Selling Art on Ebay; Is it worth it? Is it possible to make any money? These are the questions I want to answer. I remember about 5 or 6 years ago I tried selling on Ebay. I dreamed of making a living off my art by selling artwork online. I remember selling 2 original drawings and a few prints. I got frustrated because I kept making new listings but could not seem to sell anymore. Deciding that it was not that market for me, I stopped and did not try again until much later. Throughout the years I have attempted to step into the Ebay world from time to time only to get discouraged by seeing so many talented artists selling their originals for pennies. Who can compete with that? Certainly not me.
Now I know what they were doing. It seems that the success to selling original art on Ebay ( art sold directly from the artist, not a well known artist), is by starting off with horrendously low prices. Than eventually when you start growing a following, getting your name out there, yada yada, you can steadily raise the prices as the market value for your art increases. Now that makes sense, right? By that time you have people hooked.
I am curious again. If had stuck it out with Ebay for a while longer, stubbornly listing artwork over and over with cheaper prices and being patient that someone would finally get interested, would I be able to eventually make sales and carve out a niche for myself? I hear of artists who have done just that. They were persistent and eventually it paid off. So I’m wondering that perhaps I might give it one more chance and allow for more time before making any decisions about it.
So to make this fun, I decided to think of this as an experiment or even a game. Already I have subscribed to a basic store and I will fill it up with originals over time. Every day I will paint something new and post a new piece. Most of my paintings are going to be small, simple and super affordable. At the same time I will research the market and see which artists are successful and why.
Today I listed a 6″ x 8″ painting of a cherry blossom tree. It is very simple as you can tell, yet hopefully striking enough for someone to find a spot for it on their wall. The auction starts at only $20 and the buyout price is $30. It is definitely a different brand of art than what I have been turning out so far. However, I have been meaning to experiment with more of a decorative new age style. It was fun to make.
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