My Experience as an Artist on Saatchi Art: What to Know Before Selling on the Platform

Introduction:

My name is Raúl Lara, now I can say that I´m a professional artist but I wasn’t easy to get here, I fell in love with painting as a child but I always thought pursuing art as a career wasn’t possible until I discovered Saatchi Art, I´ve been selling consistently on saatchi for the last years and my purpose here is to give you, from my experience, a list of keys points you should know before embarking on your journey to sell on Saatchi Art.

Ok, let’s start for the beginning.

What is Saatchi Art ?

Saatchi Art is an online art gallery based in Los Angeles, California and founded in 2006 by Charles Saatchi that offers a platform for artists and art lovers to connect and transact. It provides a wide range of artworks, including paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and more.Saatchi Art has a global reach, with a collection of over 1 million works of art from over 100 countries. The Saatchi Art online shop provides an opportunity for artists to sell their art to a global audience, while art lovers can purchase works from a diverse array of artists and styles.

Is Selling on Saatchi Art Good?

As with everything in the world, it depends on individual circumstances and personal experiences. Selling on Saatchi Art Gallery can be a good opportunity for artists to reach a global audience and potentially sell our works, but the success of selling on the platform may vary based on factors such as the artist’s market, the quality and style of our works, and the demand for our art. But there’s something unquestionable, Saatchi Art gives you the opportunity to reach a global audience of potential customers and that’s a big thing.

The Pros of Selling on Saatchi Art

Saatchi Art offers several advantages for artists looking to sell their work online. These benefits include:

1. A Large Global Audience

: Saatchi Art has a large global audience, giving artists the opportunity to reach a wide range of potential buyers from all over the world. This is especially beneficial for artists who are looking to expand their reach beyond their local area.

2. Ease of Use and Accessibility

Saatchi Art is easy to use and accessible, making it a convenient platform for artists to showcase and sell their work online. The platform is user-friendly and has a clean and organized interface, making it easy for artists to navigate and find the information they need.

3. Good Customer Support

Saatchi Art offers really good customer support, ensuring that artists have the help and support they need to sell their work successfully. The platform has a dedicated support team that is available to answer any questions and assist with any issues that may arise.

4. Ability to Showcase and Sell Work Online

Online: Saatchi Art provides artists with a platform to showcase and sell their work online, making it easier for them to reach potential buyers and grow their customer base. The platform allows us  to display our work in a professional and attractive manner, increasing the chances of a successful sale.

5. The selling process

At this point Saatchi is one of the best platforms I’ve ever worked with. Once you make a sale you are notified by email, you only have to set a day to pick up your work and package it safely. They will provide all paperwork needed for shipment.

6. Saatchi Art Commission:

The platform also offers the opportunity to saatchi artists to work on commission with their clients. If you feel comfortable on working this way this can be a good way to make some extra sales

The Cons of Selling on Saatchi Art

Even though I’m quite happy with Saatchi gallery there are cons, these are some of them.

1, Competition with other Artists

Saatchiart has a large pool of talented artists and it can be difficult to stand out and get your work noticed by potential buyers.

2. Commission Fees

Another challenge of selling on Saatchi Art is the commission fees that are taken from each sale. While these fees are a common occurrence for online art marketplaces, it can eat into your profit margins. At this point I have to say that Saatchi Art fee is lower than most of the other online art galleries, it used to be 35% but they raised up to 40% this 2023

3. Shipping and Handling Costs

Selling artwork online means that you have to account for shipping and handling costs. This can be a challenge when it comes to pricing your work, and can impact your profits. Anyway while you set the price of your work you´ll see how much of that price goes to shipping costs so you can adjust the price if needed.

4. Importance of Promoting Your Work Effectively

Lastly, it’s important to note that selling on Saatchi Art requires a lot of effort and self-promotion. If you want to be successful on the platform, you need to put in the time and effort to effectively promote your work and get it in front of potential buyers. 

How much do artists make on Saatchi?

The amount that artists make on Saatchi Art Gallery can vary greatly depending on several factors, including the quality and style of their works, the demand for their art, and their market. Some artists may make significant sales on the platform, while others may not sell as many works, anyway what I´ve seen is that if you work on a professional way, uploading high quality images of your artworks regularly and finding your own voice you’ll end up making sales, hopefully a lot of them 

How to Succeed on Saatchi Art?

As an artist aiming to sell on Saatchi Art, it’s crucial to equip yourself with the necessary tools and strategies to achieve success on this platform. Here are a few tips and pieces of advice to help you get started:

1. Build a strong online portfolio

Your portfolio is a critical component of your success on Saatchi Art. Make sure your portfolio showcases your work in the best possible light and gives potential buyers a clear understanding of your style and abilities.

2. Understand commission fees and other details

Saatchi Art charges commission fees on each sale, so it’s important to understand the fees and how they will impact your earnings. Take the time to review the platform’s policies and procedures so you know what to expect.

3. Promote your work effectively

In order to sell your work on Saatchi Art, you need to get the word out. Utilize social media, email marketing, and other marketing strategies to promote your work and reach potential buyers, I usually use my instagram to drive people to saatchionline using instagram stories to link my paintings to Saatchi Art.

