Artist Purchases

Agree. But, how is FAA to know?

They have a different name and shipping address than my own.

Unfortunately that is the way it works. I do not see that changing in the near future

best you can do is make a private gallery, no mark up. buy them logged out with the password in hand, then it should work.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Not a bad idea, Mike. As I understand it, you'd need to re-upload the sold images so as not to disturb the pricing of the same images in your regular galleries. True?

probably. probably best to do it that way anyway. but you don't need tags or nuthin. just post add i think a zero to the box or maybe a dollar. then order it that way, since your ordering it anyway you might as well get something from it.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Or..... buy them from a new account, with a 100% discount. No new uploading or private gallery required.

I'm glad you asked this! I was wondering about this myself. My Etsy sales have been picking up of late and it seems like using FAA to print and ship the orders would be a win-win (for both FAA and us) if external site sales bumped up items in the FAA search rankings. Only thing is I'd have to raise my prices - it's probably good to match the prices on FAA anyhow.

Hmm good ideas Mike and Heather.

I am working on a project and will be ordering about $1,000.00 in metal prints, plan on changing the mark-up and have my daughter-in-law order them. I will than change the prices back after she orders. Gotata do what you gotta do

Michael, just create a 100% discount code like I just said in my last post. No altering prices required.
You guys are over complicating it.

Can you have a friend or family member buy them and just give em the money?

Yeah Kevin, you can; but Heather's workaround seems the best way.

In your case, they'd have to pay your markup and then you'd have to wait 30-45 days to get the money back from FAA.

just make sure to order it i think before the 15th so you don't get the 2 month overlap.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I think it makes sense, sales are sales.
I have ordered for gifts before - & have forgotten every time to log out.

Think of all the Artists here that print for shows - marketing cost $ anyhow - might as well throw it back in your own direction.

Tell me what IS fair about FAA - except the premium price for an AW site?

Well at least you have a shot at making it in a collection as the order comes through the head office.

I see what Heather is saying. What about the IP address. It would be the same one, so that wouldn't screw things up? I had a friend stay with my after she had a knee replacement, and she got on FAA to look the artists and decided to vote for an image I had in a contest, but it would net let her, because I voted for myself already. All I can think of was the same IP address.

Great idea, Heather. Last year I sold a number of prints through the same site as Murray, but the work around was so complicated that I didn't do it this year. Maybe I'll try the 100 percent discount code. It needs to be easier.

Back in February one of my brothers bought a 20x30 print from me. With my markup it was out of his ballpark as far as cost, so I uploaded the same image but changed the name (added a letter or number as I recall), removed my markup, and put it in my pw protected gallery. Gave him the pw and only he could order it. He bought a nice 20x30 print, FAA got their cut, and I got a sale (w/o the markup) to my credit. Nothing nefarious about how it was done, I just didn't make any money on it, well I think maybe $1.34 or something for materials.

I think it may be true about the IP address.
But there are probably a lot of artists using FAA to fulfill orders or stock up for shows by having a third party do the order. It is not so wrong. You can only buy so much of your own work to hang at home and give as a present.So if you are selling and FAA is making money I think you should be rewarded as Murray points out.

Regardless: well done on the sale Murray, congrats!

It's easy to "work around" this problem, if you want to bother.
1. Create an alternate logon ID, either an artist id for an alternate portfolio (This can be free, of course.) or a collector id. It's probably a good idea NOT to use the same paypal account in the alternate logon.
2. Buy the art in question under the alternate ID, paying full price, including commission, which, of course, you will be reimbursed under your normal account in the form of your regular markup and commissions.

Following this...

Last year I did what Gregory suggests, but there are issues when it comes time to pay taxes. It can get complicated. I have to pay state sales tax, so when I buy it and have it sent to someone out of state, it still shows as a sale in my state. I have to pay the taxes even though it is tax free to my customer. I would think FAA would want to make it easy for us to sell to others this way rather than more difficult.

Why pay FAA to fulfill the orders? There are other print houses out there that can print and drop ship for you. I use pictureframes.com (like FAA used to for everything) for any framed prints and most canvases. I also use Bay Photo for prints, canvas, and metal. You won't have to pay the FAA markup, and shipping may be cheaper.

Adam, the idea is to rise higher in the FAA search ranking, thus increasing your chances of selling to customers that you don't direct here personally.

I agree with Peggy. Since one of the criteria for moving up in the search is sales, they need to be through this site.

Interesting discussion ...

It is a tough call. When I have to pay sales tax on purchases that never touched the soil of my state, I had to rethink how to do this.

Open a collector account under a different name. Presto, problem solved.

What a nice problem to have. Congratulations!

