ACEO Sunflower by Robert A. Sloan
Collecting, selling and trading ACEO Craft (Craft Cards Editions and Originals) is as facile as buying and selling anything on eBay -- and it has the servicing of a specialized mart. Here's turn illustration slender artworks the magnitude of trading cards (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") into some added funds to balm you add to your aggregation!
Use many specific concrete terms in the description but keep them simple. Pen drawing, watercolor, ACEO, sunflower, flower, yellow, green, leaves, these are some keywords I might use for my ACEO sunflower. Mentioning the colors really does help -- because the Google spiders that rate pages (including your auction page) can't see the image.
These duty to be 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" fair, or they Testament not count as ACEOs. They should be Apartment lodgings Sufficiently to lay into a trading card sleeve, and preferably no thicker than a substantial portion of cardboard. Some raised elements in collages affection ribbons and filigree are good, however shot not to assemble it so three dimensional a collector can't assign it in an volume. Accordion-folding some elements that fold elsewhere can be diverting though, as gangling as it looks elegant folded Apartment lodgings extremely.
Any medium can be used -- collage, watercolours, accomplish oil or acrylics on canvas paper or minor ACEO canvas boards (not long canvases), fix objects, pencil, pastel, coloured pencils, any Apartment lodgings type of traditional Craft is skilled for creating ACEOs. Essay to cause groups and series with themes, so that provided a collector buys one, they may necessity all six of the turtles you did in collage.
Sloan, 1/30, and so on, the fifth one I signed would be 2/30 until I finished up the stack of 30 cards. Remainder are artist proofs. With the way ArtCardsWanted prints, limited editions of multiples of 15 are probably common. You can again mention the medium on the back, owing to that helps collectors be schooled preserve it, or deposit that data on a letter with the card when you sell it.
2. Fabricate certain you admit a validated PayPal anecdote. Down in "Means" I've listed the URL for PayPal, which requires you To possess a bank balance in adjustment to involve your expenses and receive payments. PayPal is first off owned by eBay (another objective I admit listed at the backside, don't fear approximately those links till you peruse the directions), and so it's mature the price means of Election for many, whether not most, online purchases. Other options are credit cards, debit cards and mailing checks -- nevertheless you Testament amuse the most sales whether you can take PayPal payments.
Whether you don't retain an statement already, equal replace the instructions on the PayPal stop to comment up.
3. Pick up some trading card sleeves from a hobby shop. They're normally approximately a dollar for a box of 100. These archival plastic sleeves are something all buyers expect their ACEO cards to come in, not putting them in the sleeve before mailing comes off as express unprofessional. It's a petty expense nevertheless it pays off in the faraway escape. Too, you can garner unsold cards in them to deal in them Disinfected and handy before someone buys them. There are very albums, boxes and other trading card apparatus that can prove acceptable whether you act a grand dodge.
ACEO stands for Craft Cards, Editions and Originals. This wealth that you can not solitary sell your new 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" artworks, nevertheless annex prints make-believe in either district or unlimited editions. Bear your prints fictional before you sell any of them online. Many websites including the biggest, Testament expect you to be able to correspondence away a card or print you sold within five days of receiving value -- and so it helps To possess the prints in help before listing any online for sale. ArtCardsWanted speck com (listed as a link at the backside) Testament compose prints to trail in batches of four that you abbreviate apart, 15 precut cards in a pleasant plastic box, or 500 precut cards. As this objective is besides a prime selling site that has no listing fees, it's a good place to begin for selling ACEOs online.
To be sensible about it, I would make a 300 dpi image or 600 dpi image of your card before posting the original for sale. Then if it's bid high at auction or gains a lot of attention after it's sold, order prints in either a limited edition or unlimited.
4. Decide what to charge for your original cards and prints.
The price range for originals runs from $5 on up to $25 or even $85 or $100 or more for well known artists. Stare at the quality of your art and compare it to artists who post cards in similar styles with your level of skill, and price accordingly. There's no point selling yourself short if your favorite subject and style is going for a higher price than average!
Prints sell for much less than originals, but a limited edition print should be priced at a higher rate than unlimited editions. Some prints go as low as a dollar or two, but limited edition prints could sell for $3-$5 or even more if they're in demand. On limited edition prints, sign the printed card by hand and put the number -- if I did a limited edition of 30, I would sign in pencil with something like this:
Robert A.When you're done, be undeniable to levy the next on the back of your ACEO card. It's not required as it is for ATC (Artist Trading Cards), on the other hand it is cultured -- the departure is solitary that ACEOs can be sold and collectors don't extremity to be artists themselves to receive them. Commit to paper in brand, contact enlightenment, label of the ATC and cipher (1/8, 2/8...) whether it's factor of an edition or series.
5. Sign up for an eBay account to auction cards, or if you already sell things on eBay, Stare at the category listings. ACEOs can be listed under Art > Self-Representing Artists or Art > Self-Representing ACEO. This helps collectors find your auctions easily. Follow the directions on eBay for setting up an auction.
With a small flat item, it's very easy to receive a good image of the card with any home scanner. If you don't have a scanner, just use a print shop to receive good scans -- and remember to make a low-resolution scan for Internet display at 72dpi or 100dpi, also as a high 300dpi or 600dpi image in case you want to make prints after the original card sells.
Also, while you're at eBay, look into joining eBay Groups centered on ACEOs. You'll find many experienced sellers who can help you find your way around, help you promote your auctions and get the most exposure. Participate in discussion boards and more people will get to know you personally, then check out your album and your auctions. Buyers are also often sellers, they don't get into these without liking them!
The groups also sometimes have weekly or monthly themes, and participation will raise interest in your auctions.
When posting to sell on any website, be sure to use keywords in your description. What the subject is -- "flower" or "sunflower," is a keyword. "Watercolor" is a keyword. "ACEO" is an important keyword, the one that lets collectors find yours and not wander off into someone's larger sunflower painting.
Instructions
1. Constitute some ACEO artworks. They will check for things like "yellow" and it'll move up by how often those keywords get used. It's fascinating -- so describe your art in detail with as many concrete nouns as you can!6. Set up an art blog at a host that also has image hosting. I've listed a couple of sites I use, but if you search on art blogs, you will find other hosts. There are many good services and hosts out on the Internet. If you participate in online discussions and keep a blog entry that lists all your auctions, you can include a link to that entry in your signature on all your posts -- and that will get interested buyers to your auctions.
Also visit art sites and art blogs. Volunteer articles and tips, then trade links with other art blogs. The best exposure you can get is to have many other sites linking to your art site, so reciprocating with other artists can move your art page up in Google ratings. Be sure to link to your auctions on your art blog whenever you post them.
Describe your art and why and how you do it on your blog in more detail than the auction listings, make it fun to read.
7. Finally... do a few ATCs (Art Trading Cards) and trade them. Get to know other artists who do ATCs and ACEOs. Collect them. You'll be inspired by other artists' work and you'll start to understand collectors better by becoming one.
Paint, draw or create images you would want to buy for yourself. Stick to the themes and subjects you love. With millions of collectors in the world, whatever you like best has a large number of dedicated collectors. The trick is just putting your work out there and making sure they know what you do and where to find your work!
In Resources, I have three sites listed where you can sell ACEOs and other useful sites. I hope this gives you a good start in selling ACEOs online. See you at eBay and ArtCardsWanted!
