Write an article based on this "Contact an artist directly to look into buying their work. Enlist gallery owners to keep an eye out for work you're interested in. Hire an evaluator to appraise your art before buying or selling. Contact the gallery that you bought a piece from before selling it. Market your art online before going to an auction house or private seller. Don't panic and sell too quickly if the market turns. Hold a purchase when in doubt."
If you stumble upon an artist with work that you're interested in, contact them via email or show up at a gallery opening and tell them that you're interested in potentially buying their work. They'll likely have more work that they'd be able to show you, and you'll be able to learn more about a specific piece that you're interested in buying. Most artists have personal websites where they showcase and sell their work. Some artists will be resistant to working with a buyer that wants to buy their art as an investment, especially if they're well-established in their field. Many established artists have representatives and agents that deal with potential buyers. If you know an artist is being represented, contacting them directly can come off as an insult to the artist. Gallery owners make a living buying and selling art. They are likely to be regularly purchasing or soliciting investable art. Ask gallery owners to keep an eye out for work that you might be interested in buying. You'll be the first person they call when they come across a potential investment. Evaluators are professional appraisal experts, and their estimates hold quite a bit of weight when it comes to selling or buying art. A professional evaluation will put potential buyers at ease, since they'll know that they aren't overpaying for a work. Inversely, a professional evaluation will let you know whether or not a potential purchase is worth considering at its available price. Most galleries and studios have specific evaluators that they work with. Ask about evaluations when inquiring about a piece's price. Gallery owners will appreciate the ability to offer a piece to their clients before you put it on the open market without their assistance. Apart from being a courtesy, it's possible that the original gallery owner will have buyers readily available for you, since they're in contact with other people that are likely to have the same tastes in art. An easy way to test whether an evaluation is accurate or not is to try listing the work online for a price higher than its been evaluated at. You may be able to get a higher price than you'd expect by using a non-traditional venue to sell your work. This will also give you a sense if the original appraisal is an accurate representation of what a piece of art is worth at the current moment. Lumas, Society 6, SaatchiArt, and Artfinder are all reputable online venues to sell works of fine art. If the international market takes a dip during a recession or slow period, don't lose your cool. The market for fine art can be fickle, but that doesn't mean that you should sell at the first sign of trouble. Fine art is usually a long-term investment, and you should generally hold on to assets during tumultuous periods in the market. If you haven't gotten an evaluation that you're happy with and the market isn't particularly strong, hold on to your investment. Holding on to an asset is the best way to let it appreciate over time, especially if you've got your hands on a piece created by an up-and-coming or well-established artist. It can take time for a work to appreciate in value, so be patient! You may end up waiting for quite some time if you want to get high prices for your work, so don't buy a piece expecting to always sell it off right away.