15 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
15 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Building my online art store - need your help

by mickyl
13 replies
  • ECOMMERCE
    • |
Hi everybody!
I'm a glass artist and work on the IM world for living. The last few days, I decided to start selling my glass art online (need the space, can use the money, etc.)
I don't have too much experience in selling physical products. I have sold some old stuff on Ebay, but there is no market there for the kind of art I makes (I create art and sculptures, not crafts, and my art is not cheap).
Anyway, I started thinking about building my own store. And then I started thinking - Wordpress or Facebook? or maybe both? Or maybe building a store and publishing it on facebook and pinterst?
And... is there a platform that enables you to build a store and embed the same store on your website, Facebook, etc?
I've already started creating a fan page. Not so sure which of the ways I mentioned, if any of them is the best.
My market is people who really like art and have some money to spend on it - not necessarily the richest people on the universe but also not penniless....
Any advice would be welcomed!
#art #building #online #store
  • Profile picture of the author BadMab
    A lot of people think a Facebook page is "good enough," but I don't agree. I believe it ads credibility if you have your own/run your own site and supplement it with Facebook and other venues. Set it up in Wordpress and you'll have numerous plugins at your despense. If you need help just pm me.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7174699].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I would build an ecommerce store with a complimentary Facebook page and use Pinterest by pinning your art photos as well for more traffic. I like Woo Commerce for Wordpress for building the store. It's easy and does everything you would expect a store to do and has a lot of extensions available for even more functionality.

    Photos of your art are a very good match for the members of Pinterest. It's exactly the type of photos they like and Pinterest is very good at driving traffic to your site if your photos are great.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7174773].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author pavv
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      I would build an ecommerce store with a complimentary Facebook page and use Pinterest by pinning your art photos as well for more traffic. I like Woo Commerce for Wordpress for building the store. It's easy and does everything you would expect a store to do and has a lot of extensions available for even more functionality.

      Photos of your art are a very good match for the members of Pinterest. It's exactly the type of photos they like and Pinterest is very good at driving traffic to your site if your photos are great.
      Couldn't agree more with this. WooCommerce + Pinterest will be your best shot.
      Signature
      Let Me Build Your Ecommerce Store!

      New to eCommerce? Please take a look at my product which teaches you how to find and research a product/niche, then how to build your own store.
      [WSO]I Made $70,689.71 Sales In The Last 31 Days, Let Me Show You How To Do It Too
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7217381].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author luaj
    I can help ,pm me.Cheers
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7176202].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author betterwtveter
    I don't know if you checked out etsy. I is a site that sells hand crafted goods, I am not sure how prestigious of a site it may be for art, but maybe it could be a start.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7217413].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mickyl
    Thanks for all your help, everybody!
    I've had some bad experience with Etsy in the past.... and some of my friends have failed there as well, but it was 3 years ago - things might have changed, I guess. Etsy is great if you are an artisan, which I'm not. I'm really not so sure that it is a good idea to present my works next to fluffy pillows, floral coasters and folk paintings ( I'm not a painter, I'm a contemporary glass artist)
    so I'll go with woo-commerce+ Pinterst+FB+ Twitter+Thumbler and see how it goes...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7217520].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author morg2k2
      Originally Posted by mickyl View Post

      Thanks for all your help, everybody!
      I've had some bad experience with Etsy in the past.... and some of my friends have failed there as well, but it was 3 years ago - things might have changed, I guess. Etsy is great if you are an artisan, which I'm not. I'm really not so sure that it is a good idea to present my works next to fluffy pillows, floral coasters and folk paintings ( I'm not a painter, I'm a contemporary glass artist)
      so I'll go with woo-commerce+ Pinterst+FB+ Twitter+Thumbler and see how it goes...
      Hi Micky,

      sorry to tell you but you are a bit outdated about easy, as long you are an artisan, hand crafter (like you are) then you have your space on Etsy can a relevant category.

      Etsy is very good to gather lots of targeted traffic, then you can create a FB page and use one of the etsy store applications to Facebook and everything you have on etsy will be automatically available in your facebook page. I´m using it to my wife Fofucha dolls and it works really well. Its also advised to have a wordpress blog to get linked with your fans, explaining what you are doing etc,etc...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7223021].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author brcline
    Like others have said, you definitely want to use pintrest to generate interest in your art!

    Setup a complimentary facebook page, and add a few pictures each day. Etsy could be a very good way of getting some online traffic without having to spend the initial $$ to build up a site and seo it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7220865].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jamesrk
    Try an all in one solution that combines your store, blogging, and social needs if you're looking to have an individual store instead of a marketplace. My homepage is one of them, but there may also be others. Etsy charges listing, transaction, and credit card direct checkout fees, so it will take a bite out of your profits vs having your own store. You might as well try them both since it won't cost you anything!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7227040].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author HVaultTech
    Building a ecommerce store has it's ups and downs...down side is that it generally take developing your own website from scratch or a program that helps you build out your website. This can be a lot of work..not to scare you away from building one, but it is definately not for the faint of heart. Selling stuff online (ecommerce site) requires you to integrate a solid and safe way for people to purchace items, easiest is generally integrating Pay-Pay..but you also have to have a SSL with your store. It's a lot different than just a regular content website. The up side of things is that you know your store is safe from fraud's and that your customers will be happier to do business with you and buy your art if you have a totally secure web store to sell your products. Facebook and social platforms are great for driving the traffic that you need to your store, but i wouldn't suggest trying to sell anything from those platforms unless you plan on manually processing everything.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7259198].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    I would definitely recommend Etsy!
    Signature

    New Book! Radical Life Extension. Help me to hasten the defeat of aging.
    Michael Ten . Do Nothing Does . All Books by Michael Ten

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7259796].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ecpasar
      In my opinion you can put your glass works of art on its own website, of course, there are many large sites we can see your merchandise, such as reddit, delicious, livejournal, etc.
      Signature
      canada goose arctic
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7260130].message }}

Trending Topics