This is my first sale on Artmajeur, after several months of presence on the site. I had made the decision, after the start of the summer holidays, to switch to a "platinum account" in order to have a better view of my artistic production. I think this sale is the result of that.
Payment was made by bank transfer from London. It is a method of payment widely used in certain countries - French banks are far behind from this point of view, and it is a real handicap for transactions. Also in France, there are many reluctances to use Paypal, yet so easy to use and very secure. The order form and invoicing system is awesome. This avoids getting lost in the administrative paperwork.
I don't spend enough time administering my account. Only one hour a week, and even less I believe. However, I have many tables to put online. I confess to being too negligent because visitors like the novelties on the artists' pages. I have to discipline myself about this because it is an essential task. The heaviest thing to manage is the preparation of the online publication: photo of the paintings or drawings, framing, possible corrections, management of the digital files on the computer. Once that's done, going live on the site is simple. Just let yourself be guided. Ideally, my sales would be more active so that I could enlist the services of an assistant to do this preparatory work. I recommended Artmajeur to one of my artist friends. I also make links between the site and my Facebook profile when I put new items online.
The international market, I'm already in it, too little yet, but it's the real way to live from your art. The French market is too narrow. On other commercial circuits, before knowing Artmajeur, I sold works in Belgium, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy, Spain. My farthest buyer is in Taiwan. With Artmajeur, my first sale was for London. I hope that my canvases or paintings will one day cross the Atlantic. I would very much like to have contacts with gallery owners in North and South America. If this could be done, it would also give me an opportunity to go to exhibition venues to meet new audiences. I had direct contact with the buyer, especially on the method of payment. We corresponded live and in real time.
My advice: The traps to avoid are Internet users who ask to be contacted "outside Armajeur" and offer tempting sums. It is to flee because the intentions are dishonest. My recommendations: present impeccable documents, take care of the framing, the lighting, give the details of the work, the dimensions, etc. and the artist's references.
Nicolas Sarazin
