Are eBay Artists Selling Themselves Short?

Some of my previous blogs have caused consternation in some forums. The low prices of art on eBay seem to be the main bone of contention. The negative opinions seem to focus on the low prices 'selling art short'. That the low prices achieved for art on eBay are lowering the price of art elsewhere.

Wow, what a can of worms! Taking the argument to its logical conclusion, it suggests that art is overvalued because if you put art in a purely commercial environment (eBay), away from posh galleries and the views of a limited number of curators, the value of most art seems to be less than £100.

My first reaction is to say, yes, the value of most art is under £100 - deal with it!
I don't have a problem with art selling for less than £100. I have a much bigger problem with poor art selling for vastly inflated prices.

If your art is very labour intensive, feel free to charge lots of money. After all, if a plumber or garage mechanic can charge £30 an hour, so can a highly trained artist. But don't grumble if no one wants to buy it because the perceived quality of your art is not high enough.

All eBay does is expose artists to the ruthless economic forces that most of us have to deal with in other spheres of life. But unlike practically every other outlet for visual artists, eBay delivers an audience of thousands of potential buyers. So what if the the buyers don't have a large budget for art? At least, for the first time in the history of art, we have a large audience!

My advice remains, if you can produce art quickly and regulalry, eBay is a great place to start selling it. You'll get your artistic career off to a great start.