by Fiona R Ogilvie
http://www.froart.com

Unless you enjoy acting out the part of the proverbial
starving artist, chances are that you're always on the
lookout for good places to sell your art. What would you
think of opening a little gallery in a market that has
hundreds of thousands of visitors monthly, is open 24/7 with
or without you being there, provides excellent security and
even collects your fees for you? That market is the
internet. With literally millions of people using the
internet daily, more and more artists are discovering that
online is a great place to sell your art. Let's take a look
at three of the most popular ways to sell art online and see
if one of them would work for you.

Sound like an impossible dream? It's not - it's a digital
world, and you'll find all of those on the internet. If
you're an artist dabbling in any media, there are a number
of different ways to sell your art online. The three most
popular are your own web site, a gallery web site, or an
auction site. Your own preferences and skills should be the
key determining factor in which style of selling you choose
to sell your art online.

Auction Sites Auction sites allow people to post items that
they have for sale, usually with pictures. They provide a
way for others to post bids on the sale items. At the end of
a specified period of time, the auction is closed, and the
seller makes arrangements with the winning bidder for
payment and shipment.

eBay is the single most popular auction site on the
internet. You can sell anything on eBay, with very few
exceptions. Setting up a 'store' on eBay is simple and user
friendly. Once you set up a merchant account with the site,
you can post your works, set a minimum bid, a reserve bid
and a 'buy-it-now' price. eBay is affiliated with a number
of payment options. The most popular is Paypal, the original
pay-by-email solution. A Paypal account is the easiest way
to accept payment for your works.

eBay offers the convenience of a large audience, ease of
payment, and present templates that make it easy for you to
post scans of your work to attract customers. Of course, the
very thing that makes it an attractive marketplace also make
it an easy place for your art to get lost in the shuffle.

Artist's Gallery Sites Very similar to auction sites, except
the focus is on original art. A gallery site may charge
commission on any pieces that you sell, or may charge a
subscription fee to allow you to post your artwork on their
site. The gallery software will let people view your entire
collection of art, or just one piece at a time, as well as
letting them bid on a piece of work, or contact you to buy
it outright. Most let you set up a gallery free, but offer
special promotion for paying members.

They provide: A market focused on artwork, a payment method
and escrow service, contact and exposure to other artists.

Your Own Web Site Building your own web site offers you
total creative control. You choose the look and mood of your
entire site, how to display the photos of your artwork, how
often you add new work - everything. It can be one of the
most powerful ways to sell your art online - if you have the
time to devote to it.

The biggest disadvantage to building your own web site is
that you're on your own. You'll need a merchants' account,
though you can start off accepting payments through email
with a PayPal account. You'll also need to design and build
for yourself. By the same token, you won't owe anyone a
commission on any of your art that sells.

The bottom line is that the internet can provide a new
market for your art, whether you sculpt, paint, craft, sew
quilt or create digital art. It's the largest market ever,
and it's just waiting for you.

This article may be reprinted in its
entirety so long as the authors credits, and all links remain intact.