Oddly enough, most people in the states do not buy art online. At the very least, not original art.
Art.com has a strong presence in reproductions and posters but most original art is bought in direct contact with the artist or literally on the street.
The higher end art market is the galleries of course, but due to their structure, they're in the business of trying to pick winners and selling at very high prices. They don't see a wider market below people who can drop $10k on a piece.
yeah, i can understand that, and i don't think it's so odd - you want to see it and, sometimes, know the artist too. but that doesn't exclude online marketplaces as long as they are local (i didn't explain completely, but the site i used as an example has artists local to me).
and i guess that also explains sumo's approach? choosing a particularly good item and then having a first-to-buy approach gives both a carrot (attractive to many) and stick (limited availability) to overcome the remote factor.
thanks for the replies. i was curious how it could work and now it makes more sense.
'yeah, i can understand that, and i don't think it's so odd - you want to see it and, sometimes, know the artist too. but that doesn't exclude online marketplaces as long as they are local (i didn't explain completely, but the site i used as an example has artists local to me).'
I'm very glad you said this. It's exactly what we're going for at Artsicle.com. Supporting your local artists by renting their artwork. If you like it, buy it. I'm sorry to say, we're not shipping outside the U.S. right now ;)
Art.com has a strong presence in reproductions and posters but most original art is bought in direct contact with the artist or literally on the street.
The higher end art market is the galleries of course, but due to their structure, they're in the business of trying to pick winners and selling at very high prices. They don't see a wider market below people who can drop $10k on a piece.