In fact, he said the majority of the paintings he has ordered look better in person than on the Internet. Although her company allows customers to check out the paintings in person before purchasing them, she said only two or three out of more than 1,000 recent auction buyers bothered. While generous return policies are typical, some sites have hired in-house specialists to prevent any shoddy or fake pieces from hitting the Web in the first place. Other Web sites provide visitors with extensive information on the artists and their pieces so shoppers feel more confident about what they are buying. Farrow's concern is to reach potential buyers through a thicket of competitors.
Farrow plans to advertise aggressively online and offline.
But most small dealers and obscure artists don't have the deep pockets to support that. Instead they earnestly study tricks of the Web trade that can improve their positioning on Web search engine lists, prime territory to catch buyer's eyes. The Klines in Tampa also pay to get to the top of the lists. The Klines would not reveal their profit but gave a hint. Without the Web site, we wouldn't be eating out and going to the movies as often.