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 | Painter of Light, Seller of Platinum | December 2003 |
Painter of Light, Seller of Platinum
If you haven't heard of Thomas Kinkade by now, you've probably been holed up in one of those charming forest cottages or lighthouses that feature prominently in so many of his paintings.
According to CBS's 60 Minutes, Kinkade has sold more canvasses than Claude Monet, Rembrandt, Renoir, Edouard Manet, Vincent Van Gogh. Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, and Paul Gauguin combined. He is "America's, and the world's, most collected living artist. He is to art, what Henry Ford was to automobiles."
The analogy is fitting because to some critics the Kinkade industry resembles an assembly line. The state of the art lithographic copies of his originals, many with hand-painted oil highlights, are available in a dizzying array of editions and sizes.
The self-styled "Painter of Light" has built a worldwide legion of fans who clamor for each new work and scour eBay for rare "sold out" editions from years past. By some estimates, more than 10 million people own a work by Kinkade and there are 100,000 serious collectors in the United States alone.
On eBay, one seller has achieved a similar celebrity by catering to the needs of Kinkade collectors. In less than two years, Karen de la Carriere has become one of the premier sellers of higher-end Kinkade works, with more than 150 items selling at any given time.
Recently, the market for Kinkade has softened considerably, though de la Carriere says it hasn't hurt her business. "People know they can find many of the best and rarest Kinkades through me," she says. "In fact, 30% of my business is with Kinkade galleries." When customers approach galleries looking for well-known Kinkades from the past, the gallery owners know there's one place to find them."
De la Carriere started selling on eBay in January 2002 as a way to dispose of duplicates in her collection. "Collecting Kinkade is addictive and as my own passion for the artist grew, I started to buy entire collections, even when they contained works I already owned."
Within a few months of starting, she went from PowerSeller to Gold to Platinum and continues to do a brisk business. De la Carriere credits her success to careful attention to customer service and a single-minded focus on reducing response times when customers make an inquiry or purchase. She has a toll-free number that she answers personally and prides herself on trying to respond within 30 minutes to each and every email-even though that often amounts to 200 per day. She's even gone the extra mile to ensure that every customer gets a FedEx tracking number for their purchase within minutes of completing the transaction.
"There is so much room for miscommunication and misunderstanding online," she says. "When you can reassure customers with instant feedback, things go a lot more smoothly."
She's also a strong believer in merchandising and displays a savvy knack for keeping customers coming back (80% of her buyers are repeat customers). Most of her listings carry a substantial reserve and a "Buy It Now" price. But she also mixes in the occasional smaller "classic" edition as a no-reserve auction to generate interest.
"Many of my no-reserve auctions are won by first-time Kinkade collectors," she says. "Once they receive the piece and hang it in their homes, they come back a few weeks later and buy one of the larger works for $1500-2000."
Each of her listings features multiple, high-quality photos and a compelling description, including a quote from the artist about the work, and a thorough provenance that includes such critical details as whether the work is signed by Kinkade and the size of the edition.
Such detail is increasingly necessary given the rising tide of Kinkade forgeries and knockoffs showing up on eBay. De la Carriere says the growing number of listings that feature "Kinkade-like" or "Kinkade-style" works is hurting the overall market and diluting values.
"Like all great artists, Kinkade has attracted a bunch of copycats. So it's important to do your homework and make sure you're buying from a reputable source," she says.
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| sesillie_girelli (356), Girelli Creations
Combining eBay and Gallery Sales | November 2003 |
eBay seller Sesillie Girelli isn't just a working artist, she's a true success story. Thanks to her eBay sales, she has the career in art she has always wanted.
Three years ago, the Bend, Oregon, resident wouldn't have been able to make that claim. Before listing on eBay, she was a part-time commission artist, selling her own work at local galleries and coffee shops.
"I wanted a career in art. I just didn't have the connections to show in the kinds of galleries that sell enough volume at high enough prices to make a living," she explains. "eBay has been the most significant thing in my entire life for my art sales. I now have a large enough income to live on and am the breadwinner of my family."
According to Girelli, eBay offers serious commercial artists a wide range of benefits. For starters, payment is immediate, particularly when customers pay via PayPal. "A gallery may make you wait 30 to 45 days after they have made the sale to pay you," she explains.
