Are You Planning to Open an Online Gallery?

he store is finally closed for the night and you’re tired, hungry, and maybe, frustrated with business concerns. You want to go home to your family, but first you have to download the day’s receipts, make out a deposit, close the register, vacuum the floor, check the bathroom, and set the alarm.

Now is when you often think of running your business from home with an online gallery. No rent, staff or utilities to pay and no commute — you could be at home all the time. That’s what many prospective Internet craft vendors envision — and vision it may be, or maybe it’s just a dream. But, what is the truth about e-commerce and handmade works? What is exaggeration and what is reality?

There are numerous things to think about as you consider Internet marketing and selling. The issues noted in this column illustrate many of the questions you must ask yourself. Some of you may already have set up a Web site, found a host and re-searched needed info, in the past. Others will be Internet neophytes, which means you have a lot of questions to answer before changing your business.

There are no right or wrong answers for these questions — what you choose to do will always relate to how you think and feel about your individual career and business.

The first hurdle is facing the fact that most gallery owners believe craft works have an intrinsic value based on some emotional content. An original work feels good. It has an ambiance. It resonates with you at some level you can’t even describe. Will online shoppers buy a work like the ones you plan to market if they can’t touch it?

Another one of the big decisions is whether to close the storefront, or to operate both a physical and a virtual space? If you run two operations, you’ll add a new layer of costs and time demands. Do you anticipate increased sales will justify this additional outlay?

Some issues apply equally to your current retail operation and an online gallery. Can you get an adequate supply of original and appealing work to sell? Are you going to keep an inventory, or are you going to represent artists and use their inventory?

Will you broaden your sales line or serve a special niche in the market for handmade crafts? How does selling online affect pricing? Should your prices be below what you charge in your current store? Do your prices have to be the same as when the artist sells the work at retail? Will you post the prices of the work on the Web site? You need to research these issues with retailers already in business online.

What about the artists who have their own Web presence? Will they sell to you now? Will you only represent artists who sell exclusively through your Web site? Will you provide free shipping? Will your current returns policy do for virtual shoppers? Who pays to return an item purchased online if they “just don’t like it” when it arrives?

If you have not already done so, who will build your Web site or modify your current site for your new sales presence? Do you already have a Webmaster experienced in designing sites for selling art works, or could you use one of the portal sites? Would using eBay work for you?

How will you let people know you exist? Will search engines find you? Do you plan to continue advertising in print and other local media, or can you do it all on the Web? Do you want to “meet” and talk to your customers via e-mail, or just use an anonymous “shopping cart” program? Even with add-on features, many craft retailers use a confirming phone call to establish a bond with customers and close the deal. We often discuss purchases with our customers after they have found us online.

How we tackled the decision to go ‘virtual’

There are two essential things needed to embark successfully on this new venture. First, you must be able to deliver a product, and second, you must have a method to collect money for your services. Establishing a supply of craft works that sell online requires the same research and expertise that you brought to your decision to open a bricks-and-mortar gallery, keeping in mind that you, the customer and the work are not in the same room at the time of the transaction. Your online merchandising techniques and display must always address this fact.

The home page of www.urbanartifacts.com, which the authors created in 1996.

The second essential, setting up and maintaining an interactive Web site to display, sell and ship craft works, requires a different kind of expertise. [The Crafts Report is currently running a series on designing, setting up and maintaining Web sites for crafts businesses.]

The most commonly used way to have customers pay online is through a credit card processing company. If you have an existing account you can check with them about sales over the Internet. Most will allow you to use an existing account, but some will limit the number of hand-keyed entries.

There are companies that specialize in credit card collection for Web-based sales; however many of these are more costly. There are also Web-based arrangements, like PayPal, which will collect from your customer and credit your account directly. It’s simple to set up but look closely at the total costs involved.

When you collect credit card information over the Web you also need to consider the security arrangements. Most of today’s Web browsers have security levels built in, and they provide encrypted communications.

As noted in our questions, it is critical to work with an experienced Web designer who understands, not just retailing in general, but the industry of retailing craftworks. A well-designed site is a joy, but a “buggy” one will drive interested customers away. Internet experts tell us that a browsing viewer will enter and leave a site in about eight seconds if they don’t see something they like. They also abandon sales mid-transaction if they encounter difficulties with the site’s performance.

Also, just as with your current store displays, Web sites need continual neatening, maintenance and updating. Don’t think that once designed it will be good forever. Your Webmaster must be someone who can assist you with all the services related to selling craft works through an online gallery.

Advertising for your online gallery

People who shop online also read magazines and newspapers, watch TV and listen to the radio. It’s imperative that you continue your offline advertising to generate traffic to your virtual store. The object of the game is usually to get more “eyeballs.” The more you get the more you sell. Counters set up on a Web site can tell you how many viewers you have, where your traffic is coming from, and where they go within your site. This is useful knowledge in your marketing plans.

Once you’re online you can expect that search engines will detect your presence. But unless you arrange for preference, they may not list you prominently in their searches. Your Webmaster also can help here, but the more unique your descriptions, and the more often your descriptor phrases are used, the more likely your site will pop up when users search for your products or your business.

When we decided to establish our online gallery, many questions and factors, including our families and personal choices, entered into the decision. We’d been in the craft retailing business for many years, and had twice moved our brick-and-mortar operation to follow our children and grandchildren as they moved around the country. We asked all of the questions I have noted and found as many answers as we could for our situation.

We decided the time was right to launch an online presence in 1996, but we still grapple with some of these issues today. Our biggest decision as gallery owners, and one that has not changed, was determining our selling philosophy. We believe our job is to help people find what they want, not to sell what we have. We now maintain an online gallery because we love the works, the artists and the business. Our philosophy has served us well.

So, should you open a business on the Web or not? There’s a lot to think about, and for many craftspeople, it’s an alien world. We hope some of the things we’ve mentioned give you a better understanding of the process. Only you can decide if it’s worth it for you.

Bob and Susie Stovall are owners of Urban Artifacts Gallery that originated in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla., in 1991. When they opened urbanartifacts.com in 1996, it was one of the first online craft galleries. This article was submitted on behalf of the Craft Retailers Association for Tomorrow (CRAFT).

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