Black White Photography - UK (2019-11)

83

B+W

Arthaus sells prints on behalf
of any artist from anywhere in
the world. It follows the familiar
model of the artist uploading the
work, setting the price on top
of the manufacturing cost and
letting Arthaus carry out
the selling, manufacturing
and shipping.
For the time being, Arthaus
only sells open edition prints, with
a view to selling limited editions
and original work in the future.
There are no other products to
cloud the scene either, just prints
available in a variety of sizes,
framed or unframed, and on
Smooth Fine Art or Hahnemühle
German Etching paper.
The website looks classy,
using a contemporary art gallery
aesthetic to make a suitable
home for fine art photography.
That said, it’s not the most
sophisticated platform as the
filter tools are minimal and there
is little information to be found
on the artists or artwork. Prices
are not shown until you click on

Society6 seems to genuinely

care about its members and tries

to foster a strong community

among the creatives that sell

there. This starts with something

as simple as encouraging

members to like other people’s

work and then displaying this

rating alongside the artwork in

the marketplace listings. They

then go further by posting

weekly tutorials and challenges

in the Facebook group: The

Society6 Artist Hub.

Society6 takes care of fulfilling

the orders, all the artist has to do

is upload an image and decide

what products it appears on –

from yoga mats to coffee tables.

Sellers only receive a measly

10% from products but are

allowed to set the price of prints.

Each artist gets their own

shop, which includes a banner

and short bio above the work.

Artists are encouraged to

promote the shop outside of

Society6 and to list their website

and social media channels on

the shop page too.

ARTHAUS

Upmarket appearance

SOCIETY6

Community minded

LIKES LIKES

DISLIKES

DISLIKES

SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS

Elegant looking website

Arthaus takes care of

manufacturing and delivery

Choice of a smooth or

Hahnemühle paper

Community aspect among

the selling artists

Society6 takes care of

manufacturing and delivery

Regular promotions to tap

into and increase sales

Instructive Facebook group

Arthaus displays work attractively but offers little
in the way of filters or search results.

The number of likes from members is listed next to each artwork

to help foster a sense of community on Society6.

Limited filters and weak search

results make browsing tricky

Quarterly payouts only

through PayPal

You don’t get to see the

finished work before delivery

Difficult to pinpoint B&W

photographic works

Monthly payouts only

through PayPal

Sellers add the desired profit

on top of the base price for

each print.

Contact myarthaus.com

Sellers add their desired profit

on top of the base price for each

print, but only receive 10% of

any product sold.

Contact society6.com

Buyers searching for prints

will have the usual problem of

finding good work despite there

being tags to photography,

photo and black-white. Prices

tend to the low side, usually

under $50. Payouts, via PayPal,

are made each month.

an individual work either and it’s

hard to tell how many prints are

listed as more appear as you

reach the bottom of the page.

Arthaus currently feels a little

bit like a work in progress but it

might be worth getting in early

and seeing where it goes.