Girelli appreciates eBay's low commission structure, as well, which ranges from 1.5% to 5.25%. Lower commissions increase her profits and sales volume. "When you don't have to give the gallery half of the sale price, you can sell artwork at a lower price, enabling more people to afford it, thereby creating a lot more sales," Girelli says.
eBay also attracts more buyers than the average gallery, providing Girelli greater incremental revenue. "Paintings sell almost every day, so there is a steady trickle of income all the time, instead of once or twice a month," she explains. "I get an average of 1,000 hits a day on my auctions, versus the 10 or 20 people that may walk into a traditional gallery."
That said, Girelli hasn't abandoned gallery sales. Instead, she has integrated them with her eBay sales. Through a novel arrangement with Charlie White Gallery in Portland, Oregon, she promotes more major works on eBay and in the gallery, without compromising White's pricing.
Her method: Smaller landscapes and abstracts are auctioned independently, started low without reserves. Larger, more expensive items (usually $1,000 and up) are shown at Charlie White and listed in Girelli's eBay Store at the gallery's fixed price. If the item is sold on eBay, Charlie White still gets its commission. In exchange, Girelli includes Charlie White's branding in her listing, increasing the work's credibility and value.
"Since having the Charlie White Gallery banner in my Store listings, I've sold some of my highest-priced paintings," says Girelli. "Just recently, I had a painting in my eBay Store sell for $5,000."
Another clever marketing strategy: Girelli includes a large graphic at the top of each listing showcasing her most recently sold works with their prices. She says the realized-prices graphic validates her as an artist and helps her earn consistently high prices for similar kinds of works.
"The 'sold wall' really shows that I am a prolific, professional artist with a style and color palette that is very unique and desirable," explains Girelli.
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| hessfine (8,946), Hess Fine Art
Generating a Steady Revenue Stream | September 2003 |
PowerSeller Jeffrey Hess no longer worries about traveling to shows and relying on sporadic sales. Thanks to eBay, he's been able to stabilize his business and generate a steady revenue stream.
"eBay is very good for the cash flow," says the founder and president of Hess Fine Art, which is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and specializes in fine and decorative art, including jewelry.
"I used to do 30 shows per year," Hess continues. "I was constantly on the road. If it was a big show, I had to hire vans, employees, extra insurance. More importantly, I was away from the office and missing out on buying and selling opportunities."
The advent of eBay in 1998 to his 19-year-old company changed all that. Not only does Hess not have to travel as much and incur various show-related costs, but also his eBay sales have provided him with what every seller strives for: a regular influx of cash.
"My bank loves me," says Hess. "Instead of spurts of income, and having to worry about whether or not a show goes well, I now have a continuous revenue stream."
According to Hess, most of his 15 employees are involved with the eBay side of the business, including one full-time shipper, four full-time posters, and one full-time customer service person.
Speaking of customer service: the company needs it more than ever now. It receives 400 emails per day. Despite the increase, Hess Fine Art strives to be as accessible as possible, which Hess believes has contributed significantly to the company's high customer retention rate.
Buyers, for example, can contact the staff directly by AOL Instant Messenger. In fact, employees' IM names, including Hess's, are listed in all of the company's auctions as well as on its About Me page.
"We encourage people to IM us," comments Hess. "Our entire staff is one giant customer service staff."
While Hess Fine Art uses eBay primarily for straight auctions, it also has opened an eBay Store to branch into fixed-price sales and increase its brand's visibility.
"The Stores give you great exposure," Hess says. "They're a great place to park your inventory and let people see the kind of merchandise you have, especially local people."
Hess also believes that eBay ("the great equalizer") will continue to grow as a venue for the sale of high-end items.
"eBay is going to be the primary sales place for art in the United States," he predicts.
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Sellers promote their eBay businesses in a variety of ways, but not many go so far as to advertise individual auctions. That's a common practice, however, for PowerSeller Russell Levin.
The black-and-white photography specialist has secured a regular spot on the back cover of Black & White magazine, where he not only highlights his eBay business but also calls attention to special upcoming sales.
