I remember going to art school to become an artist, and how much fun it was to create art. I remember joining eBay in 2001 and selling my first painting, and going on to sell many pieces over the years. Then I took a few years off to raise a baby and when I came back, the market for art on ebay started changing. Now in 2014, only 20% of the art listed on eBay actually sells, and the search engine is clogged with hundreds of cheap posters and prints from China. Some of my Facebook friends who are artists are selling their small paintings for 25 cents and saying that they do it for fun. Due to the law of supply and demand, since there are so many 25 cent paintings listed by people doing art "for fun", it undercuts and devalues the work of people who spend a lot of time on their art and want to make a decent, fair amount of money on it. Anyway, once my current box of art supplies runs out, I'm just going to quit for good and focus on reselling used items and video games on eBay. People have mentioned Etsy to me, but I don't know anyone that does Etsy as a full time consistent business the way I used to sell on eBay. Anyway, this is just me ranting, but if you have a specific art or craft that you sell, eBay is no longer the awesome international selling platform that it once was and you'll encounter a lot of bargain hunters who want a painting for a buck. So maybe try Artfire or one of the other new art selling platforms out there.
This note is just to let you know your rant was read and I know how frustrating it can be to put your time and talent into a project not only to make money but because you like doing it and not have it received as well as you had hoped or no long supports you the way you need it to support you to afford you the lifestyle you would like to have. Change is the one thing we can count on in this life, nothing stays the same as old and tired as that sounds it is the truth. As we go thru this game of life we have to be able to shift and make the changes as we see them coming if you can get ahead of the change it does not hurt as much but if you are running along side of the change or behind it you will get run over. The older we get it seems the changes come faster and we can not keep up. Sorry, I tend to ramble. As I sound sometimes it seems you are not talking to anyone when you posting like this, just wanted you to know I heard you. It will work out.
I am sorry that all sounds so frustrating. Selling something for a quarter is just offensive in my mind and I think artists deserve more. I would like to offer you a bit of hope. I have at least 5 friends who use Etsy to sell their artwork or arts and crafts and it really is a full time job for them. They actually prefer it to Ebay because they have found that in their experiences they come across people who have a greater appreciation for what they are doing. Unless I am mistaken I believe Etsy doesn't have any crazy start up costs, perhaps give it a spin before your box of art supplies runs out. Good Luck!
I agree. Etsy is far more respectable. I know people that make very good money through it. Shoppers go there expecting authentic products and expect to pay what they're worth. That said though, I wasn't suggesting it, just agreeing with the above poster in case it helps at all. I'm so sorry it's come to this Acsapa. It's very frustrated how watered down and over saturated everything has become. People want cheap cheap cheap, because more people than not are in the same position the "starving artist" is in. It's such a sad situation we've all been put in.. things have changed so much. Have you taken advantage of the local selling sites for reselling? I don't use Craigslist, but those like it? Do you have Kijiji? I find with those sites, you can sell things much quicker than Ebay and you don't have to worry about shipping or fees etc.
It's a real shame to hear that, ACSAPA. I have also studied art and have been working along creative lines all my life. As a matter of fact, I could not imagine my life in any other way. I don't feel like myself, if I can't pursue my art and crafts. Money has never been a big factor in these matters for me. The most important thing for me was always exposure, getting to exhibit my work at as many places as possible and having my name recognised. I have had my work published in many magazines over the years and made very useful contacts that helped me to sell my work. It is not easy. Unfortunately, talent alone isn't enough. You have to work hard to promote yourself, and to bring your message across.
I thought "artists" puts their passion first before money? It's sad to know that you're quitting art because of monetary reasons. If I had your talent I would still paint/draw/sketch or whatever it is you do - but just like you I won't sell it online for cheap-dirt prices either. Maybe it's time to get back to the basics and sell it off-line like taking it to a dealer (start with small independent art stores). Just a thought though.. I really have no idea about the art scene but I'm sure that sooner or later you will still find the urge to do your art again.
You thought wrong. If art was just about passion ,all artists would give away their work for free. Artists have to eat too, and they have to buy art supplies and be compensated for their work. Artists have passion but they also have to survive and make money. The attitude that artists should work for free because of passion and integrity is probably why buyers on eBay feel okay paying my friends a quarter for a painting. Anyway, I'm going to keep going a little longer because a group of eBay sellers on Facebook sent me art supplies and told me not to give up. I was going to quit when my supplies ran out, but they sent me more supplies so I'm going to press on and try other avenues in addition to eBay. When a bunch of eBay sellers won't let your supplies run out so that you don't give up, it's probably a sign that it's not time to quit yet.