4. Build a community

On saatchiart as it happens in social media platforms, you can like other artists’ works and follow them, that can help to grow your community and gain more visibility.

How to Get Found on Saatchi Art?

This is a tricky point, even though there is an artist handbook page on Saatchi Art that will help you to manage yourself on the platform,  it’s difficult to know what points are more efficient when it comes to be found Saatchi. Let’s see some of them

1. Keywords

When uploading a new artwork there are several fields where you can add keywords, these keywords are important to be found on the platform. I recommend you to use the most powerful first and of course always use keywords related to your artwork like color, medium, subject, etc.

2. SEO optimization

It´s important to make SEO oriented descriptions, Saatchi allows you to create ample descriptions of your works so take advantage of it. It’s also a good idea to make a diversity of descriptions which will help to target different types of customers.

3. Saatchi Art Collections

Saatchi Art regularly makes collections that feature on his website and share by email marketing, there a lot of them, the easiest one you might be included in is “New this Week Collection” that features around 100 works of art every single week. Being included in one of these saatchi collections it’s probably the best way to gain visibility on the platform and if you work hard sooner than later you will be included in these collections. 

What Sells Best on Saatchi?

As far as I know it’s impossible to determine what sells best on saatchi online gallery, however, it is known that the website allows artists to showcase and sell different types of artworks including paintings, photography, sculptures, drawings, collages, and more. Original artworks as well as limited and open edition prints. What I recommend you do it´s to look for the styles or techniques that more closely resemble your work, and look for recently added artworks or what’s been sold lately to get a general idea on what it’s trendy on the platform.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the quality of the artwork is a key factor in determining its success on Saatchi Art, regardless of the style or genre

How do I Know if My Art is Good Enough to Sell?

The way I see it, art is art, there´s no good or bad art, art it’s the way artists express themselves. Of course there are different levels, not all the artists have the same talent to create, because of that, to determine if your art is good enough to sell can be a subjective and challenging task. However, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success. Here are some tips:

1. Seek Feedback from Other Artists:

Reach out to other artists in your network or attend art critiques to get constructive feedback on your work. This can help you identify areas for improvement and gauge the potential for your art to sell.

2. Conduct Market Research

Research the types of art that are selling well in your genre and the prices they are fetching. This can give you an idea of what to expect in terms of sales and help you make informed decisions about your work.

3. Be Honest with Yourself

Assess your own art objectively and determine if it is at the level you want it to be. Consider factors such as technique, composition, and overall appeal.

Remember, the art market can be unpredictable and what sells well one day may not the next. The most important thing is to create art that you are proud of and that speaks to you. If you believe in your work, others may too.

The 3 C’s in Art?

The 3 C’s in art refer to the three essential components of creating successful art pieces. These are:

1. Craftsmanship

This refers to the technical skills and mastery of the medium used by the artist to create the artwork. Good craftsmanship is characterized by attention to detail, mastery of techniques, and the ability to effectively use the chosen medium to convey the desired message or feeling.

2. Creativity

Creativity is the originality and uniqueness that an artist brings to their work. This includes the artist’s imagination, original ideas, and the ability to translate these ideas into a tangible form.

3. Communication

Communication refers to the ability of the artist to effectively convey their message or emotion through their artwork. This includes the use of color, composition, form, and other elements to create a visual language that resonates with the viewer.

Together, the 3 C’s in art form the foundation of successful art creation and help to ensure that the artist’s work is well received by their audience.

Conclusion

In this article we have covered a lot of points from what is Saatchi Art to pros and cons to selling on saatchi online. I gave you general feedback on what to do to be a successful artist, to get seen on the platform and a lot more.

From my experience the only thing I can say is thanks to Saatchi Art, I´ve sold more that 100 pieces with them, between original and prints, I first started selling with them when I still didn’t believe that I could became a professional artist, and thanks to them I´ve been discovered for many other art galleries that I’ve been working with these lasts years as well as many other art projects. My work is on private collections all around the work, they helped me to live from my art. 

Selling on Saatchi Art, as with all the other online or physical art galleries is not something easy, at least not to me, but if had to start my art career again now in 2023 Saatchi Art will be one of my first options

Feel free to check my saatchi artist profile here

FAQs

Who can sell on Saatchi Art?

Saatchi Art welcomes artists from all over the world to showcase and sell their artwork. There are no specific requirements or qualifications to join the platform. However, all artists must create a profile and provide high-quality images of their work.

What types of artwork can I sell on Saatchi Art?

Saatchi Art accepts a wide variety of artwork, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, jewelry, ceramics, and mixed media pieces. The platform welcomes original artwork created by hand and limited edition prints.

What are the commission fees on Saatchi Art?

Saatchi Art charges a commission of 40% on the final sale price of each artwork. This commission covers the platform’s marketing and fulfillment services, as well as the authentication of artwork.

How do I get paid for my artwork sales?

Saatchi Art pays artists via PayPal or direct deposit. Payments are made within 14 days of the sale being confirmed.

Who handles shipping and returns?

Saatchi Art handles all shipping and returns for the artwork sold on its platform. Artists are responsible for packing and preparing the artwork for shipping. Customers can return artwork within 30 days for a full refund.

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