Just last fall, Levin used the back cover to promote a special no-reserve eBay sale of 54 photographs. Once the bidding had ended, Levin was more than pleased; in fact, the results far exceeded his expectations, validating the marketing strategy.
"The auctions grossed more than $158,000," reports Levin, who also regularly uses eBay's Featured Plus listing upgrade for added promotion. "The success was due to the advertising. As someone with a background in the camera business, I've learned the importance of knowing how to market things."
Levin's next promotional effort is a no-reserve summer clearance sale, with all items starting at $50, though some are valued at $2000. The 49-year-old says he isn't worried about hitting the necessary price points. "Knowing the eBay market," he explains, "the prices will get where they need to be."
Levin also plans to improve his print advertising strategy by signing up for eBay's co-op advertising program. "You'd be crazy not to be involved," says Levin, citing that the program will cover 25 percent of his future advertising costs as well as promote his upcoming eBay Store, where he plans to complement his auction-style listings with fixed-price items.
"I have some nice images that I want to put up with fixed prices, and if they don't sell in 30 days, I'll move them over to auctions."
While Levin works hard to garner attention for his eBay listings, his online sales have had the added benefit of helping to promote his Monterey, California, gallery.
"eBay has put my gallery on the map," says Levin, who carries the work of Edward Weston, Sally Mann, Jock Sturges, and many others, and also occasionally sells his own photographs on eBay.
"When people come to the Carmel/Monterey area they make a point of stopping in," he adds. "A week doesn't go by without someone coming in and saying I found out about you on eBay."
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| yourgreatfind (1695), yourgreatfindantiques
Developing a Broker Business | July 2003 | Antique broker and PowerSeller Linda Carole has two kinds of clients and one is as important as the other: her buyers and her consignors.
Specializing in 19th-century folk art, from weather vanes and dolls to painted pantry boxes (which she sources from dealers, estate representatives, and collectors), Carole brokers material for more than 30 individuals.
"It's taken me fives years to build up my clientele, both ways," she says of her consignors and buyers.
Word-of-mouth has generated all of Carole's consignment business. However, she works to encourage referrals by attending important shows around the country, passing out business cards and sharing eBay stories and successes.
"I keep myself out there and talked about," she says. "I make sure people know that eBay generates strong prices and that they will do well there."
Also, she uses her eBay listings, Store, and About Me page to advertise her consignment operation, quoting her total consignor number. "This lets them know I'm always getting great stuff," says Carole. "It keeps them checking my listings all the time."
She also doesn't wait for her clients to come to her all the time. She is their eyes and ears, tracking the market and informing them when specific objects are truly hot and increasing in value, in case they have an example in their collection.
The payoff: she encourages consignments, while also helping her clients maximize the value of their collections. Moreover, her listings are always of a high quality and in keeping with the trends. "I always want to have good things for the bidders," she adds.
Carole'e eBay Store is aiding the consignment business, as well, enabling her to list items for long periods of time to ensure that they find the right buyer. "It's the perfect vehicle when the seller has paid a lot for an item and doesn't want to come down in price."
Buyers aren't left out of the loop, either. For example, she notifies repeat customers about estate sales and what she expects to find there. That keeps her Store bookmarked.
Most importantly, she juries all her material before buying.
"They know they're not going to have to look through a pile of junk to find one good item," explains Carole. "They are going to find quality stuff."
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| riverdale-prints (1210), Riverdale Prints
Providing Professional Descriptions | June 2003 | The auction description could be considered its own genre of writing. Some lack detail. Others are just too long. PowerSeller Missy Hicks of Riverdale Prints feels she's found the right balance.
According to Hicks, who helps to run her father's wholesale art brokerage company, descriptions should be thorough and complete yet not overwhelm and cause a buyer to lose interest. Buyers are on the move and need to get to the critical details fast.
"It's very important that we put in the necessary information regarding what we are selling," Hicks says. "But we do keep that to a minimum, since I feel that the more wording there is, the less they read."
Riverdale Prints' write-ups generally consist of a one-sentence summary of the item, as well as streamlined information about payment and shipping. Their templates also include the print's edition number, image size, issue price, and current Informart price, emphasizing the company's attractive pricing. Clear photos round out the presentation.
