can be to see the lesser-known work on display, get any questionsyou have answered, and to deal with pushy staff. And of course there is thecommission fee that is an important part of the traditional way art is sold,which can easily be upwards of 50% and 60% of the total price of the art forsale. These are only some of the things that can put off potential customerswho would like to buy art but do not know where to start.
When you buy art from an online gallery ormarketplace, you are exchanging this out-dated way of doing things for a newway that is better in many ways. First and foremost is the ease and conveniencewith which someone can browse and buy art from a gallery website. Many of thesevirtual galleries offer artists the ability to display multiple high-resolutionphotos of their pieces for sale, giving buyers every opportunity to see thepiece from more than one angle. Contacting the artist directly is alsosomething you can do much more readily through an online marketplace; discussanything from price to shipping methods to the inspiration for the piece! Andlast but not least, there is no one hovering over you pressuring you to make asale, and no one between you and the artist unless you want to bring someoneinto the deal from your side. The artist is easily able to representthemselves, and this saves both the artist and the person who wants to buy artthe trouble of having to go through and deal with the owners and staff of atraditional gallery.
