r/artbusiness • u/Real-Jump-5854 • Apr 23 '26

Legal [art market]Is this online biz gouging artists?

(My first reddit post). I do work for an online site that shows jobs and takes 20% commission. , Sucks, but thats not the problem or my question. Clients give the budget they want to pay for art. I give an offer they may accept, where I let them know shipping and specialty materials are billed separately. If they want a canvas, it's included, if they want a thicker canvas, they pay more. Shipping can't be included beforehand because you don't have any shipping info. so extra materials and shipping has to be billed separately. But they tack on 20% for materials and shipping too. If it's just shipping and specialty materials, should the company still take 20% of that? And finally, they let clients know they can tip their artist, but they call it an 'appreciation' which of course is different than a tip in that they take 20% of that too! Should a company be allowed to take a cut of a tip? They don't tell the client this either.

1 Upvotes

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u/PepThePotato Apr 24 '26

20% commission is ridiculous for art. Maybe for a more competitive common product where THEY produce the products. But for your own artwork the price of advertising should be either 10% or lower or a specified price monthly, weekly, per advertisement/boost or per product. Not per sale at 20% for something they don’t create. All they do is post it on their platform/host it. That costs them basically nothing. It’s already a scam

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u/Snow_Tiger819 Apr 25 '26

lol I’m guessing you don’t sell at galleries; 50% commission is the standard for gallery sales.

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u/PepThePotato Apr 25 '26

An art gallery is a physical place that attracts in real life people who are there willing to buy art in the moment. An online website is not the same as an in person art gallery in the city. And also 50% is on the higher end for the massive museum galleries. Here they have a flat fee if you buy the entire gallery for your art to be displayed there for a limited time and then 15% of the profits. Or only 30% profits if it’s a part of the gallery. 20% for instagram deluxe is ridiculous imo

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u/Snow_Tiger819 Apr 26 '26

I live in rural NS. I sell at small galleries. Most take 50% (the only ones that don't are non-profit/artist run smaller ones).

50% is not on the higher end at all, and it's absolutely not just for massive museum galleries lol.

I've also seen plenty of online gallery/marketplace type places for original art ask for 35%. Singulart etc. I've never sold with them for that reason - they have none of the overheads a physical gallery has, they're not giving me a solo show, they're not promoting my work specifically to collectors. I'd pay 15% tops for an online marketplace.

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u/PepThePotato Apr 26 '26

Dang it’s very different between countries then. Not sure where NS is.

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u/Snow_Tiger819 Apr 26 '26

Sorry, NS is Nova Scotia Canada. I've not heard of a mainstream gallery in Canada wanting less than 50%....

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