To sell art online effectively, choose a platform that aligns with your target audience, business goals, and budget. Options range from online art marketplaces like Etsy and Saatchi Art to e-commerce platforms like Shopify, offering varying degrees of control, reach, and costs. Consider your preferred level of independence and control when selecting the best platform.
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Key Takeaways
Online Art Marketplaces: Good for volume sales; offer broad reach but charge commissions.
E-Commerce Platforms: Provide full control over branding and customer relationships; require more setup and investment.
Print-on-Demand Services: Allow easy merchandising on everyday products with minimal logistics.
Social Media: Platforms like Instagram enable direct sales and audience engagement.
Choose Based on Goals: Select the platform that best matches your audience, artwork type, and desired level of business autonomy.
Gone are the days when artists had to rely solely on traditional brick-and-mortar galleries to sell their work. The internet has opened up new avenues for artists to directly connect with art buyers and collectors from around the world.
From handy online marketplaces to sophisticated e-commerce stores, artists now have many platforms to choose from to sell their art online.
Selling art online comes with numerous benefits:
- Access a global audience: Reach art lovers and buyers from different countries who discover your work through search engines and social media. No longer limited by physical location and local foot traffic.
- Lower barriers to entry: Online platforms allow you to open a shop and start selling your art affordably, without prohibitive gallery representation requirements.
- More independence and control: Run your art business on your own terms, retain control over your branding, prices, inventories, and audience relationships.
- Higher earning potential: Sell directly to customers instead of giving hefty commissions to middlemen. Offer prints alongside originals to increase sales.
However, with the multitude of options now available, choosing the right platform is key for selling your art effectively online. The best platform will align with your target audience, business goals, type of artwork, budget, and more.
This definitive guide covers all the popular options to evaluate when picking an art selling platform for your needs.
Overview of Key Platforms for Selling Art Online
Various platforms cater to different audiences, offer distinct features sets, and have unique monetization models. Let’s examine the strengths of each:
Online Art Marketplaces
Online marketplaces like Etsy, Saatchi Art, and eBay make it easy for artists to set up a shop and make sales quickly, tapping into their existing user base. However, you pay commissions on sales.
Ideal for: Artists focused on volume sales. Requires staying active with inventory and marketing.
E-Commerce Platforms
Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace allow creating a customized online store with a professional portfolio site, shopping cart, and integrated payment processing. Requires investment into development and promotion.
Ideal for: Established artists with an existing audience. Complete control over branding and audience relationships.
Print-on-Demand Platforms
Redbubble, Fine Art America and Society6 allow artists to upload designs that get printed on products like t-shirts, phone cases, and home decor as orders come in. Limited effort needed after initial setup.
Ideal for: Artists who want their designs on everyday products without handling logistics.
Key Factors To Consider When Choosing an Art Selling Platform
With many options for selling art online, focus on the factors below to determine the best platform for your needs:
Target Audience and Platform Fit
The demographics and psychographics of your ideal art buyers will steer you towards platforms where they are most active. For example, Saatchi Art caters to high-end art collectors while Etsy buyers look for quirky and affordable art.
Features and Functionality
Assess features like:
- Listing capabilities
- Payment processing
- Marketing and analytics
- Fulfillment mechanisms
- Customer support
Choose the platform that best supports your business processes.
Income Potential and Fees
Platform fees vary greatly. Online marketplaces charge listing fees plus sales commissions while e-commerce platforms have monthly subscription plans. Print-on-demand services take their cut with each product sold. Understand the earnings model to calculate potential profits.
Level of Control
Some platforms impose restrictions around your branding, presentation layouts, or product offerings. Evaluate how much creative control is possible on each platform.
Top Sites and Platforms for Selling Art Online
Now that we’ve covered the key decision factors, let’s dive deeper into popular options for selling art online along with their unique strengths and weaknesses.
Best Online Marketplaces for Selling Art
Online marketplaces leverage the power of their built-in audience to make it easier for new artists to gain visibility quickly. Let’s overview notable options:
With over 90 million active buyers, Etsy is one of the largest marketplaces to sell art and handmade items online. The audience skews heavily female and young, with an emphasis on unique, crafted, and vintage pieces.
