Online Art Galleries and Stores for Artists

You can find out about...

...just click a link and go straight to that topic

How to sell your original art online: an introduction

what this site offers

This site summarises online and publicly available information - all I've done is rounded it up and put it all on one site. However, this site has been awarded a purple star for incredible content!

On this site you can find links which help you to:
- find out what services a site can offer
- identify where you can sell original artwork
- read reviews about different sites
- compare the costs of different packages
- see how effective a website is at attracting traffic and buyers and compare the traffic trends for the sites you're considering

All suggestions about the inclusion of websites for galleries not currently included below should be made by way of a comment (see Comments and Feedback). All suggestions will be reviewed but will only be published if the website is added. (This is to avoid spam).

Much of the advice is generic and applicable to all artists no matter where they live. Where information is country-specific, it tends to focus on on the UK. It also provides information relevant to the US market

This site is part of the "selling art online" series and is a developing resource of links to suppliers and reviews of ther service they offer.

Check out the other sites Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists | Selling Art Online - Resources for Artists | Sell Daily Paintings - Resources for Artists | Email Newsletter Software - Resources for Artists | Blogging for Artists - Resources for Artists | Packaging, posting and shipping art - Resources for Artists

Check out also other sites relevant to the business of being an artist (see other lens listed in the right hand column) Art and the Economy | Copyright and Orphan Artworks | Art Equipment | Art Supplies in the UK | Art Supplies in the USA

If you like this site please rate it (see above) and feel free to add a link to it on your website.

Options for third party services

In order to sell your art you have the option of getting assistance from a third party who provides their service online.

The sorts of third party services which are currently offered online range from:
- use of an art auction service
- use of a website which provides a gallery page (with/without ecommerce facilities) and/or an online store for an artist
- use of a website which provides a print on demand service and associated ecommerce facilities

What this site does is:
- categorise each service by type
- provide a list of third parties within each category (links to their websites)
- provide links to independent reviews*
- show you the tools which YOU can use to check out a site*

Some sites, such as Empty Easel, will declare when they have a commercial interest in terms of taking adverts from a site being reviewed.

Market research and analysis

Before making a choice of whether or not to try and sell your artwork via an online gallery you need to:
- review site visitors and traffic
- compare the performance of different options
- check out what artists say in surveys
- read independent reviews of different services

TIPS for selling art online

Making a Mark: Selling art - online art websites, tracking marketing data and a new survey for artists!: This week I've had approaches from three brand new online gallery sites, who have all seen my work, have all been impressed and who all want to host and sell it for me! What did I do? Run around and jump for joy? No, I looked at the sites, marked all the e-mails as spam and binned every one of them - which is why apart from the latest one this morning I don't have the names and URLs of the individual websites to hand.

Why did I bin them? Let me explain - and bear with me, it's a longish post but you will find out about what I know about

* the simple economics of an online art gallery business (the sort that sends me spam e-mails)
* what you need to know to asses the value of a site you give money to
7 Tips to Increase Art Sales on Imagekind and other Art-selling Websites: Wondering how to increase your art sales on Imagekind or other art-selling websites? I interviewed two of Imagekind's top photographers and discovered 7 tips for increasing art sales on Imagekind. Here they are.
Use eBay Auctions To Send Traffic To Your Website: Many eBay sellers have launched their own e-commerce websites, since eBay implemented rate increases. They have already known the benefits of having a website, however, many sellers don't see enough visits on their site and still have to depend on eBay to generate most of the income.
MaM Poll: How much art have you sold via your blog or website?: "How much art have you sold via your blog/website in the last year? is the question being asked in the November Making A Mark Poll. You can find the poll in the column on the right.

I know from the very first poll I did that artists are selling through their personal blogs and websites. However what's always intrigued me is whether or not this is an odd sale or regular sales. So I decided to convert my intrigue into the subject of a poll - mainly because I suspected I wasn't the only person who'd like to know the answer!
Making a Mark: MaM Poll RESULTS: How much art have you sold via your blog or website?: In August, 53% of artists responding to the question What's the MAIN way you sell your art? said they sell most of their art direct - online or via their personal networks or personal studios i.e. independent of organisations which sell art for artists. The poll in November attempted to size the level of sales via websites or blog.

Here are the results (read on)
Where Artists Sell Art: A Web Survey of Nearly 300 Artists: Several months ago I posted a survey asking artists where they sold their art. The response so far has been incredible, with over 270 artists taking time to respond. After analyzing the poll, here are some of the more interesting results I found:
Making a Mark: Selling Art Online and Site Traffic: Have you ever heard the following quotation?

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.

Being able to identify and highlight what makes the difference when you're trying to do anything really pays off long term. This post highlights the variation in site traffic on different websites

Selling Art Online - Home Base!

This site includes links to all the resources for artists information sites which are about selling at online.

Information is largely generic with the more specialised information relating to specific channels being in the other sites in this series

Resource Sites

Auctionbytes - Free news and resources for online auction users: AuctionBytes is the independent trade publication for online merchants.
ECommerce-Guide to News, Reviews and Technology Solutions - ECommerce-Guide: ECommerce-Guide provides ecommerce business owners with e-commerce news, software reviews and tutorials, technology solutions and information about setting up, marketing and managing a successful online store.

Auction Site - Tips

Making More Money on eBay | How-to Guides for running your business from Work.com: Take advantage of selling tools to rev up your online auction revenues Selling stuff on eBay is easy enough. So is making money at it. Selling more stuff, however, and making more money requires true business savvy.

Important!

