Introduction to Flags

Our curatorial team routinely reviews and adds flags to shops or individual artworks as a way to help artists maximise their listings.  Recently we have been dedicating more time to this as a way to improve customer experience, as well as to reduce the chances of an artwork being returned.

We are also keen to ensure that the artistic and presentation guidelines we introduced are applied to all artists across Artfinder, to ensure fairness, improve quality and ensure equal access to promotion and visibility. 

Some flags act as recommendations to help improve your shop and listings, in this instance your artworks and shop will remain visible. If the flag applied to your shop is because of a rule break, the artwork will be hidden until the flag is resolved.

If you receive a flag on your shop or artwork, you will receive an automated email detailing what the issue is and how to resolve it. Once resolved, the changes will then be checked by our curatorial team. Please note that this will be rejected if the issue has not been resolved, however if the necessary changes have been made, the flag will be ‘approved’ and the work republished to your shop.

Artist's amends to flagged shops and listings will be reviewed as quickly as possible, however, do take working hours into consideration.

Whilst we continue to use flags to improve the quality and consistency across the site, our resources mean it is not physically possible for us to flag all artworks across the site. Therefore we kindly ask you to help us and yourselves by presenting your shops in the best way possible, give us the necessary time (and to artists flagged) to update the listings, and by focusing primarily on your own shop.

To ensure transparency around the issues that we may flag for, we have included a list below:

Artists (shop flags)

1. Add global shipping prices to your shop

Please ensure you have shipping set up for the UK, USA and European Union, however we would also recommend considering global shipping options to ensure more customers have access to purchasing your work. International shipping significantly increases your chances of selling and being featured in our marketing materials. Click here to read a step-by-step guide to setting up a shipping profile.

2. Remove watermarks from your images

We ask that no images on our site contain watermarks as these can often detract from the artwork on display and severely decrease a piece's chance of selling. All listings of your artwork on your shop and collection features on the site will clearly credit you as the artist. The size of the uploaded images on the site is capped in a way that your artwork cannot be reused or copied.

3. Upload high resolution 'Me at Work' images

Include 3-4 images in your 'Me at Work' section. Please ensure that all images are uploaded in the highest possible resolution. We recommend a resolution of at least 1200 pixels.

Artists with contextual 'Me at Work' images are more likely to sell as it helps the customer find out more about you and your work. Consider adding images or videos of your studio, places that inspire you, or of you at work.

4. Add secondary images to your listings

Improve your artwork listings and increase your chances of being promoted by adding secondary images to your listings. Secondary images allow a customer to see the detailing and texture in an artwork to ensure that they know what they are buying before they make that all-important purchase.

We recommend including detail shots, in-context images that show the true scale of the artwork, and images of the frame if it has one.

Please do not include any other artworks in your photos, or a COA or packaging that includes contact details. 

Find out why quality photography increases your chances of selling.

5. Correct appropriate badges

It seems as though you have mis-identified your artwork as 'Exclusive to Artfinder' or 'Ready to Hang'. Please remove the badge(s) that does not apply or simply change your artwork on other platforms accordingly.

6. Add more artwork to your shop!

We recommend all of our artists regularly upload new works to their shop. This helps your shop look complete and gives customers a better idea of your style and themes, as well as making you more visible on our site. We would also suggest moving any sold artworks to the back pages of your shop to ensure customers can find available artworks easily. Our curators and marketing team are also more likely to feature your work if there is a larger selection to choose from.

7. Add more Collections to your shop

If you are producing artwork of various styles, we recommend you group them into collections. 

Learn more about how to make a collection here.

8. Expand your artwork descriptions

Try to expand the description for each artwork you currently have listed. Please make sure that your artwork descriptions are as accurate as possible, describing the techniques and materials used. We encourage you to include size dimensions or any shipping and packaging details.

9. Expand your 'About' section

Please add more information to your about section so that buyers can find out a little more about you. 

Buyers want to know who you are, where you're from, why you became an artist and what inspires you - treat this section like your artist statement. Aim for a minimum of 500 words and ensure that it is written in English. There are separate sections for your education and social media links.

NOTE: Please do not include information such as terms, returns policy, shipping, packaging details or anything unrelated to your actual biography. Any personal contact details and links to your other profiles can be included within the bio in the separate fields provided.

10. Clear profile picture

A high resolution profile picture is so important because this is the first thing buyers see when they come across your shop on Artfinder. Please make sure to choose a clear and sharp profile picture.

11. Your shipping prices

Remind them of free shipping promo requirements

Make sure your shipping rates are reasonable and include international destinations. We recommend that you ship to our biggest markets: USA, UK, the European Union and Australia. If your shipping rates are higher than 15% of the artwork cost, please explain why that is (i.e. perhaps your artwork needs to be packed in a crate).

To learn more about shipping rates and how to find the right quote, checkout our Knowledge Base here.

12. Including links to external websites in your about section

It looks like you have linked to external websites in your about section. We have removed the links from your introduction, but you will want to review your introduction message to ensure it makes sense with the links removed. Artfinder no longer allows external links in artist bios and artwork descriptions. We recommend that you use the profile link fields provided.

13. Translation of about section

It is a requirement at Artfinder that your artwork listings are translated into English. Please ensure that your 'About' section and artwork listings are written in English.

14. Correct your artwork titles

Your artwork titles contain additional information not in line with our guidelines. Please note that artwork titles should only contain the title of the artwork. We do not accept titles that contain tag words, sizes or mediums. This information needs to be added to the artwork description only. Including extra information in your titles is unnecessary and reduces your chances of being chosen for marketing materials.

15. Your banner image

Please ensure that your banner contains only an image, Artfinder does not allow any text, information or other messaging to be included in the artist banner image.

16. Political messaging

Unfortunately, Artfinder is not a platform for artists to share political messages in their shops. 

We kindly request you remove all political messaging from your shop, including your banner image, artwork listings, ‘about’ and ‘me at work’ sections.

17. This artist does not meet our artistic guidelines (for galleries with multiple artists)

Unfortunately, this artist doesn't meet the standards of our artistic guidelines and therefore has been unpublished from your gallery.

Please view our guidelines here for more information and feel free to contact our Support Team at sellers@artfinder.com with queries or concerns.

Products (Artworks)

1. Change your primary image

Please change your primary image to a stronger one. We ask that the primary image of each artwork listed on the site is either a cropped, straight-on image, or an accurate in-context shot. Click here to find out more about primary images and how to change them.

2. Please add international shipping prices for this piece

Please ensure you have shipping set up for the UK, USA and European Union, however we would also recommend considering global shipping options to ensure more customers have access to purchasing your work. International shipping significantly increases your chances of selling and being featured in our marketing materials. Click here to read a step-by-step guide to setting up a shipping profile.

3. Add multiple images to your listing

Improve your product listing and increase your chances of being promoted by adding quality, in-context and detailed product photography. We recommend including detail shots, in-context images that show the true scale of the artwork, and images of the frame if it has one.

Please do not include any other artworks in your photos, or a COA or packaging that includes contact details. 

Find out why quality photography increases your chances of selling.

4. Artwork Description

Please expand your artwork description to include more information - alluring product descriptions are essential to exciting buyers and aiding them in their understanding of what makes your artwork special, and why they need to purchase it. You can find more information about writing descriptions here.