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The Business of Selling Art Other Business Stuff
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Hi All. I am very new to this art business stuff. I’ve been a DPW member for about a year now. I have not sold anything yet, but suddenly a buyer from Switzerland (I am in California) wants 5 pieces of art. I am cautiously optimistic. I have never sold, let alone shipped anything overseas. It may be more than I can handle—or want to handle. Hoping some of you experienced art entrepreneurs can weigh in with advice about how to qualify such a person and what to watch out for. Thank you in advance!

Oh…Here is the email with all the details:

I have attached the pieces I am interested in.

Shipping Address:
Gary Rawson Inc.
Grundstrasse 19, 6430
Schwyz, Schweiz
Switzerland.

Regarding shipping, I live in a rural area where carriers like UPS, DHL, and others often find it difficult to locate and don’t take care of all charges, such as handling fees, customs, duties, etc. We have been in such a situation before and I don’t want to experience it again. They have delivered to me in the past and I appreciate their services. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could contact them about the shipping, and they will handle all the necessary documentation.

I will be glad if you contact Mr. Sandro Turner at Voire International Freight Logistics for a shipping quote, with this email address (voirefrtlgcustserv@outlook.com) he handles all of my shipments. They will take care of everything including handling, customs, duties, Tax, insurance, and shipping documentation, get back to me with the proforma invoice of my order including the shipping cost to be paid before shipment, and after payment is made in full, you will be responsible for payment to Voire International Freight Logistics.

I’m looking forward to your reply with the proforma invoice of my order with the shipping cost and any additional charges, I’ll send you my cc details to proceed with the payment.

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The very first thing I would do is research the shipping company, do a search to see if it is a legitimate shipping company. Do not contact the Mr Sandro Turner, do not send an email to the email address they provided. If the company actually looks legit, call and ask a lot of questions regarding shipping to Switzerland and the info the so called buyer provided. Call UPS and see if it actually does not ship to the address given. Also, google the address and look at the pics of where it would be sent.

To be honest, this does not feel legit, but I could be wrong. He’s giving you too many exact details including the exact person he wants you to communicate with, the exact email, etc. He makes you responsible for paying this so called shipping company. I would suggest to him that he pay the shipping cost up front since it’s overseas. Only go forward if you are completely confident this is a legit offer.

And always remember that if it is a scam, you are not losing a sale, you are simply saving your art for a real buyer.

I hope this helps. Lalita

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I looked up Schwyz, Switzerland. Wikipedia says it’s the capital of the canton of Schwyz. So, it doesn’t sound all that remote to me. Also Google has a street photo of that house, that is to say, Google didn’t have any trouble finding it and taking a picture of it. Both these facts put together seem fishy to me, and I would proceed with caution.

Also I googled Voire International Freight Logistics and failed to find anything.

I second the advice on NOT contacting the email address you were given.

Instead, using UPS and USPS, search the address and see if either delivers to that address. You can do that by going to each one’s website and filling in the dimensions and weight of an imaginary package. If it ships there, you’ll know something’s definitely fishy.

To be honest with you it sounds suspicious because the details don’t seem to add up. Plus he wants to make you pay the shipping for 5 paintings, which means he’s trying to control the transaction. You’re the seller; you’re the one who calls the shots.

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I’ve got a shorter message from this Gary, and I honestly don’t think he is legit. He probably sent the message to multiple artists, hoping one will fall for his lies. I do not trust anyone who won’t pay or ship in the usual ways. I’ve sold artwork to France, Belgium, and Dubai (not through DPW), and I haven’t had any legit buyers contact me before purchasing an artwork. I’ve encountered so many scammers on Instagram and Etsy that I’ve become more sensitive. I actually received another comment on the same day praising my artwork, with broken English and plenty of emojis. It seems scammers have just found DPW.
Please proceed with caution.

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This is a no deal situation. You will end up with no money, you will be out of pocket as you will have paid for shipping and probably you will have no paintings either.
Once upon a time on DPW, in the good old days, I sold 6 paintings to the same buyer, a gallery in New Mexico (I am in the U.K.). He paid me up front. He then sent me his FedEx account details and I used those to arrange the shipping. FedEx collected the paintings - for which payment had cleared - and as I had used the buyer’s account details, he paid FedEx himself.
I tell you this story so you can contrast it with what your “buyer” is asking of you.
Tell him if he pays you in full for the art and arranges the shipping at his expense he can have the paintings.

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Just in case not enough people have said it yet: This sounds like a typical scam. Please be very careful with this. I’ve seen it happen to other artists I know.

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It’s scam. But I think to you it seems like too good to give up - but don’t get hooked!
That “buyer” asking you to do too much work yourself, contacting person etc etc
There are so much scam, and surely they don’t want you to use official channels and official procedures where you are more protected.
I’ve personally shipped to Switzerland, after buyer paid for everything, without even asking any questions, nothing difficult

After some time you’ll develop sense for scam. If you have to hoop through loops to sell (bc they don’t like websites, don’t want to pay VAT etc etc - whatever is the story) - that’s scam

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Hi Chuck, definite scam. I did a Google search for the shipping email address, which led me here. I do books, not art (so sorry for an “outsider” commenting here :P), but here are parts of two emails I got from a Liam Jakob.

==========================

Email 1:

Regarding shipping, I live in a rural area where carriers like UPS, DHL, and others often find it difficult to locate and don’t take care of all charges, such as handling fees, customs, duties, etc. We have been in such a situation before and I don’t want to experience it again, Therefore, I would appreciate it if you could contact (voirefrtlgcustserv@outlook.com) about the shipping, and they will handle all the necessary documentation.

They have delivered to me in the past and I appreciate their services.

==========================

Email 2:

Thank you for the reply, here is the list of items I’m interested in ordering.

[talk about books I sell and number of copies he wants to order]…

Shipping Address:
Liam Jakob INC.
Grundstrasse 19, 6430
Schwyz, Schweiz
Switzerland.

I will be glad if you contact Mr. Sandro Turner at Voire International Freight Logistics for a shipping quote, with this email address (voirefrtlgcustserv@outlook.com) he handles all of my shipments. They will take care of everything including handling, customs, duties, Tax, insurance, and shipping documentation, get back to me with the proforma invoice of my order including the shipping cost to be paid before shipment, and after payment is made in full, you will be responsible for payment to Voire International Freight Logistics.

I’m excited to hear back from you with the proforma invoice of my order with the shipping cost and any additional charges, I’ll send you my cc details to proceed with the payment.

Thank you.
Liam

==========================

Notice the identical emails and identical shipping address but from a different name. Skip this guy. I know it’s heartbreaking to see it’s a scam and not the real deal–I was heartbroken too, because I wanted to get rid of some old stock–but sigh this ain’t real. :frowning:

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It’s a scam. I got a similar email. Guess they’re picking Switzerland now, and not “I’m out at sea”.

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Be more careful with emails containing information files, just click on them and the malware will invade the entire device and they will monitor us long enough before taking action, this can also be considered a profession :))