SELLING ORIGINAL ART ONLINE - GENERAL WEBSITES

eBay Art

eBay - Online auctions and stores

You can sell art on eBay
1) via auction
2) at a buy it now price
3) from your own art store

However, in 2010, eBay is no longer the force that it was and is now facing dwindling market share. In terms of selling art it, its traffic is far exceeded that by that visiting Etsy.

eBay - Categories within Art: Direct from the Artist
Digital Art
Drawings
Folk Art & Primitives
Mixed Media & Collage
Paintings
Photographs
Prints
Sculpture & Carvings
Textile Art
Other

Art from Dealers & Resellers
Digital Art
Drawings
Folk Art & Primitives
Mixed Media & Collage
Paintings
Photographs
Posters
Prints
Sculpture & Carvings
Textile Art
Other

Wholesale Lots
Paintings
Photographic Images
Prints
Posters
Other
eBay Stores: Art - Art, Original Art and Paintings items on eBay.com: Find Art, Original Art and Paintings items on eBay. Browse a huge selection of Prints and Sculpture and find exactly what you want now.
Art eBay Stores
o Direct from the Artist
o Art from Dealers & Resellers
o Wholesale Lots
Art on e-bay UK: Scope to sell Art, Posters, Paintings, Prints, Photographs on eBay.co.uk

eBay Art: last 12 months of visitor statistics

NOT the whole eBay site - just the art categories

Note that the scale is in HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of visitors and the downward trend in 2010

Bear in mind that the number of visitors at any one time are spread across all the various different styles of art sold on eBay and the number looking at art by individual artists will be much lower than this

eBay - Reviews

Selling Art on eBay: Is it worth it?: When I looked into eBay as a viable way to promote and sell my art, I came away a little disappointed. I found that thousands of paintings went unsold every week and those that did sell were primarily works by famous artists. Read more. . .
eBay Finagles Fixed-Price and Final Value Fees, Cuts Paper Payments: EBay cuts fixed-price listing fees, but some categories have higher final value fees. Also, new media shipping charge limits and tougher DSR minimums. Plus, the auction giant plans to eliminate paper payments.

Bonanza

Bonanza used to be known as Bonanzle but changed its name in 2010

Bonanza - the new site

formerly known as Bonanzle

I found the navigation of the site to be somewhat odd. There is no splash page for people wanting to sell which provides a general overview of the site and then points you in the direction of where else you can go to find out more

You have to go to the "Help" page to get answers to basic questions. In my book "Help" is the place you shouldn;t have to end up if the site introduces itself properly! Anyway - that's the explanation for the links below!

According to the Help Page Bonanza is
"Bonanza is an online marketplace for buying and selling items fasterwhile having more fun. Our specialty is helping you buy and sell items that aren't shiny, new, and mass-produced. The principle of relentless simplicitydrives our easy-to-use yet powerful user experience."

It seems to work well for collectibles but less clear how well it works for artwork. A general comments seems to be that fees are low but traffic is slow.

Buy Art at low prices from friendly sellers - Bonanza: The Art category Page on Bonanza
Help - Bonanza: Below you'll find answers to some of our favorite general-purpose questions.
Booths Setup - Bonanza: Selling on Bonanza - Let's talk selling!
* Setting up a Booth - Basic Questions
* Fees and Payments
* Setting up a Booth - Advanced Questions
* Importing Items
General - Bonanza: Assorted Topics - A collection of miscellaneous things you'd be prone to wonder.
Forthcoming tax configuration functionality - UPDATED - Bonanza: I'm writing to pre-announce a new feature we will soon be making available for those opted-in to see experimental features - the ability to set your own rules for collecting sales tax.
Google Product Feed UPI Changes - Bonanza: As you have likely heard, Google is making changes to their Google Product Search (GPS) feeds which will affect many Bonanza merchants. It's important that you take note of this change as it will soon determine whether or not your items appear in GPS. As of May 3rd, Google is now requesting unique product identifiers (UPI) for most products uploaded.
Collections & Revised Item Pages Launch - Bonanza: Time and time again, our user tests have shown us how important it is for each item to have multiple good quality photos. Our Collections page is built around this feedback -- with your large, crisp pictures as the focus.

Bonanza - the new name

all about the name change

In September 2010, Bonanzle announced that it had acquired 1000 markets and had also changed its name and introduced a new design to make it even easier for shoppers to find "everything but the ordinary." The transformation has not been entirely without problems - see charts

Both Bonanza and 1000 Markets are based in Seattle.

A source of great wealth; a spectacular windfall - Bonanza: Today is a big day in Bonanza history. Bonanza? Don't you mean Bonanzle? Actually, no. Today we changed our name! Check out the new URL at www.bonanza.com and keep an eye out tomorrow morning for the press release on the newly designed site!
Social Commerce Startup Bonanzle Buys 1000 Markets, Becomes Bonanza.com: Bonanzle, an eBay alternative that lets people engage in social commerce online, is changing its name to the far more memorable Bonanza.com and launching a revamped website. Coinciding with the rebranding announcement, the company this morning disclosed that it has acquired 1000 Markets.The latter i
Bonanzle is now Bonanza!: It's more than just a name change, Bonanzle, aka Bonanza now includes 1000 Markets. SEATTLE - Sept. 21, 2010 - Bonanzle, the leader in community-driven

Bonanzle / Bonanza: last 12 months of visitor statistics

for ALL categories - NOT just art

This is a generalist site and only a small proportion of this will relate to art and the pages of individual artists. It also changed its name during 2010 - as the chart indicates.

As at March 2011: After a good start at building traffic to the new site, it's now tailing off with visits falling faster than visitors. Reviews of Bonanza (see below) suggest a mixed experience for those having stores on Bonanza.

Analytical data relating to traffic and demographics have been hidden by the owner on Quantcast - I guess they're not wanting to boast about them?

