Etsy vs. Saatchi Art: Which is Right for You as An Artist and Creator
August 28, 2024 · Tripti Gore Chandorkar
A helpful guide for artists and creators for their art-commerce strategy based on our research and learning experience running xiangliart.com.
Introduction
As an artist looking to sell your work online, choosing a platform from a vast array of online platforms available today can be very daunting! As I mentioned in my previous blogpost, we decided to launch artist Xiang Li’s store on Etsy in February 2024. In that blog post, I have also outlined the reasons for choosing Etsy as a starting point for selling Xiang Li’s artwork online.
Now 6 months later, we find that Etsy.com has been a good platform to reach a wide audience for Xiang Li’s watercolor art prints and merchandise. However, we have also found that Etsy sales are strongly driven by popular trends and seasons (for example, back-to-school, popular holidays, elections, etc.). So we have decided to explore and add another art-commerce platform Saatchiart.com for Xiang Li’s artwork which would cater to an audience of fine art enthusiasts. We will continue maintaining both platforms for Xiang Li Art – Etsy and Saatchi Art to get viewership and patronage from the range of audiences between the two platforms.
As we have been exploring Saatchiart.com, we have found some fundamental differences (in addition to the type of audience) between the two platforms (Saatchiart and Etsy) that can impact the commerce strategy for your artwork.
We thought it would be helpful to compile a list of our key findings below for all of you as artists and creators to make informed decisions regarding the use of one or both of the platforms.
| Considerations | Etsy.com | Saatchiart.com | |
| 1 | Types of Art Sold and Audience | Wide global audience (millions of active buyers on the platform) looking for a wide range of creative goods with a range of price points. A very wide variety of goods is available on Etsy- handmade, vintage, Print-On-Demand-based, art prints, digital downloads, craft supplies etc. | Smaller global audience focused on fine art – paintings, sculpture & photography. It attracts mostly serious art collectors and enthusiasts, so a higher-end market with high price points. |
| 2 | Pricing strategy | On Etsy, artists/sellers have full control over pricing, however since there is high competition on the platform, there tend to be lower price points | Saatchi Art encourages higher pricing to reflect the fine art market. The platform provides pricing guidance to help artists set appropriate prices for their work. |
| 3 | Fees and Costs | Etsy charges a small percentage of listing fees but a higher percentage of transaction and payment processing fees which can make a big dent on the profit. | On Saatchi Art, there are no fees associated with listing, transaction & payment processing. However, it operates on a commission basis (35%) for original artwork and prints. |
| 4 | Brand & Presentation | More flexibility and customizable storefront Etsy provides more flexibility for store branding for sellers. Sellers can customize their store banners and logos (within predefined sizes). This capability helps sellers with setting the visual brand for their stores. Sellers can also upload a video of their creative process on their profiles along with process images. | Less flexibility and NON-customizable online gallery interface There is less flexibility for customization on Saatchi Art. There is a professional standard ‘gallery’ interface provided for all artists with sections for displaying their portfolio, profile picture and biography. It does not provide artists with the capability to upload videos. Artists can only upload images. |
| 5 | Listing Form Capability | Listings on Etsy are customizable to a large extent within a given framework of the listing form which includes titles, detailed descriptions, tags, attributes, dimensions, materials etc. Sellers can also add high-quality images/mock-ups and a video. | Less flexibility and a NON-customizable online gallery interface There is less flexibility for customization on Saatchi Art. There is a professional standard ‘gallery’ interface provided for all artists with sections for displaying their portfolio, profile picture and biography. It does not provide artists with the capability to upload videos. Artists can only upload images. |
| 6 | Print-on-Demand (POD) integration | Etsy integrates with multiple POD platforms like Printify and Printful. | Saatchi Art does not integrate with other POD platforms. It provides an in-house print-on-demand service for open-edition prints |
| 7 | User Experience for the Seller | Sellers have full control over their selling strategy on Etsy. Unlike Saatchi Art, Etsy does not have human curators. Etsy provides tons of automated usage stats for sellers which they can use to their advantage for fine-tuning their selling strategy. Detailed customer data and usage stats are available in a comprehensive dashboard for the sellers – for example, the dashboard has information on shop/item favorites, # of views, types of user channels used to find the shop, which keywords were used the most etc. Sellers can also see the basic account info of their shop followers. The platform has an automated process to highlight ‘Etsy picks’ and ‘bestsellers’ based on stats like # of views, conversion rate, reviews for the listings etc. | Artists have very little control over the selling strategy. Sales and views on the Saatchi Art platform are primarily driven by human ‘curatorial’ services. It has very limited usage stats and customer data available for artists to see. Artists can only see the # of followers & # of views. They cannot see any information about their followers. Sales and artwork promotion on Saatchi Art are driven by ‘curatorial’ services, so an artist can only hope to be found and featured on the home page by one of the curators on the platform! |
| 8 | Direct messaging between the seller and buyer | Etsy allows two-way communication between a seller and a buyer through the ‘messages’ functionality. This mode of communication can be very helpful for buyers looking for customizations. | On Saatchi Art, there is no capability for direct messaging between the artist and the buyer. |
| 9 | Seller Support & Promotion Tools | Etsy provides many marketing capabilities to sellers to promote their listings and increase sales. This includes – Etsy ads (paid service) that advertise listings on Etsy and other search engines like Google – Capability to run sales and discounts – Capability for creating a custom web address – Capability to create your own website – Capability to run social media promos for your listings directly from Etsy. It includes Facebook and Instagram | Saatchi Art controls most of the marketing and promotion of the artwork through its curatorial services. – It currently does not provide robust capabilities for artists to promote their work either on the Saatchi Art platform or through other search engines (no Etsy ads-like capability) – It has a basic capability for artists to directly share their listings on social media from Saatchiart.com (however Instagram is NOT included) |
In conclusion
As you see, choosing between Etsy and Saatchi Art depends on your specific needs as an artist. If you are looking for a broad audience and enjoy the DIY aspect of managing your shop, Etsy might be the right choice. On the other hand, if you prefer a more curated, professional environment with support from art experts, Saatchi Art could be a better fit.
Ultimately, both platforms offer unique opportunities for artists to showcase and sell their work. Consider your goals, the type of art you create, and how much support you need in marketing and selling your pieces to make the best decision for your artistic journey.
About the author
Tripti Gore Chandorkar, the creator and writer behind “triptiji,” launched her blog to celebrate her passion for art, creative projects, and connections with family and friends. With a lifelong love for fine art and writing, Tripti has woven art into her daily life as an enthusiast and hobbyist. Seventeen years ago, her friend Fei Wu introduced her to the artwork of Xiang Li (Fei’s mom), a master artist showcased at xiangliart.com. Since then, Tripti has joined in contributing to Li’s blog, collaborating on designs, and participating in festivals, events, and gallery shows. Through “triptiji,” she shares her journey in the art world and her dedication to supporting other female artists.
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