Adam Romanowicz Adam Romanowicz2 Hours Ago
Why pay FAA to fulfill the orders? There are other print houses out there that can print and drop ship for you.
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This is an even better answer. The tiny bump you may get in the search will not offset the money you can save. Not only that you can charge you client less and maybe sell more overall or just put the savings in your pocket.

With all due respect, Floyd, how do you know it would only cause a tiny bump in the search? And what if you sell tons of prints in your Etsy shop that are fulfilled here?

I have a collector account, but the sales still show as though they are to a buyer in my state, but sent to another address. We have a state sales tax. When I send purchase through a collector account it triggers a tax event and I have to pay sales tax even though the sale is really from a collector in another state. It doesn't work for me unless I want to pay a lot of sales tax that cannot be collected from the buyer. It is like an extra fee for doing this.

Gregory, I think you'd need to open a new account on a different computer if you were to do it that way. Your computer would still have the same isp address, even though it is a different account. Perhaps a tech person can clarify this.

You do not need to use a different computer.

You do not need to use a different computer but you do need to use a different billing address and different e-mail address from what you normally use when ordering yourself.

Nancy

You do not pay sales tax, we do

I have collected and paid state sales tax for a number of years. It is a responsibility for all of those who do business in my state. When I purchase an item from FAA for resale, I have to collect sales tax on it when I resell it, if it is sold within the state. I don't get to keep those taxes, I have to pay them to the state. So, I do have to pay taxes. If I don't collect the taxes, I am still liable. I'm not sure why you would think that I don't have to pay taxes.

Good discussion.

Actually, I'm kinda glad FAA doesn't count them simply because of skewing the algorithm by deep pockets instead of market interest. I don't want to compete with artists that can afford to drive themselves up in the searches with self orders. There is no way FAA can know why an artist buy one of their own pieces or whether it's sold. So I'd rather not have these sales influencing the search. Think FAA is right in that it's this market desires that count.
-- mary ellen anderson

I agree with Mary Ellen

Marking this to watch!

Interesting on this sales tax question. So you all are saying that FAA figures sales taxes based on the billing address and not the shipping address? Or are you guys shipping to yourself from FAA and then shipping to your client? Either way I'm not understanding why this cost isn't being passed through to the client.

If you're saying that your state requires you to pay sales taxes to them of all your art, regardless of where sold, simply because you live there... I'd question that big time.
-- mary ellen anderson

Sales tax would be FAA resposibility when they are selling to the customer (other than the artist) even when the customer is from my state. However, if I purchase it from FAA to sell directly to a customer in my state then I am required to collect state sales tax.

Due to health issues this past year I have not been doing direct sales to customers but have still sold a lot of work through galleries here in Michigan and it is always the gallery that collects and pays the sales tax out of their commissions.

Truly interesting!

@ Nancy,
I own a public accounting firm and I'm wondering if you are mixing up rules for income taxes with rules for sales taxes.

Sales taxes are taxes imposed on the sales transaction itself (not the income, even though the tax is figured on the amount). It is collected by the seller from the buyer on the sale.

In the days before the internet the taxing authority was determined by where the business was located that the sale took place in. If the same company had locations in 15 different states, each location would collect a different tax imposed by a different taxing authority.

The problem started with the advent of the internet. You now had sale taking place in no location. So the solution to this is that states have moved the location of the sale from the business location to the delivery location. So a seller like FAA will collect taxes based on multiple taxing authorities and remit them appropriately.

Now as far as income taxes then regardless of where the sale took place you have to pay taxes on the income. Even international. Because the tax is on income. But FAA paying you your commission is not a sales tax transaction, it's compensation.

What you are purposing is that a business that has locations in multiple locations owes sales taxes on all sales to all or even several taxing authorities? I've never heard of this and can't imagine the consumer uproar when they have to start paying multiple sales taxes. Because businesses will pass taxes on to customers. If you have to do this so does every corp with an outlet in your state. Unless you are seeing a mass exodus of every major retailer from your state, I think it's safe to assume you've gotten something wrong on this one :)
-- mary ellen anderson

Also, when you buy materials to create your work or prints to resale you should not be paying sales taxes; even to FAA. You have to fill out a retailer form with very vendor you buy from but this is not a tax you owe. It's your responsibility to contact vendors and get sales exemption, I have this even at hobby lobby, walmart, etc.

If I bought through FAA, which I don't, I'd contact customer support for exemption form especially since its not bumping me in the search.

When you travel around the circuit of shows and sell in multiple states it's your responsibility to determine the taxing authority and collect and remit the appropriate sales taxes. It's also your responsibility to report any exempt sales to the vendor to avoid paying unnecessary taxes. More paperwork everyone is all :(

-- mary ellen anderson