Prior to the change 35% of traffic arrived via Google and 13% came from Facebook. 65% of those leaving the site go to ebay

Bonanza reviews

The jury is out - there appear to be some very mixed reviews of the Bonanza experience

collectibles.about.com | Best Place to Sell Online for Antiques/Collectibles -- Favorite Spots to Sell Online: Collector Favorites Spots to Sell Online
Sellers Choice Marketplace Ratings: Bonanza: Bonanzle came in fourth overall in the AuctionBytes 2011 Seller's Choice Awards. Read more about what merchants think of the Bonanzle.com marketplace.
Bonanza | Site Review | Shopping Website: Our Verdict: Yea! Picture yourself at a flea market, browsing through items you know you want while stumbling upon those you had no idea were for you. This is Bonanza.
Bonanzle: A BLOG ABOUT ALL THINGS BONANZLEY AND THE TERRIFIC FOLKS THAT MAKE UP THIS WONDERFULLY UNIQUE SELLING/BUYING VENUE! HTTP://WWW.BONANZLE.COM

a very critical statement of a consumer experience
Bonanza.com Review, Bonanza.com Reviews by Real Customers: some very critical reviews
Bonanzle: The Best eBay Alternative We've Seen — eCommerce-Guide.com: THE OLD SITE - Bonanzle: The Best eBay Alternative We've Seen By Vangie Beal July 30, 2008
This snappy, start-up company created an online marketplace that's easy to use, affordable and includes awesome online selling tools. In fact, it's the best eBay alternative we've seen yet.
On Bonanzle Marketplace, Simplicity Sells: THE OLD SITE - On Bonanzle Marketplace, Simplicity Sells
By Greg Holden
AuctionBytes.com October 05, 2008
What can a video game teach you about creating an ecommerce marketplace? Bill Harding learned from his experience as one of the developers of The Sims for the Game Boy Advance that simplicity combined with social engagement would be welcomed by online buyers and sellers. Greg Holden sat down with Ha
Online Marketplace Bonanza Rolls Out Sales-Tax Collection Feature - May 04, 2011: Last week, online marketplace Bonanza launched a test of new functionality that gives sellers the ability to set their own rules for collecting sales tax. AuctionBytes asked Bonanza founder Bill Harding for more information about the feature and his thoughts on sales tax collection.

Important!

SELLING ORIGINAL ART ONLINE - DEDICATED WEBSITE GALLERIES & STORES

Etsy

Your place to buy and sell all things handmade

Etsy: last 12 months of visitor statistics

Note that the scale is in MILLIONS of visitors and - unlike eBay art - Etsy is continuing to maintain very significant traffic in a difficult market

Bear in mind that the number of visitors at any one time are spread across all the different artists with Etsy stores so the number seeing an individual artist or artisan will be much lower than this

Etsy

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Etsy is one of the major success stories in recent years. While eBay has been losing artists in droves, Etsy upward trajectory (see chart below) continues to amaze!

Here are some statistics offered by Etsy in July 2011
"More than 25 million people visit Etsy each month. The marketplace has 10 million handmade, vintage items, and craft supplies listed across the 800,000 active shops that call Etsy home, and sales are up over 70% from last year."

YOU ARE RECOMMENDED TO TAKE A SERIOUS LOOK AT ETSY

Etsy :: Your place to buy and sell all things handmade

Buy and sell handmade & vintage items, art, and supplies on Etsy, the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace. Share stories through millions of items from around the world.

What you can sell

Handmade - Goods handmade by you.
Supplies - Commercial and handmade crafting supplies.
Vintage - Items 20 years or older with vintage appeal

Not allowed:

Anything that doesn't fit in one of the
three categories above
Handmade goods created by someone else
Illegal or prohibited items

Why sell on Etsy?
No HTML required. Setting up shop on Etsy is easy and takes only a few minutes. You can customize your shop with a banner, profile, shop policies and more.

You'll get your own URL for your shop based on your username, http://username.etsy.com

Vibrant community. When you join Etsy, you're joining a community of helpful, knowledgeable sellers. You can chat with other Etsians, share tips and marketing strategies on an Etsy Team or even attend an online workshop in our Virtual Labs.

Active buyers. Etsy shoppers are looking for handmade goods, vintage items and craft supplies. Reach the ideal customer for your products when you sell on Etsy.

Online safety. Etsy values your safety and privacy. We won't share your email address with anyone. All sensitive information, such as billing information, is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL). For more information, read our Privacy Policy.

Etsy :: FAQ

FAQs about Etsy - and the answers

Storque - the Etsy Blog

The Storque: Etsy's superblog, geared toward Etsy members and readers interested in the handmade lifestyle.

Etsy Shops Directory re artists and artisans

Clarifications and Changes: Updates to Etsy's Site Policies :: Etsy Blog

we have updated the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy to complement the revised DOs & DON'Ts. These are important changes that every Etsy member should review

Etsy :: Terms of Use

ETSY RULES - Terms of Use

Etsy :: Copyright Policy

ETSY RULES - Copyright and Intellectual property

Etsy :: Trademark Guidelines

ETSY RULES - Trademark Guidelines

Etsy :: Fees

ETSY RULES - Fees Policy

Etsy :: Privacy Policy

ETSY RULES - Privacy Policy

Seller Handbook | The Etsy Blog

The official blog for the world's handmade marketplace. Discover how-to's, interviews with makers, and curated collections.