I am glad to hear that you aren't quitting. I'm not an artist. I have no artistic talent in that area, but I'm inspired by people that do. Do you rely on eBay to generate traffic to your listing?
Times can get tough for those who don't choose a traditional line of work. I'm a crafter/writer and I've seen my fair share of disappointment and rejection. However, it hurts worse when I have bad times doing something I hate but pays the bills. On my last salaried job, people were pretty evil. IDK if it was due to them being on coke or what but this employer requires many tests and interviews to get hired. Then there's a 6-month probation period. Then you get benefits that may or may not be worth anything. Believe it or not, things got worse for me and sometimes I wonder how my life would be if I'd stuck to my guns after high school. Recently, I ran into an old acquaintance who used to tell me that he could never work a 9-5. For as long as I've known him, he's resorted to begging, minor hustling and accepting handouts to get by. When a person is in their 20s, it's like 'Hey, this is me and I'll never conform.' However, 20+ years later and I say if a person never makes it (in terms of survival), then maybe they should reconsider their priorities. Anyway, didn't mean to ramble but it sounds like you're going through a rough patch so stay encouraged.
I've mentioned about this a few times before but I'm getting depressed again and this time I've felt really sleepy lately because of it. I really feel like quitting myself more than ever. I know it's discouraging but at least you got to make good money from it for some time (this isn't me playing top me if it sounds like that). I will never make money off my passion. The more days go by the more difficult it seems. I guess it helps that I'm not someone who does things on their own and graphic design in general is a hard thing to get into. I am talking with a counselor now but coming up with nothing. I'm just starting out so I don't need to be at the top but the internships I apply to just reject me. I wish I had never gone to University of Phoenix and got a degree in it because it was just a waste of borrowed money. The problem is I don't know what else to do. I'm not good at much of anything. The only thing I've ever been really good at are things on the computer and programming seems too complicated. Anyway I think you can still make some money off it because there is a market for the kind of art that you do.
Sellers used to be able to rely on eBay to generate traffic to their listings, but eBay changed the search engine to favor sellers who make the top sales, so us smaller sellers now have to generate our own traffic. I use Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest to try and get traffic to my listings but it's still hard because nobody really knows for sure what algorithm eBay uses to determine search rankings. There are items ending in a month that are on the first page of searches and items ending in 5 minutes that are on page 500 and will never be seen or sold before the auctions end.
If you do graphic design you could sell logos, business cards, ebay auction banners and ebay auction templates to ebay sellers. There's are two female graphic designers that I have bought auction templates from to make my auction page stand out and look prettier. They just email the auction template code to their customer and the customer copies and pastes it into the HTML box on eBay when doing listings. You could auction your design skills to eBay sellers. One graphic designer I know of crates and sells the thank you cards that some eBay sellers mail out to thank their customers.
I just feel funny doing that without them asking for it. I mean I know how that's how selling goes but if it's a creation, that's different for me. I don't know how to explain it right but the main thing is I don't know if I'm the type to make just random designs. I don't know if it sounds uncreative but I feel like one size does not fit all you know. If I'm making something I want to make sure it is tailored to the customer because customized designs makes me feel at my best. That's what I like about internships. I am getting my feet wet by them giving me an idea on what they want done.
The creation of art is incredibly time consuming if done well. Therefore,I could understand why artists want just compensation. If someone has ever wondered why Picasso's art is worth millions, well, it might be due to the long hours of work and talent needed to create it. However, as this thread suggests, it seems like art is becoming a dead industry.
Please don't say that you are giving up art for good. You obviously have a flair and a great talent. Even going to art school to learn how to paint properly. I am sure you still have a lot of creativity left in you. The answer is to make your own website and sell your work on your own website. You don't need to be like some others are doing and sell for peanuts. If you know your work is worth a lot more, and I'm sure it is, then people would be happy to pay for that quality that you are offering. Have you thought about holding an exhibition? Perhaps rent a hall and display your work, or find current exhibitions where they would be happy to sell your work too. You can also try various art shops around the country where the shop owners would take a commission and you would make a decent earning. I wish you the best of luck in your artistic career, it would be a shame to waste all that talent!
Unfortunately some changes can affect us but we got to make our own changes as well to make things work out. If one thing doesn't work like it used to then try another method but don't give up especially if art is what you love. I know that it's frustrating and you need to make some money especially when your talented. I read that you got some help and your going to keep going, see this is the type of method change I was telling you about.
Sad to note that frustrating experience of yours on selling you art work to eBay. You know what breaks the atmosphere of your time which your piece of art cost much and in the present time, is the so-called negative approach of business technique. Selling a product or item in the very low cost is a form of a cut-throat competition and those who get victimized are the low profile artists.
