The Best Alternative to Etsy for Buying Art

Choosing art isn't easy. With large e-commerce platforms hogging the bandwidth, finding something original might seem impossible, especially if you're starting from scratch. Have no fear. I am going to show you a search hack to find the art you really want.

 

A freshly decorated space is quite literally a blank canvas. Interestingly we often spend the least amount of time on the finishing touches. The larger or more practical elements take priority over final details. By the time that's all sorted we just want to get our walls populated as soon as possible.

 

If we don't have an artist or theme in mind and inspiration doesn't hit, browsing for the right pieces can rapidly become a chore.

 

For this reason, platforms such as Etsy have become a one stop solution to acquire art. A search for “prints for the bathroom” will yield over 40,000 results to scroll through.

 

The trouble is there is SO much choice, it's not really much help. Results for wall art are often based on sales and you will be presented with the lowest common denominator. The most popular listings will be things that “pop” on the screen - bold colours or big text. Etsy rarely allows the nuance to shine through as there is so much flash.

 

Sure you'll see a few things you like, but is Etsy really the best place to buy art?

 

How to Choose Art for Your Home

The main thing to ask yourself is what do you want the art to mean to you? If you literally just have to cover the space aesthetically then fill your boots. Well, fill your walls. But if you care about what you'll be looking at every day you might want to have a bit more connection with the work and the artist that created it.

 

There's so much art on Etsy and a lot of it is mass-produced by big companies masquerading as indie sellers. A large proportion is print on demand, which means it has come from a reprographic bureau on an industrial estate without having even passed through the hands of an artist. This is the only way a lot of these publishers can deal with the demand.

 

And don't get me started on downloads. Always check you are buying a physical product and not a digital file that you are meant to print yourself.

 

Through sheer choice, Etsy can fast become overwhelming and exhausting and you might end up buying something substandard that just won't mean anything to you. So what to do?

 

Buy from artist website's directly!

“Where do I start?” I hear you cry. Well funny enough. Etsy is the best place to begin your quest.

 

We are going to reverse the trend of “showrooming”. This is where people visit bricks and mortar stores to research products with the intention of buying them online cheaper. By showrooming Esty (other art e-commerce sites are available) you can research artists and get your art from their personal stores.

 

How to Search for the Art You Want

Picture an idea of the art you would like in your head and describe it in two or three keywords as your search term. Abstract. Dark Colours. Fruit Painting. Nautical Paintings. Whatever floats your boat. Scroll through the results, looking for listings by an individual artist (i.e a name of an actual person) rather than a company. It will be under the picture and title of the piece.

 

When something catches your eye, click through to the item listing and then find the artist's name again under the full title (etsy don't make it easy!). This will take you through to the artist's Etsy shop. Have a browse by all means but you actually need to find the “about” tab. Click this and scroll to the bottom of their biography to hopefully find their web address (usually hidden under “read more”.

 

You now have access to their self-owned store front. An artist's website is curated with intention and purpose. The design and browsing experience is as they intended. You are more likely to find limited editions, originals and exclusive collections there. Along with a blog, articles and other content not available elsewhere. Artists spend a lot of time creating and maintaining their own ecommerce websites. The prices are often lower as they don't have to pay Etsy fees.

 

If nothing fits the bill, find their website's “about” page and visit their Instagram to see who they follow. These Instagram profiles often have a web address or links page. Rinse and repeat.

 

Why bother buying directly from an artist instead of Etsy?

As well as finding something you really like you will be helping the art community too.

 

You are directly supporting creativity, personal expression and getting a more personalised experiemce. An Etsy on-demand order would get to you as part of an impersonal daily mail merge from a print facility. When I receive an order, it is picked from my own studio, packaged for mailing by me with some free stickers or postcard along with a handwritten thank you.

 

You will get a better feel for the work if you are selecting directly from the artist. As an artist, it's nice to have control over branding and presentation. I have complete control over how my work is displayed (well, at least as much as my CSS skills allow) instead of being restricted to Etsy's templates. I can even link to products elsewhere like my colouring book on Amazon. Most artist sites offer a newsletter sign-up form which normally gives a discount to new customers. I would rather offer discounts that give my money to a large corporation.

 

A direct purchase supports creativity and personal expression. It is making a connection with and directly backing the artist. Most artists do not “art” full time or as a job and will receive most of the item price rather than you supporting the dividends of faceless shareholders.

 

If an artist has had a quiet month and considering packing it all in, your order popping up in their notifications might be the thing that keeps them going. It's not always about the money. For me, the thought that somebody has visited my online hub, browsed my work and gone as far as buying something means the world to me.

 

For me, Etsy is unsustainable. I recently created a new collection of humourous bathroom art. Putting it on Etsy means it would get lost in a sea of more popular and cliché stuff. If it IS successful, it won't be long before somebody rips the idea off, or worse still, it appears on Temu as a pixel-for-pixel reproduction. Also, my rude titled watercolours rely on juxtaposition and not just their visual appeal. For this reason, there is no way they are visually going to stand out next to brash colourful text art and other overused art tropes.

 

Whether you’re an art lover seeking something special or an artist looking to grow your business, cutting out the middleman and going direct is often the best choice.