Today was the end of my experiment between Etsy, Ebay, and Big Cartel. I created 3 similar paintings and listed one on each site. I used the same quality photos and descriptions for each painting. The paintings were all priced at $50 plus shipping ($6.80 on etsy and ebay, $5.80 on Big Cartel). On ebay, the bids started at 99 cents with the $50 Buy It Now option. I created original works that based on my previous sales of similar artworks in licensing and direct sales sell well for me and are appealing to most art buyers.
Here is a breakdown of fees per item:
Etsy: 20 cents
Ebay: 50 cents plus final auction value fees ($3.63) and paypal fees ($1.21)
Big Cartel: No cost. I pay $10 monthly and can post as many items as I want.
I posted links via twitter and facebook to each piece of art once per day for 5 days.
Here is a breakdown of item views:
Etsy: 26
Ebay: 158
Big Cartel: 131
Sales:
Etsy: not sold
Ebay: 10 bids with selling price $24.50 + $6.80 Shipping. Total fees for this sale: $4.84 for a profit of $19.66 (bonus: a happy home for my art! Love that!)
Big cartel: not sold
Potential Customers who emailed for custom or larger works:
Etsy: 0
Ebay: 2
Big Cartel: 3
Other notes that are important:
1. I listed additional items on etsy and ebay that I did not promote at all. For etsy, I listed some of my most popular prints and the most views any of them received was 8, the least was 0. The zero views is on my
most popular print! That was a total shocker! The other items listed on ebay each received 9 views.
2. Size was a factor. All 5 emailers wanted different sizes.
One reason I really wanted to do this experiment (aside from me totally loving experiments!) is that I have had a lot of friends the last couple years who lost their jobs in the corporate world and decided to become artists. They would ask me my opinion and I would ask them in return if they wanted me to just be supportive or to be honest. When they chose honesty, I told them it is much harder now to sell art online if you do not already have a following and that it takes an extreme amount of effort to show your work. It is not the same as it was 3 or 5 years ago. I do not think the level of difficulty is worth not living your dream, but I think being realistic about it matters. You have to diversify. I say I had friends who asked because most of them stopped talking to me after that. The lesson there is just tell your friends they are great and they'll be rich fast!
The other reason I wanted to very openly do this experiment is so artists wondering why their art is not selling feel less alone, less like a failure, less unsure.
My observations:
1. Posting links to your art for sale every single day is ESSENTIAL. Nobody will see your art if you do not do this. Just listing your art for sale on one of these sites is not enough.Posting often and at different times of the day matters. Many of my facebook posts took 2 days to appear in timelines. There have been times when I felt weird posting links to art for sale repeatedly (I know I have discussed this before) but after this experiment and really keeping track of data and visitors, I will never feel that way again.
2. I never need to use or wonder about etsy again. That option is off the table and not even good as a marketing tool.
3. Ebay fees are way too high but I would use ebay again for studio sales.
4. I am keeping my big cartel shop but need to really access what sizes buyers need and can afford in conjunction with what is easy and affordable to ship. If I could offer the price flexibility that ebay offers alongside my higher priced items, this would be ideal. I will continue to experiment with the 2 paintings that have not yet sold.
If you are doing any type of selling, promoting, or fundraising, I highly recommend doing one of these type experiments with an open mind and no ego attached. Tell your friends and family not to buy your art during your experiment but if they want to help, have them share your shop link. When you are just starting out, friends and family will want to buy from you to show support and that is great. But when it comes to business, you really need to find out where your buyers are and most importantly, what works for you and what doesn't.
This experiment was fun and enlightening and I can't wait to do another one!
Both beach paintings are currently available as
in my shop.
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Shop: Limited Edition Prints, Greeting Cards, and Pillows | Original Art