Sales on Fine Art America

Susanne Clark - Cello Head in Red
©2009 Susanne Clark
Acrylic on panel 6 x 6 in

After my last post Eva mentioned that she was interested in my experience with Fine Art America so I decided to write this post.  I think it's good timing to write about it too because I just had notification that I sold three reproductions there today. 

Fine Art America is a print on demand site but you can also list and sell originals. I think they are very well set up and have a site that is easy to use. The number of artists on the site is increasing very fast too and shows work from very basic to outstanding in quality.  There are a few problems that need to be sorted, one being how they classify the artwork.  Some people on the site will put their work into every category instead of just still life or wild life for example. This must make it very frustrating for viewers trying to find a particular type of art.  When I lived in the UK I was on a small site there and they limited the number of categories so it worked better and more fairly.  They also looked at each photo submitted to verify that the picture was of a good quality and accurately showed the work, something that FAA doesn't seem to do. Hopefully they will sort out all the glitches in time

I have belonged to Fine Art America now for about eighteen months but the last six have been the best in terms of sales. In the past month I have sold nine reproductions and two originals here.  I hadn't bothered listing the price for originals as I didn't think that people would be interested in them on this site because of the price being higher than for a reproduction.  I realise now that was being a bit silly as I received an email from a lady who asked if I had any more originals because she preferred them. The pictures I had showing on the site, most of the originals had already been sold.  I sent her pictures of a few and she ended up purchasing two.  I think I learned a good lesson!

Prior to the last month I also had sales ... about eight I think and many of those were larger sizes and framed so the commission on those was good and very nice to receive.  I haven't done much in the way of promoting my work on the site and that's something I intend to do more of this year. I like the fact that once I have downloaded the pictures FAA takes care of the rest.  One thing I think is very important is making sure that the file is excellent so that the reproductions are good and I never offer the largest size that is available in case it's not as clear as it could be for that size.

I think it's a great site too for purchasers as they have access to a wide variety of work and prices.  I'm sure there is a painting there for everyone.