Selling art online presents unique challenges and opportunities, especially when it comes to preserving the quality of the artwork and ensuring its timely and safe delivery. As your online art sales grow, outsourcing all or part of your art logistics may become necessary for providing a seamless customer experience.
We specialise in art ecommerce which has four main characteristics: art storage, order processing, packaging and shipping. The following overview of how we support our clients will provide an understanding of what’s involved as well as best practice advice for artists, galleries and any other organisations with online art stores.
Storage and protection of art prior to sale
Appropriate storage is paramount to keeping the artwork safe and in perfect condition for when it is sold.
We store artwork in secure, monitored facilities at Heathrow with camera systems, alarm sensors, and restricted access to protect areas. Because artwork is sensitive to temperature and humidity, our storage areas are air conditioned, this prevents warping, cracking, or mould growth on paintings and frames.
We offer specific insurance against loss or damage for artworks held on site (subject to maximum value limits).
Order Processing
Like many of our clients, it’s likely that you’ll sell your art on multiple platforms to expand promotion opportunities such as your website and/or third-party platforms like Etsy or Shopify. When orders are placed online, speed and accuracy in processing them are critical for customer satisfaction.
At Flight, receipt of orders, order processing, and shipment tracking are all managed via our Warehouse Management System (WMS). The system also ensures that we can accurately provide real-time stock availability updates.
Before packaging your art it’s vital that you conduct a detailed condition report, documenting the state of the piece with photos and descriptions. This ensures transparency with the buyer and helps resolve any potential disputes post-delivery.
Art Packaging
Proper packaging is essential for protecting artwork during transit. The choice of packaging is based on factors such as the destination, fragility, size, weight, shape and value of the artwork. We have prepared a full overview of the types of art packaging available to help you recognise the right case or crate for your art. It provides other useful information including the requirement of certain markings/stamps on wooden packaging without which some countries (Australia and USA) will reject the shipment on entry and return to sender. This can be found on our “Professional art packaging for international shipping” page.
Shipping artwork internationally
Shipping art internationally can be a complex process compared to other e-commerce products in terms of protection and customs requirements. To expedite smooth customs clearance of your shipment, the correct and accurate preparation of paperwork is critical. Depending on destination, your checklist should include some or all of the following:
- EORI number
- Commercial Sales Invoice – (you will find a useful template on our Forms page)
- Art Declaration – (our ShipArtTM team can provide this for you)
Further information can be found on our ShipArtTM – Advice webpage.
Conclusion
Flight Logistics-ShipArtTM, provides tailored art logistics solutions to support every stage of the above processes. Whether you are a gallery, collector, or artist, partnering with a trusted logistics provider ensures your artwork is handled with the care and expertise it deserves and requires.