Another guiding selling strategy for Hicks: making purchases as convenient as possible for the buyer. That's why, she offers free shipping on the majority of her prints, a value-added service she calls out in her listings titles to capture buyers searching for this freebie.
Additionally, Riverdale Prints prefers to list framed prints, which tend to sell much better than unframed examples.
"It's instant gratification," explains Hicks. "Customers are able to buy a print and hang it right up as opposed to buying it, having to frame it, and then hang it up. Also, our prices tend to be lower than what it would cost them to frame it themselves."
Riverdale Prints came to eBay in 1999 after more than 20 years in the business. The goal was to sell smaller, less costly prints that likely wouldn't have faired well on the wholesale market.
"At first," Hicks recalls, "eBay was a good inexpensive way to move inventory. Now, with the way the art market is, it has become a large part of our income."
The company's eBay presence has grown over the years, as has its use of eBay services. Besides opening an eBay Store, Hick also uses Seller's Assistant Pro.
Says Hicks of her listing tool of choice: "It takes all of the tedious work out of auction listing."
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| global-art-brokers (879), Global Art Brokers
Offering Value-Added Service | May 2003 | Collecting coins remains a popular hobby for many casual collectors. But sellers like Powerseller Barry Stuppler appeal to serious investors, looking to enhance their financial portfolio.
Stuppler's investment-quality coins, which run anywhere from hundreds of dollars to several thousands, promise to hold their value, if not increase, over the long run. For his eBay listings, Stuppler seeks out true rarities -- that is, 18th- to 20th-century American gold and silver coins graded "MS63" and above, with known populations of less than 100 pieces.
"Quality coins with these criteria are difficult to locate and purchase," admits Stuppler, who has been in the coin business for the past 40 years. "For every true rarity sold, collectors buy hundreds of coins that provide pleasure but are unlikely to produce substantial monetary return."
However, Stuppler believes that, given the current state of the economy, high-grade coins represent a stable financial investment, even if some buyers aren't aware of this initially.
"Some of the buyers who come to eBay have told me they bid on investment-quality coins only," he says. "I believe that others, who buy high-grade coins primarily for their collections, could nevertheless justify their purchases as investments, particularly today when paper investments such as equities offer dubious profitability and safety."
An important facet of Stuppler's selling strategy consists of educating his customers about the coin market, not only to ensure they make good buys, but also to assist them in making knowledgeable decisions about the potential future value of their purchases. He tries to develop what he calls a "consultative relationship" with his buyers, so that they perceive him "as an expert guide rather than just another seller."
To do this, Stuppler might work with a customer to build a collection around a theme as opposed to purchasing items randomly. He also includes content with his listings, such as news and updates about the industry.
"The more information on the coin market I can give collectors and investors to help them make informed decisions, the better," Stuppler concludes. "When it comes to spending one's hard-earned money, ignorance is not bliss. On the contrary, knowledge is power. When I empower coin buyers—new or experienced—by being an important source of knowledge, I've earned their trust and confidence."
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| artantiques (193), ArtAntiques
Using a Traditional Auction Approach | April 2003 | Fine art PowerSeller Graham Harvey has embraced online selling, but he still likes to create a traditional auction experience with each of his eBay listings.
"We know how an auction should be run as we are constantly at auction houses around the world," reports Graham Harvey, technical director at artantiques, which sells a variety of paintings from its extensive collection as well as from the private collections of its clients and various estates.
Bringing a live-auction ambiance to eBay certainly makes artantiques' listings stand out. For starters, there's an abundance of high-quality images, including close-ups of the work, its frame, and the artist's signature, allowing would-be buyers to truly evaluate the painting's value and authenticity, as if they were reviewing a glossy auction catalog. "The more pictures that you can provide the more likely you'll sell the artwork," notes Harvey.
Harvey also gives his listings that traditional flavor by referencing "prices realized" for the artist's work from previous sales at high-profile auction houses, including Sotheby's and Christie's. His eBay buyers can then compare these hammer prices to the work's appraised price, provided by Harvey's in-house appraiser. (It's important to note that Harvey's reserves are always lower than his appraised price to provide collectors with a low wholesale price.) And like auction house catalogs, artantiques' listings detail each painting's provenance and mention any scholarship on the artist, further validating its appraised price.
