So how much is the Duty on Art again?

Royal Mail introduced its new "Postal Delivery Duties Paid" service today for those wanting to send art to buyers in the USA

There's just one problem. It doesn't tell you what the duty will be until you've paid the postage! 

So how does the artist add any duty payable into the invoice he or she sends to the artist - given artists want paying before they ship?

I posted this comment on the Royal Mail Facebook Page

WHY are you only telling people what the duty is AFTER they have paid the postage.
For people to make an informed decision about whether or not to send a package they need to know ALL THE COSTS before they pay anything.
What provision have you made for people wanting their money back if they decide not to send after finding out about the cost of the duty?
HOW do you ensure that people are using the correct tariff code so they can continue to enjoy EXEMPTION from Duty by using eg the correct code for sending original fine art - as per the Harmonised Tariff Schedule agreements?

There's NO SCOPE to 

• identify what your package is about and to.......
• identify the correct tariff COMMODITY CODE - remembering of course that 
• IN THEORY some items - like original fine art paintings, drawings and prints are EXEMPT from paying any duty 
• but others, like reproduction prints or hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles; collages, mosaics are NOT EXEMPT
• identify the applicable duty rate so you can make provision for this in the price you charge / quote to your buyer if overseas (as in "price before all applicable tax, duty and shipping")

9701 21 0000 is the tariff code applies to fine art paintings, drawing and print which are exempt - and below is the US version of the Harmonised Tariff Schedule which says this.

What is not clear is whether the new duty Trump seeks to levy is in addition to any status identified in the Harmonised Tariff Commody Code Schedule

This is the USA version of the Harmonised Tariff Schedule

Plus to quote the UK Integrated Online Tariff 

Heading 9701 does not apply to mosaics that are mass-produced reproductions, casts or works of conventional craftsmanship of a commercial character, even if these articles are de-signed or created by artists.

For the purposes of heading 9702, the expression ‘original engravings, prints and lithographs’ means impressions produced directly, in black and white or in colour, of one or of several plates wholly executed by hand by the artist, irrespective of the process or of the material employed by him, but not including any mechanical or photomechanical process.

Heading 9703 does not apply to mass-produced reproductions or works of conventional craftsmanship of a commercial character, even if these articles are designed or created by artists. 

I've done some more reading today. 

I continue to be absolutely horrified by the way in which the US side of the documentation continues to be POOR - particularly the website relating to Customs and Border Protection which is shambolic and really out of date in relation to Trade

This is what I got when looking at Importing in the US. Note the date on the document

THE BOTTOM LINE

My take on it is I don't care if people say "they've worked it out" - this is a government and an administration which is comprehensively and seriously failing to provide proper, comprehensive, articulate and up to date guidance to people engaged in trade!!

If I was an artist exporting to the USA I wouldn't.

If I was an artist wanting to enter an open exhibition or art competition in the UK - and then re-export to the USA - I wouldn't.

That's about as plain as I can make it

Artist of the Year Gallery: Artwork for Sale

This year the Artist of the Year team at Storyvault Films Ltd (SF) have developed the offering to artists past, present and future by creating a website which enables pod artists to sell their artwork.

It has some good points - and some significant weaknesses on the finance side - but nothing which cannot be addressed. Better sooner rather than later.

Artist of the Year Gallery Website - Home Page

What's on the Gallery Website

You can see:

• the artists - Artists are listed in order of their appearance on our programmes, most recent first. However not all artists are participating - partly because this is a new initiative and partly because some artists will have existing arrangements for selling their art which they won't want to compromise.
• the artworks - are produced by artists who have participated in the programmes - but not all artworks have been produced for the programmes. 
• The How It Works explanation
• Terms and Conditions (very important) - The Terms and Conditions need to be accessible via a PDF printable document for Artists to file - for the record - which they are not at present.

It's an interesting proposition because one of the things many artists struggle with is selling their artwork online - which is much less straightforward to do properly than people might think.

Consequently, just as any artist has to who is trading online and distance selling artwork has to do, this SF ecommerce operation MUST comply with all the rules and regulations around

• trading law and regulations 
• e commerce law and regulations 
  
• VAT on Art

(Note: These links go the relevant pages of my Art Business Info for Artists website)

BUT IF they're doing everything properly (see below), this site could be a BIG saving in time and effort for an artist in terms of mastering all the ins and outs of online distance selling of artwork! 

I haven't checked the site out thoroughly for ALL the aspects in detail but I assume they've done the wise thing and had 

• an expert ecommerce lawyer advising on what they must do and cannot do - and 
• an expert ecommerce adviser telling them what's the best approach for an operation like this.
• a VAT expert checking to make sure they got all the VAT aspects right.

However on a quick review, I ended up feeling a bit like "a party pooper" as I have reservations about whether SF have been wise in the approach they have adopted to 

• robust and secure monetary transactions / payment processing
• money laundering regulations for art galleries / dealers / agents
• VAT liability, transactions and associated documentation

At the end you can see how it works. 

Immediately below is a summary of the financial weaknesses I spotted which I think need addressing.

The BEST ways and places to sell your art - RESULTS

Back in January I created a POLL: What was the best place to sell your art in 2021

• on this blog - and
• also included it on the How to Sell Your Art on my Art Business Info for Artists website - which introduces the different options for selling art considered on the website.

