How To Buy And Sell Art For a Profit
Selling art is not an easy business, especially if we are talking about the secondary market.
Most people who get into art business do it for passion and are not expecting it to be a get-rich-fast scheme.
If you are pursuing a passion for art, have a good sense for value and would like to turn it into side hustle, here are a 3 ways you can try making money from artsy pieces.
Which one is right for you depends on your financial situation, time you are ready to allocate and your connections in the art world.
Let’s explore the 3 ways of selling art for a profit.
1. Go on a treasure hunt
Flea markets and estate sales (when someone moves out or, sadly, dies) are your hunting areas.
Look for pieces that are charming and, if you are lucky, you might find something valuable that no one had idea what it is worth and fetch it for pennies.
You can then add even more value by restoring it, framing it into a new frame and renewing it.
Once your discovered treasure has a fresh look, sell it in your antique shop, online shop, eBay or, possibly, at the local auction.
Best for: beginners, who don’t have a huge budget to start their art business, but are eager to pursue their passion.
Pros: you get a dopamine release twice — once when you discover the treasure and second time, once you sell it. The process is very engaging and can become a nice hobby!
Cons: requires a lot of time, you must have an understanding of what is valuable and what know what collectors want. Like all art — not everything will sell, at least not fast.
2. Discover promising artists and comission their work
Look for emerging talents and support them by acquiring their artworks. Beginner artists are still in the process of building their names and therefore — are charging less for their art than they will once they become established in the art market.
Young, talented artists often have good creative ideas, but lack resources to bring them to life. You could support their projects, invest in their work and sell it after a while for a higher price at your own art gallery or art sales platforms, like Artsy.
Best for: those whoo have more budget and are ready to invest long term.
Pros: The best thing about this method is the win-win — you acquire an exceptional artwor, will possibly make a profit, artist gains income and opportunity to create artworks in larger scale. Besides, once you re-sell their art at the higher price — the value of their work grows as well.
Cons: You will need to invest into marketing the artists you discover, help them build their personal brands, so making a profit will definitely take time and will need long term commitment and trust from both sides.
3. Become an art dealer
You need to understand the art market really well and have a good network if you want to jump into art dealership.
The essence of this method is to buy works of well established and famous artists at the best possible price and resell it at the highest possible price.
Now how do you find such artworks?
Look for collectors who want to sell part of their collection, rich couples divorcing or… as sad as it may sound… families who have just lost their loved one who has a passionate collector and they don’t want to keep their collection any more.
You can resell the artworks you acquire through auctions, art sales platforms and your network of passionate and rich collectors.
Best for: rich people with a good network in the art world.
Pros: you can make huge profits.
Cons: huge profits come at high risk, you need a lot of money to start an art dealership and it requires significant effort to be the first one who discovers works by blue-chip artists that are available for sale.
If you are looking for more insights on the art market and tips on selling art, you might find my recent book “Can Art Sell?” quite interesting.
I hope you find this article useful, and if you are passionate about contemporary art — visit my online art gallery or follow me on Instagram and YouTube for more insights and inspiration!