Direct Sale, Escrow, or PayPal. What Should I Choose?

There are 3 payment methods for artwork that is made available for sale on Artrepreneur:  1) Direct  2) Escrow.com, or 3) PayPal.  (Look for additional payment options, such as Stripe, Shopify, or Amazon Pay later this year.)

Free members will only be able to choose escrow.com as the payment method and will only be able to show artwork in the Marketplace. Direct Payments and PayPal payment methods are only available to Pro members. Pro members can also show their artwork in Showrooms. (See What is a Showroom?")

Regardless of which option you choose, Artrepreneur is not involved in your transactions. We merely provide a platform to bring together buyers and sellers. SInce Artrepreneur does not take part in the transaction, we also take NO COMMISSION on the sale of your artwork.

It is up to you to choose which of the three payment methods you would like to use on a particular artwork to collect your payments and ship your artwork to the buyer.  Note that PayPal will not accept transactions over $10,000 so you must use either Direct or Escrow.com for those transactions.  

WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Direct to Buyer

With this option, the buyer will contact the seller directly to make a purchase.

• Any terms, such as payment type or delivery method, will be negotiated between buyer and seller.
• This method has no third-party protection or insurance over the transaction unless contracted separately between Buyer and Seller.  

This is the best option for well-known organizations, artists or galleries that can assure a buyer that the seller is legitimate and that the art received will be delivered as ordered.

PayPal

PayPal is used by millions of people all over the world. Using Paypal allows a user to quickly purchase your artwork with a credit card.  It also provides excellent reporting tools for accounting and Paying your taxes. It's free to sign up for a PayPal account and to download the PayPal app to receive money.

For Buyers, it is also:

Secure: whether you are paying bills, sending money or making a purchase, PayPal works hard to keep your financial information secure.

Fast: no need to enter all your financial information every time you shop. Speed through checkout with PayPal.

The familiarity with PayPal also means that potential buyers are more likely to make quick impulse purchases. 

With Escrow Protection

With this option, the buyer will place their purchase price into an escrow account.  The funds will not be released to the seller until the transaction is complete and approved.

• Payment will be processed by escrow.com, the world’s most secure payment method for reducing risk in a transaction.
• Artrepreneur takes a 10% commission if you are a free Member. This fee is waived for Pro Members. 
• Shipping must be from a list of approved shippers.

This is the best option for unknown or lesser-known artists. An escrow payment gives the buyer confidence that the artwork will be delivered as advertised and undamaged. If problems arise, a buyer can feel confident that the purchase price can be recovered if delivery issues are not resolved.

This is especially helpful if the artwork is expensive.  However, buyers will have to set up their escrow.com account to make a purchase, which can hinder those impulse buyers so for lower-priced works, we recommend using Paypal (Pro Members Only).

IMPORTANT: PayPal will not accept payment of over $10,000 for artwork so if your artwork exceeds that price, you must choose either the Direct Payment or Escrow options.    

SETTING UP YOUR ESCROW ACCOUNT

• If you chose Escrow for the sale of your work, you will need to set up an account with escrow.com. Escrow.com reduces the risk of fraud by acting as a trusted third-party that collects, holds and only disburses funds when both Buyers and Sellers are satisfied.
• HOW DOES ESCROW WORK?
  • Buyer and Seller agree to terms – Either the Buyer or Seller begins a transaction. After registering at Escrow.com, all parties agree to the terms of the transaction.
  • Buyer pays Escrow.com – The Buyer submits a payment by approved payment method to our secure Escrow Account, Escrow.com verifies the payment, the Seller is notified that funds have been secured ‘In Escrow’.
  • Seller ships merchandise to Buyer – Upon payment verification, the Seller is authorized to send the merchandise and submit tracking information. Escrow.com verifies that the Buyer receives the merchandise.
  • Buyer accepts merchandise – The Buyer has a set number of days to inspect the merchandise and the option to accept or reject it. The Buyer accepts the merchandise
  • Escrow.com pays the Seller – Escrow.com releases funds to the Seller from the Escrow Account.
  • The transaction is completed – safely and securely!