Where Can I Buy Art?

Do you love art but just cant figure out the best places to buy it from without feeling as though youve just been taken for a ride? Its not hard to find art. You can pretty much find it anywhere these days, even the Internet. But where can you get the best deals and how do you go about it?

My two personal favorite places to buy art are 1) eBay and 2) private collectors.

Buying Your Art From Ebay

Many artists love to sell on eBay. Its one of the few places where they can have their work seen by potentially hundreds of people. Artists are mostly desperate to have their work seen and because of this, art collectors can often "steal" works or art from unknown artists before they are discovered.

The great thing about buying art on eBay is that buyers can usually buy for reasonable prices. This is good for the art investor, because he knows that if he makes a mistake, at least he hasn't risked a huge sum of money. Ebay has become the place to go for good deals so except in rare cases, you get a good deal for you money.

There is, however, a downside to buying art on eBay. You have to constantly watch out for fraud.

Some sellers, and no one knows exactly how many, will outright lie about the art they are selling. They'll state that a piece of art is an original even though it isn't. They'll place fake signatures on paintings to make them seem more valuable to the bidders and drive up the bid price. They'll forge paintings or prints and sell them for whatever they can get with the secure knowledge that they won't have to pay a heavy price if they get caught.

If you're a novice art buyer, and you're thinking of buying an expensive piece of art, eBay is probably not for you. If youre an experience buyer, however, you can find some great deals.

Buying Your Art from Private Art Galleries

You can often find great deals at private galleries also if you take the time to cultivate relationships. Find who the best dealers are in your particular art niche. For example, if you are interested in Native American art, you want to find the best dealers in that market. The same with African art, Jewish art, and so on. Once you find who they are, you want to begin to develop relationships with them. Doing this will not only help you when you get to the price haggling point, it will also ensure that you're first on their "call list" when they get a new piece of art in.

In addition, a good dealer can help guide you in your art acquisitions by giving you their expert and honest opinions on which pieces are most likely to appreciate in value and which artists are likely to become more popular in years to come.

The most important thing is to ensure that you love the piece you buy regardless of whether it will increase in value or not. That way you will never be disappointed in your purchase.

Wendy Hermann is a writer and blogger for Inuit Art and Native Art at NativeArtTraders.com, a site specializing in Inuit sculptures and paintings.