The question artists were asked was 

PROFIT FROM ART SALES: Which 3 options generated the most profit (after expenses) for you last year? (i.e. 2021)

107 people have responded to it - and this is the chart of their responses - followed by a commentary on all the various options and suggestions about what some of the results might mean. For me they mean it might be instructive to try some more polls focused on particular ways of selling art.

If you want to see a bigger picture of the chart

• right click and open the pic of the chart in a new tab, you'll see a bigger picture.
• Or you can go to the  How to Sell Your Art  page my website - which provides a bigger picture

Of course it all depends on what you're viewing it on! I don't think you'll get the best view on a smartphone...

Commentary on profitability of different options for selling art

Scope of responses

Responses are from people who view the Poll and vote. There is no way of knowing which country they are from or whether they are 

• amateur, 
• semi-professional (i.e. beyond hobby income) or 
• professional (i.e. make a living from being an artist).

So the results need to be viewed with this in mind. Nonetheless they provide some interesting perspectives.....

Profitability

Never forget that this is a Poll and Chart about PROFITABILITY i.e. 

• NOT how many sales you make 
• but rather which options make you the MOST PROFIT.

People who have successful businesses understand how they make profit. 

Never ever confuse turnover with profit because If you have significant expenses you won't be making much money. 

By way of contrast if you don't need to incur third party expenses and are good at marketing your art, you can eliminate commissions to galleries and listing feeds for third party sites.

The big surprise

How to Ship Art - for online art sellers / post Brexit

How best to pack, mail and ship art art has been a VERY popular topic since lockdown as more and more people make sales online. 

It's got even more popular since 1st January in terms of making sense of Brexit. EORI numbers and export commodity codes anybody? Do you know about the Rules of Origin?

HOW TO PACK, MAIL & SHIP ART: A Compendium of Information & Advice about Packing & Transporting Art provides access to the many pages of information I provide in the Shipping Art section on my Art Business Info. for Artists website

It's currently the most popular page on my Art Business Info for Artists website - I guess because

• most sales of art are now taking place online
• artists running an art business - where they export art internationally - are puzzling out the changes 

Below is a screenshot of its contents

contents of how to pack, mail and ship art

I've just begun to realise I need to write a new section about "Rules of Origin" given some of what is happening at the ports.

The reality is that if you are trading - and particularly if you are exporting - there is a LOT of law and regulations that you need to know about - as well as which are the best ways to pack, post and ship art!

However I also have to emphasise what this page is NOT! I answer questions when I'm satisfied that people have read what is available on these pages and are not just using me as a sidestep to doing the reading. 

THE MISSING LINK to ING Discerning Eye Virtual Exhibition 2020

The ING Discerning Eye Annual Exhibition is online this year.

You'd be hard put to find it though.  That's because the normal website makes no obvious link to the actual exhibition!

So what we have is

• the normal ING Discerning Eye website https://www.discerningeye.org/home/index.php - which, on its home page......
• references the exhibition 

For the first time this year the ING Discerning Eye exhibition is being held online. A virtual gallery of the works selected this year is live online where you can view and buy this year's works .....

• and includes a link described as DEINGexhibition.org
• so you click the link and go to this site which for some reason has this link https://www.ingdeexhibition.org/exhibition (i.e. not the domain name referenced) 
• BUT you are not at the actual exhibition. Instead what we have are 
• ENORMOUS photos of the six selectors and 
• a top line menu 
• as if the whole thing is about the selectors and NOT THE ART!

This is as much as I can see on my 27" iMac screen - really bad design!!!

• so then you click the "Exhibition" tab on the top line menu.....
• .....and you wait
• .....and nothing happens
• .....which is puzzling

So I'm really not sure after following this tortuous route how people are supposed to find the exhibition!

The people involved with creating the new virtual exhibition obviously do not have a clue that simply because you create a website does not mean people will find it.

For example - here is the top half of the first page of Google for the search query "ING Discerning Eye 2020 exhibition". The two websites which get a mention are:

• https://www.discerningeye.org/ i.e. the conventional domain name for this exhibition which has been used for years and fulfils all the requirements for it to be top of Google for this query
• https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2020/10/ing-discerning-eye-2020-selected-artists.html i.e. my blog post about the Call for Entries - because my blog ALWAYS features on the first page of Google for this type of search query because I have been covering it for so long - plus of course my blog has Google "weight".

This presumably explains why this week I was approached by a PR person who wanted me to highlight the proper URL for the exhibition

I thought what they were doing was asking me to review the exhibition in advance - in much the same way as I've been invited to PR previews for exhibitions and hence see them before they open, write a review and then people turn up because I've recommended it (or not as the case may be)

However it turned out that I wasn't allowed access to the website in advance! 

All they wanted me to do was tell people about the correct URL!!!

I pointed out to them yesterday that my blog is not an advertising vehicle and this is not the way it works.

However - because very many artists have artwork on the site - I am now going to tell you THE MISSING LINK - because I have it even if you don't!

THE MISSING LINK IS https://www.ingdeexhibition.org/ 

i.e. the domain URL MINUS the extension which links to "the page about the selectors"

- and nothing like the domain name URL it purports to be i.e. DEINGexhibition.org does not exist! 

If writing or linking to a domain name URL you need to do it correctly!! 

Plus "www" prefix does matter if that's how the site is setup!!

However if you click the link I was supplied with https://www.ingdeexhibition.org/  you get this home page