Key Details:
- Listing Fee: $0.20 per item
- Transaction Fee: 5% of order total
- Payment Processing Fee: +3% + $0.25 per order
Pros
- Established brand with enormous reach
- Buyers looking specifically for handmade items
- Smooth checkout experience
Cons
- Very competitive marketplace
- Additional offsite marketing required
- Policy and fee changes over time
Verdict: Excellent for makers of handcrafted art catering to the Etsy audience. Products should stand out creatively amidst competition. Ongoing marketing essential.
Saatchi Art connects artists directly with collectors and art buyers looking for investment-grade pieces, be it painting, photography, sculpture or prints. It has an upscale, gallery-style environment.
Key Details:
- Commission Fees: 15% to 50%
- Additional fees for marketing services
- Integrated payment processing and fulfillment
Pros:
- Reputable brand frequented by collectors
- Curated selection maintains quality
- Provides artist biographies and stories
Cons:
- Application process required
- Higher commissions than other platforms
- Focus on established, represented artists
Verdict: Suitable for artists who already have gallery representation or collectors familiar with their work. Higher price points expected.
As one of the internet’s largest marketplaces, eBay offers artists an opportunity to sell various types of art to a diverse global audience. Expect lower price points and higher competition. Requires effort to stand out.
Key Details:
- Insertion Fees: Free for first 50 monthly listings
- Final Value Fees: 10% of total sale amount
- Additional fees for promoted listings
Pros:
- Massive existing buyer base
- List and sell quickly with auction model
- Allows used/vintage artwork sales
Cons:
- Very high competition across categories
- Caters more to hobbyists than collectors
- Must manage pricing, shipping, marketing
Verdict: Provides wide exposure so suitable for artists open to selling affordably priced originals, prints, and other merchandise.
Niche Marketplaces
Beyond the major players, niche online art marketplaces also exist:
- ArtFinder – Browser-based art marketplace
- Artsy – High-end contemporary art platform
- Artspace – Sells strictly modern and contemporary works
Research options matching your specialty before deciding on a marketplace.
Leveraging E-Commerce Platforms
For artists invested in running their art business professionally, building a standalone website provides the most control and room for customization. Let’s examine popular e-commerce options.
Shopify makes it easy to create and manage online stores, with powerful e-commerce capabilities and tons of themes tailored for artists and creators. Fully customizable.
Key Details:
- Monthly Plans: $29 – $299
- Transaction Fees: 0% – 2%, depending on plan
- Hundreds of app integrations available
Pros:
- Complete control over brand, design, products
- Built-in credit card processing
- Robust analytics and marketing features
Cons:
- Requires paying for subscriptions
- Site performance requires optimization
- Managing security and backups yourself
Verdict: Ideal for established artists with an existing audience looking for a professional customized sales experience. Provides room to scale.
Wix empowers artists to create stunning portfolio websites and online stores through drag-and-drop tools, with lots of customization and built-in SEO optimization.
Key Details:
- Monthly Plans: $14 – $49 per month
- Transaction fees of 2.9% – 5%
Pros
- Easy-to-use editor and premade templates
- Great website visuals out-of-the-box
- Integrates with shipping carriers and payment systems
Cons:
- Some constraints around customization
- Must pay to connect domain name
- Add-ons required for advanced features
Verdict: Wix is ideal for creatives looking for an affordable all-in-one platform to build and manage an art e-commerce site quickly with minimal technical skills.
Squarespace is popular for its elegant designs and easy-to-navigate portfolio layouts. While geared more towards photographers, painters can also effectively showcase their work.
Key Details:
- Monthly Plans: $12 – $40
- Transaction Fees: 2.9% + $0.30
Pros:
- Quality templates optimized for visual storytelling
- Built-in SEO and marketing capabilities
- Integrates with social media
Cons:
- Less flexibility for extensive customization
- Limited product variant options
- Email marketing requires add-on
Verdict: Squarespace streamlines creating a polished online presence for showcasing artwork, though advanced selling capabilities require more investment.
Leveraging Print-on-Demand Platforms
Print-on-demand platforms allow artists to earn royalties by having their designs printed on products like t-shirts, smartphone cases, and more without handling manufacturing or shipping.
