If you are a budding art collector buying art on ebay is a wonderful way to add to your collection.  Buying directly from the artists has a lot of benefits.

1.  You will be a modern day patron of the arts.  ( good for you!! )

2.  You have the opportunity to actually get to know your artists.  When buying from the traditional gallery you often do not know your artist and the artists never get to know who their patrons are as galleries traditionally do not share this information.

3.  You often have the opportunity to buy art that is lower in price than gallery prices as ebay artists are in control of their own prices and usually start their auctions at a price that is lower than market value to get the bidding started.  Ebay is a great place to find my studies and class demonstrations that I am able to sell at reduced prices without bringing down the value of my finished, gallery ready oils. 

4.  If you are unsure of the  reliability of the artist or their work you can check their feedback scores and correspond with other buyers.

5.  If you are unsure of the quality of the work based on the small photos available through ebay you can ask your artist for larger photos or giclees of their pieces.  In my gallery I have  giclees of many of my higher priced pieces so that patrons can order a giclee first if they choose.  A giclee is a very high quality print using archival ink on canvas or watercolor paper.  Every brush stroke is visible and is looks exactly like the original oil or watercolor from which it was created.  These are also collectable and increase in value as their originals.  I actually offer my patrons the choice of purchasing a giclee of a larger piece to be refunded or partially refunded upon the purchase of the original oil from which the giclee was made.  A win/win solution!

6.  Most ebay stores have a good return policy.  When buying higher end art this would be an important thing to consider.  If the artist doesn't specify a return policy you might request one.

7.  Ebay has recently added a nice feature.... Make an offer.  I have several patrons who have used this with good results as they wished to purchase more than one painting or simply wanted to buy a painting at a sale price when it wasn't on sale.  So those of your who meant to put a bid on a painting and now find the bidding is over and the painting hasn't sold.... don't be shy, make an offer.

8.  Lastly, more and more of us are seeing a need out there and are ready with brush in hand to answer the call.  There is a trend out there for painters to do a daily painting.  This is a small ( mine are 6x6 ) painting that is started and finished in one day.  This is a great way for us to keep in practice and a great way for our patrons to start collecting our work.  I know a lot of people are beginning to buy up these little paintings from many artists and have dedicated a wall to them in their homes.my store  What a great idea and many thanks to those of you who have chosen to collect my work for your wall of fame.     

Please check out my own Gallery/Store on ebay when you get a moment.  I feature my own work and the work of other midwest fine artists.  Go to midwest-fine-art.com.  An ebay store.