MERITS OF BUYING ART ONLINE
I this blog I wish to dispel fears about buying art on line.
One big fear is ” Will the artwork in reality be as good as it looks on the website? If not, will I be saddled with something I do not like? What if I change my mind and wish to return or exchange with some other art?” Well, a friendly Return & Exchange Policy that promises “no-questions-asked” for Returns and Exchange should alleviate this fear.
The second fear is “How can I judge the size of the painting from the figures in inches?” If the website has facility of wall view in relation to a 6 foot long sofa in a room, the judgenment is greatly facilitated.
The third fear is, “How do I know the price is right?”. Actually it is difficult to assign value to an art work. It is not based of cost of inputs, unlike manufactured articles. Value of art is in the mind of the artist. The artist over a period knows what price his/her art fetches and accordingly he/she adjusts price upward or downward for future. So, the price that you see on the site is what the artist has been fetching in past or likely to fetch now. So, if you like the piece, and if you can afford it, go for it. On line price is same for every one and therefore you can rest assured that it will not be lower for some one who has better negotiating ability or knowledge of art. A new entrant in art market is on par with an experienced one as far as price is concerned.
The fourth fear is “Is my money and credit card information safe when I make purchase on a website?”. Well, CCAvenue is South Asia’s biggest and the most popular payment gateway solution, which is currently processing e-commerce transactions of thousands of eMerchants. make My trip, snapdeal, Government of Maharashtra, BJP, AAP are a few organizations using CCAvenue for receiving payments on line. Any webistehavingCCAvenue or similalry safe payment gateways can be trusted for safe handling of your card information and the money transaction.
The fifth fear is, “Will I not be better off visiting galleries and buying from there?” Yes, gallery shopping is good for exploring more options. By visiting several galleries one can see artworks of more artists. If you have the time, try this option out. Also, if the painting is expensive, it might be a good idea to see it physically. However, be careful about price, because most galleries negotiate and you can never be sure of the correctness of price. You will always feel you have overpaid. For low/medium priced paintings, on line buying is a smart way of acquiring art.
The sixth fear is “How do I know the art is genuine?” Well, if the on line portal is giving you a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist, you are safe.
To summarise, On Line buying is smarter way of buying art for the following reasons:
1. Time saved to buy paintings sitting in comfort of your home
2. Visiting galleries can be intimidating
3. Price is fixed and same for every one 4. Gifting anywhere worldwide is done sitting in the comfort of your home 5. Trust. Those who bought from me seeing the online images are very happy with the painting 6. Good track record of safe and timely delivery to Chennai, Mumbai, Germany. SeeTestimonials 7. No-Questions-Asked friendly Return and Exchange facility, in case you change your mind 8. Online buying is the future of the world
Facts about increasing popularity of online sales: Internet is doing wonders for the art world. According to a recent report by art insurers Hiscox, the value of the global online fine art market is set to more than double, from an estimated $1.57 billion in 2013 to $3.76 billion by 2018. Confidence in the future growth of this market has been displayed by Twitter’s co-founder, Jack Dorsey, who helped capitalize Artsy, a site which aims ‘to make all the world’s art accessible to anyone with an internet connection’. Organizations, which have invested heavily in the sector, include Google and Amazon, both of which launched virtual art platforms in the past 12 months. Further positive predictions for the future of online art sales came courtesy of Deloitte’s recently published 2013 Art and Finance report according to which “the art world is moving towards the internet… a development from which the industry can only benefit”. Nobody could deny that online art sales attract new buyers — individuals for whom buying art the traditional way would have zero appeal. Buying online also appeals to first-time buyers with limited budgets who are willing to buy the work of the emerging artists that are showcased on so many online sites. For those who for geographical or psychological reasons would never buy from high-street galleries, it’s the obvious way to shop. That virtual art sites attract new buyers, many of whom are millennials who simply prefer to shop online, has been confirmed by a recent ArtTactic survey, which found that new collectors make 72% of online contemporary art sales. Galleries and sales rooms can be intimidating for first-time art collectors. The first thing people meet there is a barrier; thereafter it’s all barriers. That’s one of the reasons why online art sales are the way forward. According to the ArtTactic survey, original paintings and drawings account for 53% of online sales. One who has vast experience of this market is Rebecca Wilson, Saatchi Art’s chief curator and director of artist development who told the Irish Examiner: “In the past few years we’ve seen a tremendous growth in the demand for buying original works online.” An on-line gallery owner says “Our business is growing because our online buyers have confidence in us. We know this because 70% of our business is repeat.”U
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