I’ve been away from DPW for a while and am gearing up to jump back in! Question - do you think an auction is better than a fixed price and why?
I have been painting and posting online since 2007, and have been away for a few years. Still painting, just teaching more and selling less 
Welcome back. The auctions aren’t as effective as they used to be. I do still use them in the hopes of pulling more traffic to my gallery. Facebook and Instagram have become more important.
What are auction advantages? Does it get you more front page exposure?
If you choose auction you have a chance to be DPW auction pick of the day or DPW Facebook pick of the day as well as being on the auction page for however long your auction runs.
I am new here as of a month and a half ago and have been trying everything. I put paintings on auction 3 times and never had any action, so I gave up on that.
Hello. I sell paintings on Russian Facebook, in auction groups. It looks like this. The artist himself sets the minimum price for his painting. Uploads a photo of the picture for approval by the administrator to the group, and the administrator puts it up for auction. The group administrator also appoints a bidding step of 300 rubles ($ 4.5) or 500 rubles ($ 7.4). Bidding lasts a day and is published in real time. Everyone sees who made a bet and which one wrote a comment. Bidding ends at 10 pm Moscow time. After the auction, the artist and the buyer communicate with each other in the messenger, deciding on the payment and transfer of the painting. Everything is simple here. The buyer from his card transfers to the artist’s card the cost of the painting + shipping costs. Money comes instantly. After that, the artist packs the picture and sends it to the buyer by the postal service.
Now the question. Are there any similar auctions in the USA on Facebook or other groups in which paintings and artists from other countries could sell?
Oh my, three times is nothing. A lot of people put many paintings up without getting bids. These days, for the vast majority, sales are the exception, not the rule, no matter how they’re offered.
1 Like
Hi all, I am just finishing my trial first month. I put everything I have on auction -I added on all month with a total of 15-20 pieces. I advertised on FB with a special of free shipping. I’ve sold 5 paintings. It may be a fluke, but I love it so far!
3 Likes
Hi Rachel…Just curious how you " advertised on Facebook " ? you mean you just put a link to the Auction page from DPW to your facebook page ?
Thanks, Eric…sounds like a good idea
Hi! I just realized I never answered this- sorry! I run a FB ad on my Facebook page, and the link I used went back to my DPW listing. I hope that helps!
I still use the auction feature when I post a new painting.
I run the auction 3 times. After that I just switch the painting to a buy it now sale.
Here’s why.
Sometimes people ‘follow’ the auction. If it is not bought the first time around, the followers remain when it goes to the second auction try. It reminds the follower that the work is still for sale and they might buy it on it’s next go around. I figure if it hasn’t sold by the third time, people have had enough time to think about it by that stage.
It’s worth re-listing things as auctions later on, some months down the line (I think you can relist after 6 months? I can’t remember the exact timespan. I sold several paintings last month that way.
Of course you lose a bit in commission to DPW but that’s the deal.
That’s awesome! Well done.
I’ve never had trouble with the linguin but I just purchase small jars and put our a dab at a time. I like the tube idea!
Thanks for the insight Charlotte–I hadn’t thought about using the auction as another way to drive traffic to my website. I’m getting sales from FB and some local following.
Does it look “bad” if my work doesn’t sell on auction?