Certificate of Authenticity on Boundless
Our free feature that allows artists to create Certificates of Authenticity (COA) is now up. It is free to both buyers and sellers. To get started the artist goes into their account and signs up for the program. There is special icon, that is placed in the detailed view of the participating artists, once the artist signs up.
When a piece sells, the artist prints the COA and signs it. The COA is included in the shipment to the customer. We have generated a special number, that allows the customer to verify they have a valid Boundless Gallery COA on the website.
We feel a COA, signed by the artists, has real value to art buyers and that every artist has a better chance of selling art, if they participate in our COA program.
It is free, the customers value it, it is very easy for the artists. We think it is a winner.
What do you think? Would a COA make you more likely to buy? Are there things we can do to make it easier for the artists? Let us know.
When a piece sells, the artist prints the COA and signs it. The COA is included in the shipment to the customer. We have generated a special number, that allows the customer to verify they have a valid Boundless Gallery COA on the website.
We feel a COA, signed by the artists, has real value to art buyers and that every artist has a better chance of selling art, if they participate in our COA program.
It is free, the customers value it, it is very easy for the artists. We think it is a winner.
What do you think? Would a COA make you more likely to buy? Are there things we can do to make it easier for the artists? Let us know.
2 Comments:
Ah! Peter, you have touched on my favorite topic. I am constantly discussing this with my own art group. "Perceived Value"! If you think about it, everything that we buy has two values (the real value = cost of supplies to make the item) and (perceived value = how much someone is willing to spend). For instance if you take two cars that have the same identical materials and they are the same size with possibly the same exact engine, but you put a "Honda" label on one car and a "Mercedes" label on the other, which one is more valuable? The "Mercedes" of course! Would the art on Boundless Gallery be less valuable if the site was called Boundless Art Bargains? It would be the same art, but the public "perceives" the name gallery as adding more value to art. Now enter the COA. A COA would be extremely valuable if it came with a painting by Picasso. In fact, you would demand it. It wouldnt have his signature, but the signature of some very well known and respected art appraiser. Does a COA make a painting more valuable? No it does not. See my example on the cars. Then what does a COA do? It creates "perceived value". For the most part an insurance company will not look at a COA for a painting that is not by a well known, famous or properly listed artist. What they will want is a receipt showing how much you paid for it. Since most COA's are generated by the artists themeselves these days, they can place whatever value they want on a painting. This doesnt mean insurance will pay that amount if it is damaged, lost or stolen. As a buyer it is always good to keep your receipt with the COA as a back-up. It might sound like I am against the COA, but I am not. I think the COA is a great idea and one that buyers will appreciate even if the only real value of it is authenticating their art buying experience. When you buy an original painting from a Brick & Morter gallery you expect a COA. This is just one more step in the right direction for Boundless. Bravo! Sharon
Hi Sharon -
There is a second part of buying original art, beyond just the present value. People buy art to prove to future generations what great taste they have! I like to think of it as the Antiques Road Show motivation. You know the deal, someone finds something their grandparents had and brings it in to be appraised on TV. The host of the show tells them that Grandma had great taste and that old painting is worth $100,000!
Maybe it isn't the primary motivation, but we notice that artists who don't appear to have a career, never sell. For example, if you put one great and reasonably priced work on Boundless, and nothing else, it isn't going to sell. People clearly want to buy a piece that ties them to a the artist's future.
I think we all agree that doing Certificates of Authenticity is the right thing to do, for many reasons. I think they factor, in a significant part, of why people buy original art. I have written about the store that sells Chinese knock off paintings and fraud on eBay recently, it all ties together.
Thanks for writing.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home