Buying Art Online - Places to Go, Art to See

If you're looking for art online, a good place to start is to buy directly from the artists who create it. We want our art to go to a good home and we want our buyers to be satisfied with their purchases. eBay and Bonanza both have a "Direct From Artist" category for art listings, so if you're shopping for art on these sites, that's a category to check out (I've added links in the section below). There are also a number of other sites where artists sell their own hand-made art/crafts - Etsy and ArtFire are two of them.

One of the types of art you'll run across are mini works of art known as ACEOs or ATCs. Check out the ACEO section below to find out more about these little gems. There are some other art acronyms you'll see (SFA, OOAK, OSWOA, etc.). I've compiled a list of acronyms - see the sections below for more info.

eBay
Buy art from the artists who make it! This will take you to all the art listings by the artists themselves - in the Direct From Artist category. From there you can narrow your search.

My eBay listings - I list my latest original ACEOs and a few other art items on eBay - either as auction or fixed price listings. eBay still seems to have the most traffic and the best name recognition, but sales of art have slowed a lot in the last few years. I continue to list a few items there to maintain exposure. For a larger selection of my work, visit my Bonanza booth (see below).

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Bonanza
Bonanza is sort of like eBay, but different in that there are no auctions, just fixed price listings. They also have a Direct From Artist category - click the above link. From there you can narrow your search

Check out my Bonanza Booth (shops = booths on Bonanza) where you'll find earrings, note cards, magnets and reproduction prints featuring my art. Look for some original drawings and paintings too!

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ArtCardsWanted
A site just for ACEOs/ATCs

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Art by Us - Real Art. Real Artists
A source for original art and limited edition reproductions - direct from the artists.

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Etsy
Another site where artists and crafters sell their own work.

My shop is annran.etsy.com

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ArtFire
Yet another site where artists and crafters sell their own work. ArtFire is relatively new.

My shop is annran.artfire.com

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My Web Store
Buy cards, reproduction prints, photos and earrings directly from my store.

This group deserves special mention. I'm a member and the co-leader of "Art for Critters", a group of artists who sell their work online and regularly donate a portion of the sales to various animal rescue & support organizations.I'm proud and happy to be a part of this team of talented, supportive and charitable artists!

My eBay A4C listings

All eBay A4C listings

Art for Critters started on eBay, but we've spread out to other venues. On these other sites, we put "A4C" in the title of any listings that benefit animal charities. To find these items, just put "A4C" in the search box of these sites:

Etsy
ArtFire
Bonanza
ArtByUs

If you're looking for art on eBay and some other art web sites, you'll run across these acronyms. Artists generally include at least one of these acronyms in the title of their auction listings. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I'm familiar with.

A4C (or Art4C) - Art for Critters (artists donate a portion of sales to animal charities)

ACEO - Art Cards, Originals & Editions (always 2.5" x 3.5")

ATC - Art Trading Card

BOHO - Art in a "Bohemian" or "Hippie" style

CaaT - Complimentary Art and Things

EBSQ - a formal organization of self representing artists - with membership dues and everything!

EHAG - Eclectic Halloween Artists Group

OOAK - one of a kind

OSWOA - Original Small Work of Art (always 4"x 6" or vice versa)

SFA - Small Format Art, anything 14" or less on a side

SRA - Self Representing Artist(s)

ZNE - from 3 letters in "variaZioNE" - includes mixed media, altered art and collage art

ACEOs are small original works of art (although reproduction prints are also acceptable) that are the size of a baseball trading card and are a great way to collect affordable art. The only "rule" is that they must measure 2.5" x 3.5" (or vice versa). ACEOs may be matted, framed, traded, given as a gift within a greeting card, etc. The ACEO movement started on eBay and has spread to a number of other internet sites. You may also read about ATCs (Art Trading Cards), these are the same thing, but they are meant to be traded, not sold.

I've created a video about my ACEOs that you can see on YouTube. Watch the video

I started creating ACEOs in late 2006 and as I was warned, I quickly discovered they're addicting. But they're small, so they don't take long to do and they allow me to try out some new ideas/images that might someday become a larger work of art.

The ACEOs below are currently available on-line. Click on any image for more information.


This one, "Watchful Rest", is an original in ink, watercolor & color pencil.



"The Last Musk Ox" is an original drawing on black scratchboard, with red color pencil over the background. It's small but it's a detailed scientific illustration of a musk ox skull.



This one, "Hans" is an original graphite pencil drawing.



"Alpaca Kiss" is a reproduction print of a mixed media ACEO. The original has sold, but I've made prints of it.

Generally, I list new, original ACEOs on eBay first and if they don't sell, I'll move them to one of my shops. I also list reproductions of my ACEOs in these shops: Bonanza, Etsy or ArtFire. I post my latest ACEOs on my blog, so if you want to know when something new is available you can subscribe to receive e-mail from my blog or just grab the feed.

PODs are sites that allow artists to upload their own art, set up a shop and add their art to a variety of merchandise like tiles, t-shirts, mugs, magnets, shoes, tote bags, postage, etc. If the artist chooses to make their shop public, then anyone can view & buy the merchandise. The items are printed as ordered and the site handles the order, payment collection and shipping. The shop owners can order their own items at cost for resale. And a buyer can place one order that contains items from a variety of shops.

Zazzle is one of those sites. My shops are AnnRan (featuring my animal art & photos) and Ann's Photos (featuring my non-animal photos).

I had a CafePress site first, but discovered that Zazzle had square magnets (CP only has rectangular magnets) so I opened a shop there. I actually prefer Zazzle to CafePress and sales have been better there, so I'm putting in more effort into that shop. A nifty thing with Zazzle is that if sellers allow the option, buyers can customize items before purchasing. For example, if you could put your name on one of my t-shirt designs, or create event specific invitations that feature my art.
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CafePress is pretty much the same concept as Zazzle, but it doesn't allow the customization of products by buyers. They offer some items that Zazzle doesn't and vice versa.
My shop is PetArtGifts.com

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My first monthly e-newsletter went out in April 2009. Click here for the archives.

I try to send a newsletter every two months, and perhaps an additional announcement every so often if it's something really neat.


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