I found out today that one can mark one’s work “sold” even though it may not be sold, or was sold somewhere else. This means there is no way of actually knowing how much, and what work is really being sold at DPW. And an artist can make it look like he/she is selling a lot of work here, but really isn’t . NOT GOOD!
I’m sorry, I guess I’m not understanding what your point is…Maybe you could clarify it for me. Thanks
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I post paintings I have sold elsewhere, in the past, when I have nothing new to show so that I have activity on my site. I like to have any of my work entered into my Gallery on DPW. I don’t think we need to worry about the number of sales (or where the sales occurred) on other artist’s sites. I don’t think it has any impact on how well we do on ours. However I am new at this and open to the opinions of others.
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Elizabeth, I am also new and don’t have many paintings in my gallery yet. I post paintings that were sold elsewhere so I have examples of my work. I also sell on ebay and other venues. DPW, in my humble opinion, is very generous and gracious to allow me that latitude. I appreciate it very much.
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Mona, I totally agree!
Hi ~ This is a site that offers an opportunity to show one’s art to a potential market.
Members paintings that are sold are marked as such but it isn’t to “trick” other artists
into participating here. Most members are aware that we may not know “where”
the art sold and that really isn’t the point of displaying one’s work here. Lots of
artists receive requests to create a new work for a customer…based on that
customer’s love of the artist’s work or style that has been posted; Or they might purchase another piece that is still available and gives them the same joy 
They aren’t just buying because lots of others did…the art is what draws them in and
that’s what this site is about…sorry but no site can guarantee you sales.
*Disclaimer: I don’t post my art here as I am not into art as a business… But I come often to be inspired and enjoy others’ talents.
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I agree with others who say they like to post all of their work so visitors can see a full range of your talent. I also buy occasional artwork and have done so through DPW on occasion. The fact that artists sell I believe is a factor for some art collectors. I have to admit I can be persuaded to buy someone’s art based on how much they paint and how much they sell. The $12.95 per month is a bargain, especially considering their promotional efforts and website features. Most of my sales come from social media and art shows, but I have gotten a few sales from my website.
The other reason people put all their work and sales on DPW is because you can export an inventory. Other sites charge extra for these features. You can also keep track of things like sales tax, etc.
Anyway, wishing you much success.
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You can always go to “What’s sold” and look under “sales breakdown” to see how many sold on DPW and how many in other places.
I too place sold paintings on the site, just to show them. Some of them have been commissions, some of them in shows. It would be way too limiting if we could only show what was sold through DPW.
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When you look at Dpw sales notice that total sales usually are about double PayPal sales. A lot of my work is sold here even if someone saw it elsewhere because of the convenience of the transaction and I no longer do out door shows.
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Been on here for about a year, and post all my work I have for sale anywhere. I have never sold a piece on DPW, but I have purchased work from others, and I mark my paintings sold if someone’s bought my work from a gallery or show elsewhere.
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I use my DPW gallery as a kind of record of my art. When I first started I was totally new to the art business and I started here. As I branched out to eBay, Etsy, and now my own website, I still post my new paintings here first. It gives me a nice record of dates, where a painting is currently listed, who bought it etc. And, a sale now and again. Most of my sales, I have not had that many all total, have come from art markets I physically attended or eBay but the paintings were already listed here and it was logical to just mark them sold…
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I do pretty much the same as all the other artists on here have said. I post For Sale & Sold – and not all sold’s are through DPW. But I like to use DPW as a selling platform for me and I have my own website link over to it. I do this because DPW gives me options! I can post here, and then easily add to Facebook. My website has a category for “Available” which links right to my DPW gallery. I also will put items On Hold if they are going into a show, then back to Available when the show is done & the piece did not sell there. David put a lot into the programming on this site, and with the different analysis options, an artist can see much of the stats that are desired. And for the price per month, it’s so much more economical than some of the other add-ons, sites or apps that charge higher monthly fees.
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I’m OK with how that works with what’s sold on DPW and what’s sold elsewhere. I have my own spreadsheet and I keep track of that. It was easy to set up. DPW has a lot of great things going for it, so I’m in for the long haul.
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I love DPW and I have it as my website. I sell note cards to gift shops and they look at my gallery to choose what images they order for note cards. If I sell a painting, say at an event, on Etsy, or privately, I always mark it SOLD on my gallery. My gift shop owners can still order note cards from that sold painting, since I own the copyright to the image.
I too mark a painting ON HOLD if I have a painting in a show and then SOLD if it sells. My patrons like to see what paintings I have sold. I don’t think it matters where the painting was sold, on DPW or not.
I think marking a painting SOLD can be an incentive for buyers to buy as well. I had a series of 3 CA poppies paintings. One sold. The next day I got an email from a lady saying she had been admiring the poppy paintings and saw one had sold. So she bought #2 right away. The next day, the first lady who had bought a poppy painting, saw the 2nd one had sold and immediately bought the 3rd one! This was on Etsy. It was an amazing 3 days for me, and quite unusual. I believe marking them SOLD helped sell all 3 and I realized I need to paint more CA poppies! LOL!
What does it matter whether they are sold on DPW or elsewhere? DPW allows artists to showcase their work and provides a sales facility for very little cost. It also allows you to sell elsewhere if you want at no extra cost and actually facilitates you doing this. Awesome!. It is the most artist-friendly site on the web by a country mile, in my opinion.
If your priority is a site where the seller’s sales are explicit, then there’s always eBay.
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I also assume artists are selling in other places and in other ways. I use my gallery to post all of my miniatures, sold, gifted, still available, whatever. It’s nice to have people see that I have a range, and that my work does sell - on DPW or not. I find the fees have so far been more than reasonable. And I sometimes direct people to buy there because of the ease of the payment options, even if they saw my work somewhere else. You can certainly disagree, of course. It’s not a perfect fit for everyone.
I have had pieces that I posted on DPW sell elsewhere. So I just mark them sold here.
I sometimes post pieces here that have already sold. I mark these sold as well.
When a piece I have here goes in a show I mark it “on hold”.
I think seeing that an artist is selling work encourages people to buy work from that artist. I don’t think most customers care if the sales were here or elsewhere. they just want to know that an artist is selling. If it sells it must be good, right?
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I can understand your disapointment…but knowing that this maybe happening and understanding human nature why let it bother you.I have also noted that an artist that posts everyday has work that is already sold as it’s being posted! I have since stopped looking closer to this person’s work. Each to his own…
Hi there, as I understand the thing, dpw is really nice and convenient platform to have your art to be displayed for sale with prices, easy paypal check out and etc, but by itself it doesn’t help to sell so much, you have to build up good following, somewhere, to bring people here. Even though I do sell here (so check out goes through dpw), 90% of buyers come from my instagram page. And I don’t see anything bad or dishonest about it. It would be, if someone marked sold here while actually that piece wasn’t sold, just staying home. And I personally don’t post here work I sold a while ago somewhere else - just don’t see the reson , bc I do have freshly painted stuff to sell:)
Julia…
Interesting that 90% of your buyers come from your Instagram page.
I haven’t used Instagram yet but sounds interesting. Just curious how you set it up for exposure?
Are you inviting only friends you know and invite, or are you exposing your work to anyone that stumbles by?
Sounds like it’s worth giving a try.
Thanks, Eric