In one section, the famous book Your Guide to Buying and Selling on bidorbuy presents seven case studies on how bidorbuy can be used to make money. Case study number six analyses the example of an emerging or struggling artist.

If you belong to that category, you need not follow the traditional starve-until-you-get-big-gallery-representation route. Instead, you can sell your art work on bidorbuy.

Now that bidorbuy has set up a separate category, called Art Directly from the Artist, your works will be more visible than ever. Currently, there are over 300 works of art “direct form the artist”. As is to be expected, the most populated sub-category is paintings, though photography is not far behind.

Of course, Art Directly from the Artist is not for emerging artists only. This category is also for hobby artists and for established artists – in short, for everyone who wants to sell own works.

If you do not have experience when it comes to selling on bidorbuy, here are several guidelines that apply to all sellers, but especially to artists:

Have good photographs: On bidorbuy, you can upload as many photos as you want to. However, there’s no need to test the patience of shoppers by going overboard. It is enough to have a fair sized image of the whole art work and one or two images of details. For sculpture, images from at least two or three angles are recommended.

Have good description: Give your listing a good title and include all the important information in the description, for example the media or the materials used, as well as the size and the weight of the artwork. It may also be a good idea to add a sentence or two about you as an artist. Think about your listing from the buyer’s perspective. The more information you provide, the more likely the buyer will be to place a bid on your item.

Try auctions: Auction can be a good way to create excitement around art pieces, which can translate into a higher selling price for you. Try setting a low starting price in order to attract bids. However, do avoid reserves; buyers usually do not like auctions with reserve prices.

Build a good reputation: Answer to all questions potential buyers may ask you, pack your art work well, ship on time, do not overcharge on shipping, and always communicate with your customers. You will soon earn positive ratings, which in its turn will bring you more customers.