What I learned on Ebay

I sold more than 200 paintings on eBay over the course of 18 months. It was thrilling. It was agonizing. It was exhilarating and it was exhausting.

 I followed to a tee all the advice I read in an article by Jack White (Making It on eBay) in the December 2009 issue of Professional Artist Magazine. It was good advice in every way.

I took a break from eBay last June (2011) and haven't returned, although that isn't an impossibility. I learned a few things about eBay and about myself as a person and an artist. I thought I'd share some of those things with you. The negatives first.

1. I'm not as thick skinned as I'd like to be
2. I don't like to, or want to, paint every day
3. I need to set boundaries for social media just like I do for face to face relationships 
4. I tend to let tasks become taskmasters

The Positives

My drawing board where I put paintings to dry

1. Don't take myself too seriously
2. I can paint a lot
3. There are tons of people buying art
4. I love my galleries!
5. I still like to at least feel like a free spirit when it comes to painting
6. How to organize my record keeping in a simple way
7. How to establish a good work flow
8. How to make and keep a schedule
9. How to organize my studio
10. How to stop buying art supplies I don't need
11. Gained confidence in my ability to tackle new things

My desk at it's organized best

My framing/shipping center

 As you can see, a lot of what I learned from my experience on eBay wasn't in Jack White's article, but grew out of necessity and the overall experience of producing and selling so much work. Pushing myself yielded rewards far beyond the actual sales made.

I may go back to eBay sometime in the future. It has it's allure. If I do, I'll be even better prepared by my own experience, as well as Jack White's valuable information.

How about you? Have you considered eBay? Or other online selling venues? What have you learned about yourself through tackling new ventures?