Etsy - Reviews

Etsy.com Review - "Better than ebay if you are looking for handcrafted art items" - Viewpoints: Etsy.com. See consumer reviews, ratings, and advice on the Etsy.com. Consumers say 'Better than ebay if you are looking for handcrafted art items'. Read reviews of thousands of other products too.
Etsy.com review: REVIEWS: Etsy.com

26 reviews - average rating of 4.65
3 months review since selling on etsy %uFFFD Handmade with joy: 3 month review by a new Etsy member
eBay Alternative for Artisans: Etsy Expands Your Exposure: If you make handcrafted wares and want to increase your exposure online, let Etsy be your elf this holiday season. Unlike many other eBay competitors, this site gets lots of traffic.
Etsy Forum - reference to this site: Etsy discussion re Etsy and Squidoo

The Storque - How to sell on Etsy

Etsy :: Dos and Don'ts: Please read this page with care, as it explains the dos and don'ts, the ins and outs, the ups and downs (and everything in between) of being a member of the Etsy community.
The Etsy Seller Handbook: All Our How-To's About Selling :: Etsy Blog: Below you'll find a handy index of all the useful how-to's about selling on Etsy. We're calling it the Seller Handbook
Etsy Success for Beginner Sellers :: Etsy Blog: Welcome to selling on Etsy! Consider this article the quick-start guide, with the most important things to consider for getting your shop in top shape!
Seller How-To: Fostering Repeat Business :: Etsy Blog: I ran some very scientific and fancy tests here at the Etsy Labs and I found out a few things about customer loyalty. It costs a whole lot more (or some might say, a heck of a lot more) to gain a new buyer than to retain your current buyers.&n...
Tech Update: List Items and Receive Payments in Your Currency :: Etsy Blog: Etsy is a global marketplace! Last August, we made it possible to see prices in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. We are very pleased to announce that you may now list items and exchange payments in 21 different currencies. For sellers, the choice to switch your currency setting is entirely yours, though we do see many potential benefits to doing so:
Tech Update: Coupon Codes for Your Etsy Shop :: Etsy Blog: The newest tool in your Etsy shop: coupon codes! A coupon code applies to all items listed in your shop and is not applied to shipping or sales tax. In addition, sales tax is calculated based on the discounted item price, not the full item price.
How to Offer Gift Certificates in Your Etsy Shop :: Etsy Blog: Last minute shoppers may appreciate the convenience of a gift certificate from your Etsy shop. We have some guidelines and tips for sellers who wish to offer gift certificates.
Shop Together: Circles and Activity Feeds :: Etsy Blog: There are obvious benefits to shopping online: Chinese leftovers, flannel robes, bedhead. Despite all this, no one can deny that it gets a little lonely. Without the company of your overly-opinionated gaggle of friends or your sudoku-focused husband,...
Seller How-To: Finding Your Etsy Niche :: Etsy Blog: Standing out in the crowd of enormously talented sellers and the wide variety of high-quality items is no easy feat. In fact, it can be daunting. How do you make your work seem different than everything else that's already out there?
Let's talk about finding your "niche" at Etsy and running a shop that has your distinct stamp of individuality.
Etsy Seller Inventory Worksheet :: Etsy Blog: This will help you to track your inventory, shipping and profits, making your life at tax season a breeze. This spreadsheet will help you figure out your monthly profits, track orders, look over top selling items and keep on top of your shipping.
Seller Handbook | The Etsy Blog: The official blog for the world's handmade marketplace. Discover how-to's, interviews with makers, and curated collections.

Etsy - Tips

Etsy :: The Storque :: How-To :: Tech Update + How-To: Download your Sales and Billing Data to a Spreadsheet: Sellers who do their own accounting will be excited to hear this: you can now download your sales information to your computer in CSV format
A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Shop on Etsy: Want to get a shop started on Etsy? Don't know where to start? This guide will help you find the help you need to get your shop up and running!
Etsy :: The Storque :: Search: shop makeover series: The Storque: Etsy's superblog, geared toward Etsy members and readers interested in the handmade lifestyle.
Etsy :: The Storque :: How-To :: Web Analytics Recap: Seller Chat in the Virtual Labs: Recently, we held a Virtual Lab on the topic of Etsy Web Analytics, which enables sellers to do tracking with Google Analytics. We had a great turnout, with over 100 sellers in attendance. If you were not able to attend, I wanted to recap...

Squidoo Tips for Etsy Sellers

Alternative perspectives on Etsy

Yessy

Yessy: the last 12 months of visitor statistics

Traffic is more or less static and while bigger than some it's not significant overall. 16% arrive from Google and 12% from Facebook. Similar figures return to the same destinations.

Yessy - including reviews

Yessy > 14-Day Free Trial: Benefits:
* 14-day free trial to display and sell your art.
* Very quick and easy setup, often taking only 5 minutes.
* Display as much of your art as you wish. There are no limits.
* Instantly accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Checks, and Money Orders.
* Upload your images instantly from your computer through an easy-to-use form.
* Yessy shopping cart allows your art to be purchased quickly and easily online.
* Yessy handles the transactions and transfers the buyer's funds directly to you along with the order information.
* Average artist on Yessy receives several thousand hits per month and you can view your statistics at any time.
* Edit your gallery and add more items for free anytime, instantly and easily.
* Free biography page with optional personal photo.
* Free contact page that allows people to send you a message while keeping your contact information private.
* Free critique system that allows you to receive valuable feedback and interact with visitors.
Yessy Art Gallery: A Review: This review of Yessy.com will let you know how it compares to other online art-selling websites. Obviously Yessy is a well-established online art gallery and doesn't charge a commission fee - but does it work? Read the full review for more details.
(July 2007)

EBSQ

EBSQ: last 12 months of visitor statistics

February 2010: Traffic has reduced by a third in the last 12 months.

46%comes from Google and over 12% from other websites suggesting that this website is recognised by the main seach engines in the main browser queries for sites like this.

22% leave to go to Googlewhile 11 next visit blogs.

EBSQ

EBSQ (the website) is an online artist community and portfolio site for independent self-representing artists. It includes artists, photographers, and crafters and has been around and developing since 2000.

