If you’ve sold art on eBay, you’ve no doubt run into the gamut of customers. Those who are wonderfully generous, leave sincere, appreciative feedback and pay your fees (no griping) quickly. Most I’ve dealt with are in this crowd (Thank God). Then there are the “others.” Every once in awhile you get someone who doesn’t think the green is as blue as it appeared in your listing. It’s too yellow. Instead of writing to express this upon receipt of the painting, they leave less than happy feedback. Too late to do anything about it now, isn’t it?

Any experienced eBay seller knows that once feedback is left, that’s all she wrote. The fat lady done sung. It’s over. There’s no going back to change things once those words have seen the light of day on your computer screen. eBay doesn’t like to change the feedback. Less-than-stellar feedback is horrible — especially when you’ve really gone out of your way to make the transaction as nice as possible. The only way to deal with it is to ask for positive or pleasant feedback. Let your customer know that if there is any problem, they should contact you immediately so it can be fixed before feedback is given.

Selling art online is somewhat difficult. It’s not always possible to show your art in the best way possible. Perhaps your photos don’t quite show it as it is. Perhaps the monitors read the colors differently. Perhaps the texture, metallic, whatever doesn’t quite come across.

I find putting a slight word description in my listings helps. If anyone has a question (It looks like it has a lot of texture, but does it really?) I can quell the concern. I don’t elaborate, I just give the facts (Sightly textured with lots of blues, greens and yellow with a touch of deep red.) That way anyone thinking the touches were brown, now know they are a deep red.

Also, some sellers are masters at putting up detail shots. These are great. They really let you get up close to a painting to see the texture, strokes, colors, etc. It’s almost like you’re at the gallery and standing inches away — if they’re good shots. Up-close shots are easy to be blurry. Make them crisp and clear. Some sellers don’t bother with these detail shots. Some don’t need them (they sell tons without the effort). Some could use them. I look at their art and have questions. If I have questions, likely others do, too.

Keep your shipping reasonable. Add a few dollars to pay for your packaging (after all, you should be using good boxes, bubble/foam wrap, lots of tape, labels, notecards, etc.) Be sure to cover your costs, add a bit and keep it as low as possible. Sellers who list art for .99 and shipping for 59.00 (in country) are obvious and inappropriate (in my opinion). On the other hand, buyers be ready to pay for shipping. $5.00 will not cover it for a canvas of any size at all. This is original art. It’s irreplaceable. It should be shipped as such.

Don’t get too Photoshop-happy either. Take the best possible pics upfront and then clean them up a bit with Photoshop. Don’t make them appear different than they do in real life. That will make for a disappointed buyer.

Be polite, sincere and happy (aren’t you?) with your buyer. The experienced art collector on eBay will likely deal with all levels of artists and thus artists-as-business people. Be as professional as possible. A new collector or once-in-a-lifetime art buyer won’t know the difference, but that is no excuse. You don’t know who you are dealing with either so treat every customer as they could be your return collector with lots of word-of-mouth business to send your way!

Karen Moehr (eBay moniker: artzzK) runs Facetime Art Studio — Win FREE art. Just enter and cross your fingers! No fees or gimmicks!

Article by William Lund

I remember back in the early 90s when my brother John called me up on the phone one day and explained that he had found a niche in digitally manipulated photography. He said he was poised to make a good deal of money with it, but he couldn’t find any good help. He knew that I had been into computers and thought maybe he could get me to work for him helping him digitally manipulate his photography.

John was a professional photographer doing mainly stock photography, and had discovered some new software called Adobe Photoshop. John found that he could use Photoshop to fix problems with photos taken at an expensive photo shoot that would have had to been re-shot. He also found that he could use the software to create photographs that just could not be shot in real life. This was a great thing for his stock photography business.

At the time I had just had a business fail, and I was supporting my family as an injection molding press operator, earning near minimum wage working the graveyard shift. John lived in San Francisco at the time and his studio was located where AT&T stadium is now. I was living in Stockton California, a good hour and a half commute each way.

Well John offered me $50.00 an hour to come work for him in his studio in S.F., and I asked him what time he wanted me to report for work in the morning!

For the next 5 years I worked for my brother doing digital manipulation for stock photography, digital retouching, and lots of digital art and photography for advertising agencies. I remember one of my first projects was to put an egret’s wings onto a pig for a stock photo of flying pigs.

Another time I brought my pet three-foot-long iguana to the studio and we photographed him. In those days we used film, and after developing the film we would use a drum scanner to digitize the photo, and then use either Photoshop or Live Picture to manipulate the photos. We turned the iguana into a fire-breathing dragon.

One job we did for Mother Jones magazine involved replacing Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s head with Hillary Clinton’s head in a photo of Madame Chiang Kai-shek chatting with Eleanor Roosevelt in the rose garden at the White House. We were later told that Hillary had it framed and put on her desk. We also heard that she was at first confused because she did not recognize the outfit she was wearing in the photo. Go figure.

We specialized in “conceptual” stock photography, producing images such as money trees, time flies (a watch with wings), an image of the earth in space but made of currency, dollar bills flying out the window, and that kind of thing. We also did photo-shoots for Fortune 500 companies and used digital techniques to produce advertising images. John acquired an incredible reputation for producing the best stock photography of its kind, and all of the ad agencies knew him well. He was a huge success. He created a line of images he called “Animal Antics” using images of animals doing odd things like skateboarding and riding bikes. The images were the basis for a highly successful line of greeting cards.