But what's perhaps most notable about artantiques' eBay presence is its use of a professional appraiser, Anthony Capodilupo, who is also Harvey's partner. Each auction invites buyers to review artantiques' About Me page, which features a comprehensive overview of Capodilupo's credentials and experience. Moreover, winning bidders receive a certified appraisal with their purchase.
According to Harvey and Capodilupo, the addition of the service has helped spur sales and instills confidence in potential customers.
"If the seller is qualified to prepare an appraisal, it should be provided with the value supported by market data," adds Capodilupo. "Long term relationships between art buyers and sellers can only occur when a customer can depend upon a seller's integrity and good service."
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| congogrey (2002), Warren N. Baggett Rare Prints
Building Repeat Patrons | March 2003 | Generating repeat business ranks as one of the best ways to stay in business. Art PowerSeller Warren Baggett has made the process into something of an art form.
Take, for example, this startling statistic: Baggett's feedback rating is currently just shy of 2,000, but his total number of transactions stands at more than 10,000 without a single negative comment. Approximately 80 percent of his sales have come from repeat purchases.
"That's a high ratio," admits Baggett, who sells under the username congogrey and has six full-time employees. "It's an indication that people are pleased. Practically everybody who buys from us has bought from us before. We have customers that have been with us since we started."
Baggett brought his business to eBay four years ago, after having been a collector and seller of antique prints since 1980. Specifically he focuses on natural history prints from the 17 th to 19th century, featuring, says Baggett, "some of the finest works ever produced" and including such renowned artists as Audubon, Gould, and Bode.
Baggett says his success with repeat business is largely the result of cultivating an expertise in his subject and communicating his knowledge and passion to his buyersÑa fact that's made visible in his outstanding listings. They're thorough, thoughtfully laid out, and contain crisp, clear photos, which effectively reproduce the stunning prints of birds, nature scenes, and other subjects.
Moreover, according to Baggett, the secret of luring buyers back consists of a few simple selling strategies: shipping promptly, selling undamaged items, packing items securely, maintaining a large inventory, and offering stellar customer support. By adhering to these basics, Baggett has not only been able to please his customers, but also transform and expand his business in ways he never imagined.
"We now have more customers in Australia and Japan than we do in our home state of Tennessee," he says.
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| art4sale.com (448), Art4sale.com
Increasing Sales Volume | Feb. 2003 |
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| Artoriginal (1650), Andrew Semberecki | Jan. 2003 | Art PowerSeller Andrew Semberecki has discovered a novel way to sell quality contemporary art at affordable prices.
Semberecki is pursuing the American dream, you might say. Originally from Poland, he relocated to Chicago in 1987. To make ends meet, he worked as a taxi driver, waiter, and even a machinist, pursuing art sales modestly on the side. With the arrival of eBay, he was able to pursue his passion fulltime.
"I listed a few pieces and they sold very quickly," remembers Semberecki. "Then I contacted my friends in Poland and we started this project."
Today, Semberecki lists hundreds of paintings and watercolors a week and has four separate usernames in order to market his inventory to different audiences, of which homeowners are the largest segment. He actively uses Gallery and Item Specifics to promote his pieces.
Affordably priced and decorative in nature, his items list as low as $14 and rarely start above $50. He takes pride in being able to offer his customers quality original art at wholesale prices, while also helping talented contemporary artists in his native country practice their craft and earn a legitimate living.
He credits the success of his business to eBay's speed, low rates, and transparency. Semberecki and his ten or so artists are thousands of miles apart, but there are never any surprises. The opening bid and final price are always in plain view. "It's an open game," explains Semberecki.
Interestingly enough, Semberecki's artists take an active role in tracking what styles and colors sell the best, and paint for those markets. Bright "Hollywood colors," as they've been termed, seem to attract the most American bids, says Semberecki.
Not every artist takes such a dollars and cents approach, though. "Some guys do what they like and they don't care if it sells," explains Semberecki. "They are rather happy that they can show their pieces at all." He adds, "Plus, there are customers that prefer this type of work."
Best of all, many of Semberecki's artists are bona fide professionals. Take Stanley Jerry Suder. The Royal Museum in London and George and Barbara Bush have collected his work.
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