It also provides a portal into sites (such as ebay and etsy) where members sell their work

EBSQ Self-Representing Artists: Online Artist Community & DIY Art Portfolios: extracts from site description:

EBSQ is an online art association whose members represent their own work to the public. Our mission is to foster an active community of independent artists, and to provide tools and services to bring our members greater exposure in the art market. EBSQ membership is open--we welcome artists at all stages of their career. All media and styles are welcome.

Our easy-to-use tools empower artists to create a web presence for their art within minutes, allowing you to connect with other artists and art lovers world wide. Additionally, there are monthly exhibition opportunities, a really engaged community forum, opportunities to learn (or teach!) new skills from art techniques to marketing via social media.

(A Self-Representing Artist typically makes his/her work available directly to the public without a middle man. This does not rule out gallery representation as well, but in general, this is an artist from whom you can purchase work directly.)
EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0: This is the official Blog for the EBSQ Self-Representing Artists Community, where you'll find news, reviews, site announcements, and of course, a generous helping of art!
EBSQ Self-Representing Artists Community Forum: EBSQ Self Representing Artists - Forum
EBSQ - Online Art Gallery: EBSQ galleries for different types of art
EBSQ Self-Representing Artists | Facebook: EBSQ on Facebook
Twitter / EBSQ: EBSQ on Twitter - a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time
Become a Member Artist of EBSQ!: Details of membership fees

Alternative Perspectives on EBSQ

Artwanted

February 2010: Reduced from 27k to 20k in 12 months. In late 2006, average traffic was around.c 40k suggesting this site is in a long term decline.

30% of traffic comes from Google and Yahoo

Artwanted

ArtWanted.com: For artists and photograohers wanting to sell their artwork
Personal Online Portfolio Website; Detailed Portfolio Statistics Reports; Receive Feedback on your Artwork; Save Your Favorite Artwork & Artists; Personal RSS Subscription Feed; Sell Your Artwork Online; Participate in Art Community Forums; Custom Widgets to Promote Artwork; Enter Monthly Art Contetsts

Boundless Gallery

Boundless Gallery: last 12 months of visitor statistics

NOT RECOMMENDED

THIS SITE IS NOT RECOMMENDED. Monthly traffic is less than my blog's(!) and has reduced from 18.7k to 13.8k

27% of visitors come from Google; 10% come from Empty Easel. Google is the destination of 37% leaving the site.

Bear in mind that the number of visitors at any one time are spread across all the different artists included in the website's galleries so the number seeing an individual artist will be much lower than this

Boundless Gallery - including reviews

Buy Art Online & Sell Art Online with BoundlessGallery.com: Buy art online and sell art online! Artists, galleries, and art from around the world featuring paintings, photographs, glass art, studio furniture, sculpture, ceramics, and much more.
My Review of BoundlessGallery.com: I now realize now that this review of Boundless Gallery should have been higher up on my to-do list for EmptyEase - after looking at the site I was really very impressed. BoundlessGallery.com sells all types of art by original artists, and they offer a flexible pricing plan too.
Boundless Gallery Adds Custom Framing for Artwork Plus: Boundless Gallery - one of the top art websites I've found for selling original art - has recently added two new features for both artists and art buyers: custom framing and a full money back guarantee. Why is this good? Click here to find out.
BoundlessGallery Switches to Yearly Fees & Lower Commissions for Artists: Boundless Gallery has been updating and improving several features on their website (for both artists and art buyers), and has also changed their member fees and commission rates. Here's a quick update on some of what's new at BG.

Discovered Artists

Discovered Artists: last 12 months of visitor statistics

NOT RECOMMENDED

THIS SITE IS NOT RECOMMENDED
This site started in July 2008 and has failed to gain traction when compared to other sites
May 2010: What looked like a good traffic profile early in 2010 looked very suspect when the numbers were inspected more closely - and lo and behold traffic collapsed in May.
Summer 2011: Since then traffic has failed to recover and some months have looked dire.

It would appear a very few artists are generating the majority of the traffic arriving via search.

22% arrive from Facebook and only 5% come from Google - suggesting that the marketing of this site directly or indirectly has not optimised for Google. Compete indicates that it doesn't even rank in Google. 38% leave for Google and 10% go back to Facebook.

Discovered Artists - including Reviews

Artist gets home page and ecommerce facilities for a price. Artist needs to arrange shipping.
It has some nice art but site claims do not appear to be born out by traffic

Discovered Artists: Owner's Site Description
DiscoveredArtists.com is serious about selling your art. You can effectively promote yourself and your work to thousands of qualified Buyers around the world on this website. Our professional site design, robust search engine, and smart marketing result in generating significant art sales for career Artists. And, the good news? It doesn't take serious cash to do it! You can sell your artwork online for as little as $59 per year.
Discovered Artists - Artists by name: Some may take the view that not a lot of artists means not a lot of competition.
Empty Easel | A Review of DiscoveredArtists.com, the Online Marketplace for Emerging Artists: Review dated September 2008
DiscoveredArtists.com is a new online marketplace for artists and art buyers, featuring original art, photography, and art objects. It launched in July with over 300 artists and nearly 3500 works of art for sale. It has a pleasing layout of neutral colors and strong navigational cues to help people browsing or searching for art.

ArtByUs

ArtByUs: last 12 months of visitor statistics

NOT RECOMMENDED

Traffic has fluctuated over the course of the last year but overall has been low overall - my blog gets more visitors in a month.

