Driving to Tomorrow
Digital Print, edition of 50
12" x 18"
USD $785
Online galleries have many benefits. They offer a huge selection of artists, a more comfortable and convenient environment for new buyers—are helping to drive a shift in the way art is bought and sold.
But while buying art online does have certain advantages over trekking from gallery to gallery, it also poses a number of unique challenges as well. Here are 10 tips to help you maximize your Web shopping experience.
Tip #1: Beware the Junk
For better, but usually for worse, anyone can set up an online gallery—and thousands have. Inevitably, this translates into a lot of very bad art and can mean wading through mountains of schlock to discover any gems.
“The unsupervised, sometimes wild nature of the Internet still presents some problems in buying and selling original art,” said Rene Goodman, a spokesperson for Buy-Original-Art.com, which maintains a listing of sites that sell art online. “Some of the finest dealers are online, introducing brilliant artists and works that couldn’t be reached otherwise. Unfortunately, the great majority—as much as 90 percent—of art-selling Web sites are un-curated and offer amateurish art far below the standards of what can be found in the brick-and-mortar market.”
Agreed Paige West, founder of the Mixed Greens gallery in New York, which also maintains a highly regarded Web site: “When we started MixedGreens.com in 1998, we actually had a lot more competition back then. A lot of the sites had an open-door policy [with regards to artists] and that led to a lot of bad-quality art. The sites that have survived are selective and take more of a curatorial approach.”
So the solution to the schlock problem—if you don’t trust your own eye—is to look for sites that have some sort of sophisticated screening process with regards to the art they display. Sites that have curators or juries generally promote that fact heavily; those that don’t are generally immediately obvious.
Tip #2: Let’s Get Physical
In addition to sites that are curated, another way to ensure a positive experience is to stick with sites that also operate an actual, bricks-and-mortar gallery.
“All the online galleries I would recommend also have a physical space,” said West. “This is key. When you know the business has an actual gallery space, this means those running it most likely are more knowledgeable about art and the sales and shipping process.”
Tip #3: Virtual Sites, Actual People
No matter how appealing the art looks in a virtual space, be sure there is an actual person on the other end of the computer.
“Most credible companies provide detailed information about themselves,” Goodman added. “It is imperative that they have a physical address and a customer-service phone number—I wouldn't buy if they don’t.”
Before buying, contact the staff by phone or email and see how well (and how quickly) they respond.
Tip #4: Demand Authentication
As when making a purchase in a bricks-and-mortar gallery, buyers should demand some proof of the work’s authenticity. PicassoMio.com, for example, a site recently given the “Best of the Behemoths” award by ArtInfo, has this policy stated on its Web site:
“Most of our artworks are signed (and numbered, in case of editions) by the artist. If the artwork is not signed, a signed Artist’s Authenticity Statement may be available upon your request. This document certifies the artwork’s authorship, the title, year of creation, and dimensions. … Further, we can also provide you with an Independent Party Authenticity Endorsement with your purchase.”
Have a healthy suspicion of sites that don’t offer a similar authenticity standard.
Tip #5: Establish a Budget, Define Your Goals
“The Internet offers a very wide range of artworks in all price scales, so it is very important to establish a budget before embarking on the shopping expedition,” Goodman said. “I would also advise buyers to be clear about their goals for purchasing art—whether it is to develop a collection that may have some investment value or just to decorate one’s walls.”
And as with any art purchase, Angela Di Bello, director of the Agora Gallery in New York, which also operates the online gallery ArtMine.com, reminds us: “Always buy what you love.”
Tip #6: Do Your Homework about the Work, the Artist and the Site
When you spot a work you like, ask for as much information about the work (how, for example, does it tie into the rest of the artist’s oeuvre?) and about the artist (schooling, exhibitions, sales history, etc.) as you can get.
And make sure the Web site you’re dealing with is a legitimate business and offers secured purchasing. Check out what the press has written about the site, and read the buyer testimonials (and ask if you can actually contact a buyer or two for an in-person recommendation).
And because a buyer in the virtual world has the disadvantage of not being able to see the physical work, no question should be considered off-limits. “[When buying online], one has the [right] to ask questions one might not feel comfortable asking in a physical gallery,” said Allan Majotra, co-founder and managing director of PicassoMio.
Tip #7: Don’t Rush
It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, especially since the Internet offers instant gratification to buyers. But Goodman said it’s important to take it slow, especially for beginning collectors.
“My first advice to anyone before buying art online is to decide not to purchase anything for at least a month,” she said. “This month should be spent doing intensive online exploration—browsing as many online galleries as possible, looking at ads and pictures in art magazines. This is an important process that teaches the potential buyer to recognize his own unique taste in art and to educate his eye to distinguish what he likes, what he finds himself connecting to on the emotional level and what he is returning to again and again.”
Tip #8: Many Happy Returns
Every expert we asked for online buying tips stressed this point: Make sure the online gallery allows you a chance to change your mind once a work arrives and to return it, after a reasonable period (usually one week), without any hassles.
“I simply wouldn’t deal with anyone that doesn’t [offer a reasonable return policy],” Goodman said.
Majotra pointed out that PicassoMio allows buyers to return an artwork up to seven days after they receive it. “Ninety-nine percent of them keep it,” he added. “They tend to like it even more once they see it in person.”
Tip #9: Stay Low
Mixed Greens’ West advises that when buying editioned work, which is much more common online than original pieces, one should focus on work in editions of 10 or under.
Tip #10: Don’t Forget the Real World!
This is maybe the most important point of all. While gallery hopping online has many advantages, and can become addictive, nothing can replicate viewing a work in person—and getting to know gallerists, artists and your fellow art lovers at openings and exhibitions is certainly one of the great rewards of collecting.
As West observes, “the big downside to buying online is that experiencing art in person is a lot more fun.” By Bryant Rousseau, Jacquelyn Lewis
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