Let's face it, for all upcoming artists and photographers, it is expensive and time consuming to copyright all their art.  Especially because art and photography is a passion for us, not work, meaning we produce a lot of them periodically.  We spend long hours studying, testing, practicing, learning, and pushing ourselves to perfect our trade.  There is hardly any glamor in it at all.  As for photographers, we have a perfect image we want to capture.  But with that being said, we have to wait for that perfect situation to actually happen: Whether it is waiting for the perfect sunset, clouds, trees, river, lighting, shadow, or moment.  We stand in ant piles, water puddles, mud and sometimes even manure to get that perfect shot.  And with that being said, we only have a limited amount of time to capture what we want...in the perfect angle, with the right camera settings, in the blistering cold or burning heat.  As for artists, its not like they just sit down and program their hands to reproduce an original creation every single time.  It takes time and money: going through several expensive bottles of paint and canvases: Trying to get that perfect color, perfect hue, or perfect brush stroke.

Overall, what I am trying to say is: Unless you're famous or well-known, most of your profits come from multiple sales rather than a single popular sale.

It is upsetting to see other people simply copy an original piece created by another artist.  And worst, most of them try to sell it for more than the original.  This doesn't happen only on eBay, it happens all over internet markets.  However, eBay and Craigslists have been the top markets where we see this happen most.  There really isn't anything the original creators, artists and photographers can do about this.  Because like I said before, copyrighting is expensive and time consuming (taking in consideration the amount produce periodically).

I noticed this "plagiarism" and copying happen with a lot of abstract art pieces.  Because to the "copiers," they think that there isn't a "right" way to produce abstract art.  Their ideology about abstract art is simple and one-dimensional: It's just wild brush strokes, stray marks, or no-direction paint splatters to them.  But to the original producers of the piece, every stroke, every mark and every splatter means something and has a reason.  It is placed in that exact spot, in that exact position, and in that exact direction for a purpose.  Of course I don't speak for all artists but my overall meaning is simple: the piece being produced is produced with the artist's passion.

As for photographer, it is a bit more difficult, they have the excuse of, "I was just in that same exact spot you were in when you took that picture."  Unfortunately, some people have legitimate arguments.  Many photographs are similar to other photographers' pieces because of pure coincidence.  But in turn, photographers spend a lot of time on post-shot touch ups.  Such things include saturation, color, hue, high dynamic range elements, tone mapping, etc.  It is not coincidental (99.9% of the time anyways) that a photograph has the same post-shot elements and fixes as the original finished piece by the original photographer.

When these "copiers" come onto eBay, they throw paint on a cheap canvas with a horrible representation of the real piece and call it their own "original art."  When in fact, it is clearly a failed attempt of a true artist's work.  Please keep an eye out for these recreations.  Art is meaningful to those who buy it and those who produce it.  It is discouraging to see other people profit off of someone else's hard work.  And again, its not illegal in most cases because of the difficulties artists face with copyrighting, so it is tough to stop.  All artists hope to one day look back at their art piece and know it is valuable and worth something due to its originality.  But if hundreds of the same piece is recreated, it loses it's value and the artist loses his credibility and his name.  If 100 people create an "original" piece that are all the same, the original artist only receives 1/100 of the credit when its all said and done.

I hope this guide helped all of you who are planning to buy "original" paintings, photographs and other artistic pieces on eBay.  Take your time and shop around.  Make sure you are getting the real deal and not some failed reproduction.  Here are a few tips you that you can follow that may help you in your search:

• As always, check the eBay member's feedback, make sure they are a reputable member.
• Check if they have a website link in their "About Me" page.  If they do have a site, see if they have a portfolio.
• Check if they have more than one or two pieces for sale in their store.
• Search through other various listings and see if this one looks very similar to others.  If it does, check to see if the other member is more reputable (in most cases, if they are more reputable, they are the original producer of the piece).
• Lastly, Google their eBay member name, see if anyone has said anything about that member.  I recommend this because in most cases, people who know that that eBay member copies original art from others, will not purchase that art on eBay (not allowing them to leave proper feedback confronting that member).  These people will most likely confront that eBay member through other sources, such as art or photography forums.

Sincerely,
Art City Cafe
The Exclusive Gallery Retailer for Cao Creations