It's not possible to recommend this website on this evidence

ArtByUs - including reviews

NOT RECOMMENDED

THIS SITE IS NOT RECOMMENDED

ArtByUs.com Art Auctions: (Note - the description below is taken from the community pages. There appears to be no actual page which explains how the site to the visiting artist or provides the answers to FAQs)

Owner's Site Description
ArtByUs.com came into existence in 2004 to provide a platform for art collectors, art representatives, art galleries, interior designers and the general public to connect with artists from around the world in a pleasant and inspiring setting. We give artists the opportunity to showcase their work to buyers from across the globe, without having to contend with cheap reproduction art being sold alongside their real art creations, and without having to pay large commissions or listing fees to have their work seen.
ArtByUs.com ::: Discussion board for self-representing artists, artisans, art collectors and fine art galleries.
Empty Easel | A Review of ArtByUs.com: Sell your Art Somewhere Else: Review Jul 12, 2007
There's not much more to say about ArtByUs-I'm not even going to talk about the artwork because, to be honest, I didn't really bother to look at it. I'm sure there's both good art and bad art listed, but when nothing sells, it doesn't make much difference.

Give ArtByUs.com a pass. There are much, much better places to sell your art online.

artflock

Artflock: last 12 months of visitor statistics

NOT RECOMMENDED

Very poor and declining traffic levels in the last 12 months which has involved losing 90% of the existing very low level of traffic.

Consequently I do NOT recommend this site

UPDATE: This site is now offline. I'm keeping this entry here to demonstrate why traffic matters to an online gallery website

Artflock - and reviews

NOT RECOMMENDED

Contemporary craft and original art to buy and sell online - Artflock: ArtFlock.com is an online creative community where you can buy and sell original art and craft. It is an ideal place to discover the latest artistic talent or to share your artwork with new audiences.
Artflock.com Goes Social, Adding More Community Features for Artists: Have you been to Artflock.com lately? Artflock is a UK-based website for displaying and selling original art, but it's open to artists all around the world. More importantly, it's really been changing over the last few months..........
Customer Feedback for ArtFlock.com: Read the comment about how many visits each work of art gets

Other Online Galleries and Stores

Saatchi Online - Show your art to the world: Saatchi Online at The Saatchi Gallery allows artists to showcase their work for thousands of visitors to this site to view.

Snapshot review:
This is a very complex site which primarily essentially provides a basis for highlighting the Saatchi Gallery and Saatchi artists (ie this is a business oriented site rather than a completely altruistic one).
All the links from artists enamoured with being discovered by Charles Saatchi provide Saatchi with lots of points for a good SEO rating. However active marketing is employed only in relation to Saatchi artists.

The site showcases art on a random basis and/or if you know the name of an artist. It takes no commission from artists and charges no commission to buyers. You simply buy the work you like directly from the artist, using Paypal or a suitable alternative payment method.

This is NOT the same as being a Saatchi Gallery artist!
Sell art online - selling art on the Internet: Sell art online with ArtGallery.co.uk (free!)

The purpose of ArtGallery.co.uk is to offer you, the talented artist, a platform from which to sell your art online to the public, without any of the hassles of having your own web site and dealing with e-commerce. If you can answer "yes" to these questions, then we want you to join us and start selling art online.

* Are you a talented artist living in the UK and willing to sell to UK customers?
* Do you have three or more original paintings, sculptures, or other artworks to sell?
* Are you prepared to take great quality photographs of your art?
* Will you be responsible and take your artworks offline when you are away and cannot fulfil orders?
Art.sy - Discover fine art: A new site - supposedly being backed by Gagosian and the Google CEO
Art.sy - Discover fine art: Answers to frequently asked questions

Saatchi Gallery: last 12 months of visitor statistics

This site has seen its traffic declining for quite some time.

Bear in mind that the number of visitors at any one time are spread across all the different artists on the site so the number seeing an individual artist or artisan will be much lower than this

Art.sy: last 12 months of visitor statistics

On the face of it this is a weird venture.
* It's a website which gets coverage in the Art.Info which states that Gagosian and the Google CEO are backing it.
* On the other hand it has very little traffic and it's still hiring employees (as at November 2010).

The best that can be said of it right now is that it is a new idea - and maybe one that is trying to copy the relative success of Saatchi and Etsy (that name is nor random!)

I wouldn't recommend getting involved until it looks like it might be taking off properly - and it hasn't as yet

Print on Demand Services

Print on demand - for artists

The majority of links to websites providing print of demand services, information and reviews are in this dedicated site.

Online print on demand services for artists

These are covered in-depth in my Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists site

Art.com - Posters, Art Prints, and Framed Art Leader.: Find any Poster, Art Print, Framed Art or Original Art at Great Prices. All Posters and Custom Framing 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed, Fast Delivery.
Imagekind: Site Description:
Imagekind is one community for creating, buying and selling high end framed artwork. We offer giclee art prints of all types for sale......Visitors can shop from over 50,000 unique and independent artists or choose from the classics in our Masters of Art collection. Artists from all disciplines, including traditional and digital photographers, painters, digital artists and illustrators sell their artwork on Imagekind. Shop our selection of high end wall art, framed art, canvas artwork, custom greeting cards, photography and poster art prints. Or choose to create your own high end work of art with your personal digital images.

Now part of the Cafe Press Group
Zazzle: Essentially a site for selling artwork on T Shirts and posters. This is how they describe themselves

"T-shirts, Posters, Art and more!
Infinite and Instant, Zazzle is the only on-demand retail platform for consumers and major brands, offering billions of retail quality, one-of-a-kind products shipped within 24 hours. Offering the largest library of customizable digital images from world-class brands, Zazzle enables content owners to unlock their entire libraries of content, making it available for purchase and customization by consumers. Through Zazzle's innovative on-demand retail and technology platform, users can instantly create, customize to fit their personal style, purchase and sell a near infinite array of products online.

