Reselling paintings online: Our process explained
As a specialist online marketplace for artwork, we deal with both sides of the art resale world. If you have found yourself asking “how do I sell my art online?” or “how do I buy art online?” then we want to enable you to find your way through the often-intimidating secondary art market.
For any market to thrive, the experiences of the buyers and sellers are equally important, and we want to make sure we offer support to those either selling or buying art every step of the way.
Can we sell your art?
Our process starts with the seller. Once you have decided to sell an artwork in your collection, we need to take a look at the artwork and decide whether we can sell it for you. This means looking at both the art and the artist, to determine if there are likely to be buyers for this specific artwork. We look for works by artists who are already known in the current art market, and have collectors looking to buy.
At this first stage we also request documentation from the seller, to make sure that you are the owner of the artwork and have a right to sell it on. This means providing proof of ownership, original receipts, and photos of the artwork itself.
Our valuation experts will assess market trends, auction results and determine the value of your art
If your artwork is a good fit, and your proof of ownership has checked out, we’ll let you know that we have moved on to the valuation stage. This is where we use our team’s valuation expertise to look at market trends, auction results, and any relevant information about the artwork and the artist, to determine how much we can sell your art for.
We always aim to get the best price possible for our sellers, while striking a balance with expectations from our buyers, making sure they are able to buy the art they want at a market-driven price.
Agreeing to sell your art
We’ll always bring our suggested price to the seller before moving on, as you will need to decide if you would like to go ahead with the amount offered.
If you approve the price, you’ll sign an exclusivity agreement for 120 days. This means you can’t sell the artwork to anyone else for that time; any collectors looking to buy art online will know that the artworks advertised are one hundred percent available.
At this point, we’ll also perform a security check, to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. This includes an ID and address check for the seller.
Marketing your artwork
Our online art sale platform is optimised for art collectors seeking art to buy online. The artwork images are carefully edited for accuracy and formatted for online viewings by our graphics team; we also make sure that every artwork is accompanied by SEO-driven copy. This, along with our online advertising campaigns, helps online art buyers find the artworks they are looking for, as well as highlighting the value and unique attributes of each artwork.
We have a database of over ten thousand art collectors, and we keep them regularly updated with our new artworks via direct emails – or through personal contact, if they have asked us to look out for something special for their collection.
Buying art online
As an art collector, finding your perfect artwork through an online seller can sometimes seem too good to be true. Especially with higher price points, it’s important for a buyer to feel secure in their purchase – and also for the seller to be reassured that they will get the money they’re owed.
Our solution for this is to take payment for the artwork upfront and keep it secure in a ring-fenced account. The artwork being purchased is collected from the seller by a specialist art handler, which is included in the cost of the artwork, and delivered to the buyer. Once the buyer has received the artwork and accepted it – they have a maximum of 14 days if they decide to return or exchange the artwork for any reason – we release the funds that are due to the buyer.
Our goals
Reselling art can seem daunting, from knowing how much to ask for your artwork to finding the right buyers. Using the right sales platform is key, and we work hard to make both buying art online and selling art online simple and rewarding. By offering security and support to both buyers and sellers, we provide a meeting ground for art lovers on both sides of the marketplace.