Redbubble is a print-on-demand marketplace supporting independent artists across clothing, stationery, home decor, electronics and more. You upload designs and set your royalties, while Redbubble handles production and shipping when an order comes in.
Key Details:
- No signup fees
- Artist Royalties: 8% to 33% depending on product type
Pros
- Global production and shipping
- List products in seconds after account approval
- No upfront costs and quick payouts
Cons
- Very high competition
- Little control over manufacturing quality
- Lower per-unit profit compared to self-printing
Verdict: Easy way for artists to dip their toes into merchandising their brand on everyday products without investment into inventory.
Society6 follows a made-to-order model similar to Redbubble, with artists receiving commission between 10% to 30% depending on the product. It focuses on wall art, home decor, apparel and accessories that feature unique designs.
Pros
- Curated selection of products
- Prime quality printing and materials
- Dedicated artist support team
Cons
- Very lengthy payout period
- Limited product selection and customization
Society6 empowers artists through quality merchandise that showcases work beautifully. The home decor and wall art attract collectors looking for special statement pieces.
Selling Art Through Social Media
While social platforms require consistently creating engaging content, they present low barriers for artists to directly interact with their audience.
Selling Art on Instagram
With over 2 billion monthly active users sharing images and stories, Instagram is many artists’ go-to platform for discovering new buyers. Let’s examine effective strategies.
Showcase New Creations
The highly visual nature of Instagram lends itself perfectly to revealing works-in-progress or finished art pieces through photos and short videos. Offer previews not available elsewhere to reward followers.
Announce Limited Edition Releases
Create excitement around new additions to your online shop or special promotions for select collectors by announcing through Instagram Stories. The ephemeral format adds to the exclusivity.
Foster Engagement
Go beyond the hard sell by sharing art world news, studio snippets, inspiration sources and more to establish relationships with followers. Humanize yourself as an artist through Instagram.
Enable Shopping Features
Instagram now allows tagging products in posts and adding shoppable tags so followers can easily discover pieces and checkout. Streamline sales through built-in commerce capabilities.
Selling through Instagram requires consistency in posting content optimized for engagement and sales conversion. Focus on nurturing relationships and bringing your artistic identity to life.
Other Social Platforms
Beyond Instagram, adapting content for each platform provides artists maximum exposure:
Facebook: Share works-in-progress over multi-post Stories and announce art exhibitions or gallery shows.
TikTok: Post bite-sized videos showing your creative process from concept to completion.
Pinterest: Pin high quality images of finished works to relevant art niche boards with links back to your online shop.
Twitter: Reply to discussions from museums, galleries, and art critics to demonstrate expertise.
YouTube: Record relaxing videos of the painting or sculpting process from your studio to deeply engage art fans.
The platform capabilities align with different storytelling approaches around your art practice. Meet followers where they already spend time online.
Final Thoughts: Finding Your Ideal Art Selling Platform
As we’ve explored, artists today are spoiled for choice when it comes to platforms enabling them to sell their creations online directly to art lovers worldwide.
While the range of options seems overwhelming at first glance, the key is not to get bogged down but instead approach thoughtfully. Avoid getting swayed by trends and instead evaluate each platform based on your long term vision for building a sustainable art business.
The best platform aligns seamlessly with your unique creative style, preferred business model, target audience, and current stage of artistic progress. Meet your goals efficiently while retaining the joy of creating.
Selling online does demand some technology comfort plus social media and marketing skills nowadays. However, the personal connections formed with engaged followers and collectors make it deeply rewarding. Adapt your online presence to highlight your artistic identity.
I encourage you to take small incremental steps if the various new platforms seem intimidating at first. Experiment with having select works on print-on-demand products or start posting works-in-progress consistently on Instagram. Learn something new about connecting with your audience online each week.
Selling art should not change your passion for the craft but instead allow you to invest more time in creating thanks to an automated and optimized online infrastructure handling tedious backend tasks.
I hope this guide presented you with clarity around the diverse options on hand for selling your art online effectively and profitably in a way that remains creatively fulfilling. Feel free to get in touch with any other questions!