The company launched in 2005 and is based in Redwood City, California."
CafePress: CafePress.com is an online marketplace that offers sellers complete e-commerce services to independently create and sell a wide variety of products

There's a big focus on printing on to T shirts (and other clothing items) and mugs
Red Bubble Art Gallery and Community - T-shirts, Fine Art Prints, Calendars, Cards and More - RedBubble: Site description:
RedBubble is an open and inclusive website where you can share your creative genius with the world.
On RedBubble you can sell your work online. Over the last 2 years RedBubble has shipped 180,000 items of art to 71 different countries (including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu). We take care of all the hassle. Give us your digital file and we will turn it into the finished product, deliver it to your customer and take care of any customer service problems. You control the pricing of your work - and decide how much you'd like to be paid (RedBubble doesn't charge a commission - we charge a simple base price).

Reviews of sites providing print services

and other updates about these sites and services offered

Check what they say about the quality of a fine art print. Different technologies are used. It's always a good idea to order a sample.

See also my Print Art on Demand - Resources for Artists site

Imagekind: A new way for Artists to Exhibit and Sell Art Online: Today I'm reviewing Imagekind, an online community for artists who want to sell prints of their artwork via the internet. With Imagekind, individual artists don't have to deal with the printing, storing, mailing, or online credit card transactions - Imagekind handles all. Continue reading. . .
(November 2006)
My Review of Zazzle.com: Printable Products and Posters on Demand: Zazzle.com is a print on demand supplier of various products, including posters and fine art prints. It's fairly similar to other print on demand services I've reviewed, but with enough clear differences that I'm sure some artists will prefer Zazzle over the competition.
(April 2008)
Artocracy.org: Affordable Art Prints and Downloadable PDF Artwork: Although Artocracy.org has apparently been around for a few years now, it only recently came to my attention when I saw that it was one of five art websites nominated for the 12th Annual Webby Awards this year.
CafePress.com: Where Art Becomes. . . Stuff.: CafePress.com was one of the first online markets to offer print on demand services to artists. Now CafePress has over 6.5 million members (each with their own CafePress shop) who sell t-shirts, mugs, stickers, cards, and yes, even posters and framed prints of their artwork.
(April 2008)
Making a Mark: CafePress acquires Imagekind - what next?: I woke up this morning to find that CafePress has acquired Imagekind. Below you'll find links to the announcements on their respective blogs and my initial thoughts - set out as pros, cons, observations and queries. While reading all of this just keep in mind the relative size of the memberships - CafePress has 6.5 million members and Imagekind has 50,000 members - and I'm one of them.

Art Business Books

books on Amazon

Website Traffic

Website traffic is crucial to the success of a website. The really successful sites count their traffic in millions and hundreds of thousands of visitors each month.

However some online gallery websites get less traffic in a month than popular blogs (like mine!)

Check out the traffic using compete.com. You can look at one site or compare more than one - all completely free. While the figures may not be wholly accurate it's very likely that the comparative positions indicated by the stats are real.

Remember to look at how many unique visitors they get as well as how many hits.

Compete: Compete helps you benefit from click-sharing by providing free services that create a more trusted, transparent, and valuable Internet.

ALL THE CHARTS IN THIS SITE ARE EMBEDDED IMAGES OF CHARTS PRODUCED IN COMPETE.COM
Home | Quantcast: Quantcast enables me to review the level of traffic a site is getting
Tracking the Online Art Market: A Look at 10 Art Websites' Monthly Visitor Stats: As you know, I keep track of the online art market by watching the traffic stats of 10 art selling websites, including Boundless Gallery, Imagekind, RedBubble, Yessy, Artflock, Artist Rising, PicassoMio, and a few more. Here's how these companies compare right now.
(January 2008)
Online Art Galleries - How Many Visitors Do They Really Get?: Just like traditional galleries, online galleries NEED people to visit them. Without a lot of visitors, there's not much chance they'll sell a lot of art. So today I'm going to share the monthly traffic estimates of over 30 online art galleries

Surveys - how you sell your art

Check out what your fellow artists have to say in the various polls which have been run. You may get a surprise.

The Making A Mark Poll - What's the MAIN way you sell your art?: (August 2008)
53% of artists responding to the poll say that the main way they sell their art is independent of organisations which sell art for artists. They sell most of their art direct - online or via their personal networks or personal studios.
The Making A Mark Poll - How much art have you sold via your blog or website?: (November 2008)
* nearly 50% of those who responded failed to generate any income from their website or blog - half because they didn't try and half because they didn't succeed.
* 51% generated income through sales via their website or blog. Of these: 37% sold 5 items or less and only 5% of those who sold were achieving regular sales via their website or blog.
Where Artists Sell Art: A Web Survey of Nearly 300 Artists: Several months ago I posted a survey asking artists where they sold their art. The response so far has been incredible, with over 270 artists taking time to respond. After analyzing the poll, here are some of the more interesting results I found:

