I think some ACEO/index card-sized pieces would sell well and quickly. But I also have mostly collected standard and A-sized pieces.

The traditional art I have purchased has been 8.5 x 11 or 9 x 12. Honestly I prefer the 8.5 x 11 because it's easier to move around, store, etc. Obviously framing is no problem either way, but just getting 9 x 12 home unwrinkled can be a chore. Shipping it can be as well, for the same reason (9 x 12 won't fit into most "standard" shipping envelopes or if it does it's *really* tight).

Actually 9x12 fits in standard priority mail envelopes just fine. That's what I use to ship my pieces (with cardboard to prevent bending) and I take a stack of them to cons to protect any artwork I hand off to customers. Keeps things safe and unwrinkled, and it's already in a shipping envelope if they need to mail it home rather than pack it.

Hmm, I've had trouble getting it in the FedEx envelopes *and* in the cheapie envelopes that the mail shipping places have. Do you mean the USPS envelopes or ...? I suppose it depends a lot on the source. I remember the last time I shipped some stuff that it would fit in the cheapie envelopes at the shipping place (one of the UPS stores) but it was tight and I worried about the edges catching or wrinkling.

Yeah, USPS priority mail. I've never used FedEx or UPS to ship, so I can't speak to how their envelopes work, but I've never had an issue with priority mail envelopes, even after sealing the art in plastic and tucking it inside with a piece of cardboard. They have just enough extra space that everything fits great.

Ah, ok - that explains it. I haven't tried the USPS envelopes. It wasn't a huge deal, but I did get the "oversized" envelopes to comfortable fit both the art and a piece of backing cardboard. But the downside was that because of the oversize, it was *really* expensive to ship US -> Canada and US -> Europe. I will look into the USPS envelopes if their standard envelope can hold 9 x 12 paper without a problem though!

I guess it just goes to show that it's important to look around and check out all the options available as they obviously can be different (USPS vs UPS vs FedEx, etc.)!

Ugh, yeah, international USPS priority mail is stupidly expensive to most places. It costs me $25+ just to mail something to Canada. For domestic shipping it's pretty reasonable, though.

Yeah. I never did anything internationally, but I offered to help out an artist friend with shipping and was ... more than a little surprised. US to Canada (and even to Europe) was pretty reasonable for letters (normal envelope) but just sending something flat drove the price up ... a lot. Yeah, like $25+. Making it oversized nearly doubled it (!), so something just a little bigger than 8.5 x 14 (like a sketchbook sheet) was like $40+ ... and to add insult to injury it took forever. The specialty stuff (FedEx and UPS) could guarantee quick delivery, but for $100+.

I honestly don't know how artists are supposed to make a living when they ship stuff international. I mean I know they pass the costs on to their clients but still... that's a lot of money to send a piece of paper across the pond (or just across the border for Canada). Outrageous. Not to mention the rumors that customs could create even more problems.

Thanks for your comments though, I appreciate you taking the time to make them. I will check out the USPS stuff next time I need to ship bigger art!

I tend to try and build shipping into my prices when I'm dealing with larger pieces. Little stuff like art cards I can mail with a stamp in a regular letter or card sized envelope, I don't charge to ship, and I think I might look into poster tubes for bigger pieces. I have an 11"x17" ref sheet I'm going to have to send off in the near future, and even though I'll be shipping domestic, I'm a little concerned about shipping it flat and having it get there safely. Most of my international customers have opted for a high rez scan rather than having me mail them the original to save on shipping costs.

And you're welcome! I was just sharing my own experiences, so I'm glad if it helped. =)

I've had pretty good luck selling laminated original 4.5"x6" art cards. It's just a 9"x12" sheet cut in quarters.

personally it's DIN A4 (a bit smaller than legal letter size) because any other plastic sleeves are really hard to get by in metric land. maybe via ebay from england... larger means of protection are incredibly expensive. :P

That's basically standard then 8.5 x 11 then?

8.3x11.7 inch, actually, if the one block I have is really A4. :) 8.5 doesn't fit them plastic sleeves we can buy here.

but truth to be told, I don't want to nitpick that much. I take what I get. :) aside that, I have been running out of space to store larger art correctly a while ago. so, somehow I prefer smaller art pieces.


hehe, someone gave me a painting of a vixen, to get rid of it and to give it to somneone who might appreciate it. didn't realize that 100x100 meand a meter by a meter before I had it in my hand... I am reluctant to ask for prices for a frame for it, they can be pricey. XD

Hey Anbessa!

Yeah, another reason to stick to "standard" sized art is because custom framing is expensive. So if you can get away with using a "standard" size, people can get frames for their art a *lot* cheaper. Unless it's something really special, a custom frame can easily exceed the cost of the art itself.

epsecially if i's frame that looks like something... or is made of flotsam wood. :P

Heh - true enough. >_>

I'd of course encourage comic page sizes, but I know there'll be more varied needs.