Choosing an Online Marketplace

Once all of your files are digitized and organized, it’s time to begin uploading them, but first you have to choose an online marketplace.  Eventually, you’ll want a portfolio of artwork on several different sites, but since building an online marketplace to sell your art is very time consuming, start with one, develop it, then branch out to others.  I have an account on all three of the sites listed below, but the one I've had the most success with is Zazzle.  Granted, I have spent more time promoting my Zazzle store than any other, but that’s only because I feel that Zazzle offers the widest variety of available products on which you can sell your art, while still protecting your original artwork.

You can, of course, create your own site to sell your artwork, but the following online marketplaces allow you to simply upload images, which can then be sold on a variety of products.  These companies do all the production, shipping, and billing, while making the processes of designing and promoting your online store much easier than starting from scratch:

Cafepress.com – Free to sign up, sell your art printed on a large variety of items, site does a decent job of advertising itself to new potential customers, does very little, however, to protect your original artwork from being downloaded.

RedBubble.com – Free to sign up, mainly used to sell high quality prints, posters, and wall art (including canvas) – although recently branched out to iPhone cases, a GREAT online community of international artists, options available for protecting your original artwork from being downloaded, site does NOT advertise itself well.

Zazzle.com – Free to sign up, sell your art on a large variety of items, site advertises all over the internet in order to attract new customers, protects your original artwork by not allowing images to be downloaded AND places watermark over hires views of your images to prevent screenshots being taken.

There are lots of these types of sites on the internet.  If you have had a good (or bad) experience with any of these sites (or any others), please share your story with us by commenting below.