The Making A Mark Polls

Selling Art Online - Reviews by Empty Easel

Dan at Empty Easel has reviewed quite a few sites

These are reviews which relate to sites which are not featured above

Empty Easel | A Review of Ugallery.com: The Online Art Gallery for Emerging Student Artists: Review dated: October 2007
If you're a college art major or a talented high school artist looking for an online art gallery, you might want to check out Ugallery.com. Ugallery is a new online art gallery specifically for students and recent graduates, although it's a bit different from other art galleries online.
Empty Easel | PicassoMio.com: Not my First Choice for Selling Art Online: Review dated: May 2007
Thinking of selling your art on PicassoMio.com? Read my review of PicassoMio before paying the start-up fee. I compare PicassoMio's traffic, features, and design, with several other art websites on the internet.
Empty Easel | OriginalArtOnline.com: Showcasing Your Original Artwork to Sell: Review dated: February 2007
OriginalArtOnline.com is a website that has been selling original work online by artists for over two and a half years. There's no commission fee charged when you sell your work, and in fact, there's no system for payment through OriginalArtOnline at all. How does it work? Continue reading. . .
Empty Easel | GoZabo.com: Selling your Hand-crafted, Original Artwork: Review dated: July 2007
What is Gozabo.com? It's a new online art marketplace for artists of all types - woodworkers, sculptors, jewelry makers - and the list goes on. If you make hand-crafted artwork and are looking for a place to sell it online, you'll want to read the rest of this review.
Empty Easel | StudentArtGallery.com: The Online Art Gallery for Emerging Student Artists: Review dated: August 2009
Art students take note: there's a new (and rather unique) online art gallery just for you at StudentArtGallery.com. How are they different? For every piece you sell, they'll give 10% back to your school's art department.
Empty Easel | A Review of CollegeArtOnline.com: Quality Student Artwork at Affordable Prices: Review dated: June 2009
Although CollegeArtOnline.com specializes in selling student artwork, it is far from amateurish - the design of the site is solid, and in general the artwork is very strong. Anyone looking to purchase original, contemporary artwork (especially on a budget) should include CollegeArtOnline.com as one
Empty Easel | A Review of Zatista.com: More Than Just an Art Marketplace Online: Review dated: May 2009
Zatista may be new - it just launched at the end of April, 2009 - but in terms of design and usability, I think it's already one of the best places online to buy and sell original artwork.
Empty Easel | DailyOriginal.com: Just One Artwork for Sale, Every Day: Review dated: March 2009
DailyOriginal.com is a website with a unique twist on selling art online - instead of listing hundreds or thousands of works of art in a massive online art gallery, it only lists one per day. How does it work? Read on.
Empty Easel | Review of Zibbet.com: Find Art, Love Art: Review dated: February 2009
Zibbet.com is a new online art gallery and marketplace which just launched this February. If the name "Zibbet" strikes you as slightly strange, think of the word "exhibit" instead and it'll suddenly make a lot more sense.

Books and Journals: The Art Business

books on Amazon

Resources for Artists - relating to selling art online

by other lensmasters

Making A Mark

Artist and author Katherine Tyrrell draws and writes about art for artists and art lovers.

Topics include: artists, art exhibitions, art blogs; art history; art techniques and tips; art business and marketing; art economy and making a mark with pastels, coloured pencils and pen and ink.

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Making A Mark reviews......

a consumer's guide to quality and value in art books, art supplies and services to artists

Read reviews about art books, art supplies and other products and services used by artists.

This blog highlights:
- book reviews (art instruction and art history)
- reviews of art media, art materials and art equipment
- reviews of places where you buy (art shops, online art suppliers and art bookshops)
- reviews of other products or services used by artists (gallery websites)
- summaries of good quality and relevant reviews by other practising artists

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Comments and Feedback

comments are welcome - but please do not spam

ANYBODY can comment BUT please note that:
* All comments are moderated before publication
* All html is stripped out of comments. Spam is not published.
* All suggestions about the inclusion of websites will be reviewed but will only be published if the website is added. (This is to avoid spam)

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foxx2jett Nov 10, 2011 @ 10:46 pm | delete

Thanks for your lenses, my wife is an up and coming artist and we can use all the help we can get. Again, many thanks!!!

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KitandCaboodle Aug 23, 2011 @ 7:45 pm | delete

A lot of great information on this lens. You've done some hard work pulling this all together. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!

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Close2Art Aug 6, 2011 @ 12:26 pm | delete

Wonderful lens thanks for sharing...RWJR

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KANEsUgAr Jul 1, 2011 @ 1:45 pm | delete

Wow you did a great job on this lens. Great information.

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AnneVis Jul 1, 2011 @ 1:58 am | delete

Great lens! Thanks for doing this research and sharing!

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CarynJSwift56889 Jun 15, 2011 @ 4:21 am | delete

good lens, keep moving

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black_and_white_photography Jun 8, 2011 @ 12:19 pm | delete

I have quite a few of my favorite here and some others that I did not know about.
Thanks for introducing me to them.
Wonderful lens. Bookmarked it.

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magento-templates Apr 5, 2011 @ 3:25 am | delete

Loved your lens =) Thanks for info sharing. People who work from home will benefit for sure ;)

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cherylrogers Jan 2, 2011 @ 8:51 pm | delete

Thank you for providing this great information! dddddddddddddddddddd

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DaveStone13 Dec 28, 2010 @ 4:36 pm | delete

Lots to chew on here. I am lensrolling to my own art lenses and will feature lens where appropriate. Thanks for putting it all together so well.

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Brick_House_Fabrics Dec 26, 2010 @ 5:05 am | delete

Interesting stats! Going to post this in the forums on Etsy

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jonart Nov 27, 2010 @ 11:53 pm | delete

Hey, thank you for sharing all of these resources for artists. A very practical lens to refer back to...

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SelfAndSource Nov 21, 2010 @ 8:35 am | delete

Thank you so much for all the work you've done. I'm passing this link to artist friends.

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makingamark Nov 21, 2010 @ 9:03 am | delete

Thanks Patricia - much appreciated!

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WeirdStuff Nov 20, 2010 @ 2:12 pm | delete

Nice resource!

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BarbaraCasey Nov 14, 2010 @ 6:14 pm | delete

Never knew there were so many sites for artists to sell their work. Passed your link along to a couple of artist friends. Thanks for doing the legwork. Truly helpful lens.

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makingamark Nov 14, 2010 @ 6:47 pm | delete

Thanks Barbara - I've been hoping people will share this information with their fellow artists.

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jvsper63 Jul 29, 2010 @ 11:25 am | delete

Love all the information. and great work on your sites!!!!

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ChapelHillFiddler Jul 18, 2010 @ 6:49 am | delete

I'm dazed by all the information here. It would take a week to absorb it all. Wonderful job.