I finally grew tired of the commute and of sitting in front of a computer all day with an art-director telling me what to do. I went back to being an inventor, and John capitalized very well on his pioneering venture into digital stock photography, digital manipulation and funny pictures of animals.

Back then John was the first and for some-time the only stock photographer using digital manipulation to produce stock photos. There was no Internet, and stock photography was pretty much limited to ad agencies with big budgets.

In those days he sold stock photography through Tony Stone Images, and The Stock Market. Now Tony Stone is gone as is The Stock Market and Getty Images and number of other large stock agencies have replaced them. Royalty free photography, widespread use of digital manipulation, and the Internet are changing the face of the industry. Times have changed and John recently told me that the future of stock photography was online.

Mom and Pop businesses are going on the Internet to find stock photos for their newsletters, advertising both online and hard copy, brochures, trade show booths, etc. He feels the future of stock photography is online catering to the masses with low cost stock photography. There is a huge market for all types of photos for everything from photos for websites to pictures for brochures, to pictures for printed merchandise like cups and baseball caps. Most people now searching for stock photos don’t even know what a stock photo is. They search for “pictures of pigs” or “shark pictures”.

To take advantage of this burgeoning new market for stock photos, today’s upcoming photographers (and the old ones too) need to get their work online where it can be found and purchased.

Once again John is on the leading edge of his field. John has now launched a new website to address the blossoming online small business stock photo market. Somewhere on his website there are photos of fire-breathing dragons in a world where pigs do indeed fly.

Visit John’s new website (link below) for funny pictures and great stock photos Stock Photography Online Fine art prints and printed merchandise also available at his site.

William Lund writes to promote his brother’s site, JohnLund.com.

Pay particular attention to the Law of Your Personal Signature and Law of Contribution.

Go to “10 Universal Laws…” @ Wordpreneur.com

Using online portfolios is a great way to allow your work to get noticed by the right people. There are very good free sites such as SiteWelder and PortfolioCity.com as well as member sites that require very little payment in return for their large viewing audience. Creative Hotlist and Portfolios.com are two more great examples.

Another great way to promote your work is by having postcards printed with your best work and a little snippet about yourself on the back. Send them off to the art directors of your favorite magazines. All the contact information you’ll need can be located within the pages of the magazine. They’re always looking for talented artists.

Enter contests. Not only will it give you a valuable learning experience, but if you win, the exposure, especially in a well known magazine, is priceless. Plus any award is another valuable asset to have in your portfolio.

Networking is a great way to promote your work. Join a club or group within your industry; not only will you find people who share your interest, you’ll also find many people interested in utilizing your skills and knowledge.

Volunteer. You’d be surprised how quick your name will travel in positive ways by volunteering your skills.

Newsletters. Keep in contact with people, let them know what new mediums you’re experiementing with. Let them know of your new portfolio site or the great response you received from the art director that received your postcard. Let them in, let them know you. It won’t be long until you have a large network of family, friends and fans helping you succeed.

Remember to send me the link to your portfolio sites. I’d love to watch your work and career flower and blossom!

Deanna Benson was born and raised in San Diego, California, and has been a graphic artist for over 20 years. Learn more about Deanna »

iStockphoto users usually boast of generating the most income. So that would be your best place to start.

But go ahead and try them all out. Become a member (it’s free). Read their uploading instructions which provide rules and tips on what will and what won’t be accepted… and lots of great information to boot for beginning photographers and illustrators.

Answer a few questions and begin to upload your favorite photos or illustrations. You’ll be making money in no time, and will continue to make money for as long as you choose to keep your images on their sites. Be sure to let me know when your work’s been accepted. I’d love to be there when you get your first 100 downloads.

Lins to the sites mentioned:

• iStockphoto
• Dreamstime
• Shutterstock 

Deanna Benson was born and raised in San Diego, California, and has been a graphic artist for over 20 years. Learn more about Deanna »

LBB — Unless your fine artwork really stands heads and shoulders above everybody else’s work — and then some (face it, how many of us really have that unusual and rare distinction? Anyone? Anyone?) — you’ll want to figure out how to best sell yourself with your work.

Your work catches the prospect’s eye, but it’s the you part of the equation that convinces him or her to part with more money than sensible to own it.

About Eldon’s Little Black Book »

Eldon Sarte publishes and edits Chubby Artist.
Learn more about Eldon »

Close friends sometimes tease me about my little black book (they’re the only ones who get to see it). It’s a small hard-bound sketchbook, actually, with unlined pages, my preferred notetaking media. And I’ve had many through the years, because…

…this is where I jot everything down. Ideas. Thoughts. Doodles. Tips. Quotes. Factoids. Whatever. If I find something noteworthy — whether an original thought/idea or something picked up elsewhere — it goes in the little black book.

Well, guess what… a lot of the little BB’s tiny jottings are on the business of art. Or related.

Here’s where you get to take a peek.

Eldon Sarte publishes and edits Chubby Artist.
Learn more about Eldon »

These guys aren’t my target market, but they could very well be yours, specifically if you’re out to sell original work or limited runs.

Read “Investing in Arts” »

Another thing not so apparent is that this can also be achieved online. Such as (hint hint) maybe helping out with Chubby Artist in some way?

Read “Be of Service…” »

Read “Finding an Online Art Gallery” »