Is It a "Scam"?

Would you consider multi-level marketing (MLM, like pyramid schemes) a scam? Well, technically, perhaps not, but it's certainly a case of a very few people making a heck of a lot of money out of a whole bunch of other people.

I just received an email from Wiserep.com:

I like your artwork. Are you selling them through a lot of stores already?

We work with galleries, specialty stores, furniture retailers, large chains and Internet shopping sites who search our website looking for artwork to purchase. We need a larger variety they can choose from, hence my email to you.

If you're able to sell to stores and can offer good prices visit us.

Having been bitten once by the internet scam monster, I've been very cautious ever since. So a Google search turned up a few forum posts from craft groups, and I also thought I'd check out the Etsy forums. While this might not be a scam, exactly, I really don't think it's worth the paper it's printed on.

All I can say is, ladies & gentlemen, if it sounds too good to be true, or it strikes you as a "what the heck" kind of moment, look at the bottom line and figure out who is making the money. 'Cause, chances are, my friends, it ain't us, the artists doing the work!

Sigh - More Scamming

Having web presence is great, but of course, it means you're open to fraud & scammers. Once again, I've been approached by the "we'll pay you extra for shipping and you send us difference". And the first time it happened, I was willing to be at least not totally pessimistic, if not entirely optimistic. As Dave says, the more traditional scammer relies on the mark's inherent greed. The awful, horrible aspect of the art scam, though, is that the target's interest isn't necessarily greed: this is our bread and butter - interest in our artwork is ultimately how we make money. On top of that, many artists are not 100% full time professional artists, often don't have a high level of "scam-o-meter" and who rely on the internet for a good portion of their exposure. It's very gratifying to have someone be interested in your work, and to want to purchase it, and even more so when they want to purchase quite a lot of it, or something that represents a sizeable monetary value.

So I mentioned some options for artists to arm ourselves with knowledge:

For those of you who are interested, the RCMP has a site on frauds & scams and reporting economic fraud. You should check out the Better Business Bureau if you feel there's a false company, or search government websites to see if they've got something similar if the company you're interested isn't Canadian or American.

I am not the first artist to be drawn in by this, nor by a long shot will I be the last. There are lots of posts on various art forums, and on one of my favourite artists' resources, the Painters Keys. The names and places change, but the overall structure of the scam does not.

In this most recent one, I did a Google search for edwcrouch.us (the first scammer had a yahoo address, and I wasn't successful at turning anything specific up about that), and found the domain name on a blacklist. Then I did a WHOIS search and found further information about the domain name, which wasn't necessarily helpful. But those are a couple of other ideas to search for when looking to check out a possible scam.

So I'm adding a list to my sidebar with "scammers I have known", to add to the searching possibilities of other artists out there who might be looking for a little help. And artists out there - it takes a huge amount of courage to admit to our community and the wide world that you have been a victim of one of these scams, so thank you so much for your honesty to share your experiences so the rest of us might learn.

One more thing - accepting PayPal, while it also has its inherent pros and cons, is a better option overall than cheque or money order.

Lessedra Update

For anyone out there who is curious about Lessedra, an annual international miniature print exhibition, I have some answers.

When I first heard about Lessedra, I thought I'd do some investigation. I found that a number of printmakers that I know of and whose work I respect had entered in the past, so I thought that it might be a good opportunity. One of the reasons I had some concern was the method of payment for non-US international participants is with Western Union, and that is typically a red flag over the internet. After discovering how many artists had participated, and done so over multiple years, I figured that for the US$50 (at the time) how much of a scam could that be? Really, there aren't that many printmakers in the world :) You'd have to work awfully hard for a pretty small return, so I decided to enter (Yes, I'm skeptical by nature, but especially after being touched by scammers a few times - see my scam roll on the right side-bar).

When I was accepted for the 2007 exhibition, I was extremely excited: this is an international exhibition and I got in!! Late in 2007, my prints were returned and I received the fantastic catalogue for the exhibition. As I looked through the catalogue, I was astonished at the number of printmakers represented, and I started to become somewhat skeptical about the actualities of the exhibit. I felt that even though there were jurors, if there were that many successful participants, how could there really be any "selection"; did everyone who applied get in? Not that there's really a problem with that, but if that were the case, then the jurors' efforts would be more towards selecting winners, and being accepted would be less of a prestigious occasion.

I stand corrected.

Lessedra is a gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria. Their annual World Art Print Mini Print exhibition showcases contemporary printmakers from around the world. While the event started in 1991, it really began to take off after 2002, when Georgi Kolev, current owner and director of the gallery, started to work on the event to make it the huge success that it is today. By 2006, over 500 artists from more than 60 countries were represented in the event.

I had complained about the fee for entry, and still, I do think it's a bit expensive for my purposes. That said, the fee goes towards:

• a spectacular catalogue (really, if you've never entered, and you're considering it, the catalogue of incredible work alone is worth it)
• posting of successful artists' CVs on the Lessedra website (the list is maintained for the year until the next exhibition)
• return postage for successful prints that remain unsold during the exhibition
• administrative costs (including promotion, coordination of jurors, administration of prints and entries, etc.)
  

Unaccepted works are returned and the fee is refunded to any unsuccessful applicants. Lessedra does not take a commission on any sales of the prints from the exhibition. Again, that alone is a pretty good deal; most competitions/exhibitions that I know of take at least 25% commission on any sales, and often closer to 40%.

And, if you're work is of prize-winning calibre, the prizes are pretty darned good (even the special prize is equivalent to the entry fee):

First Prize (USD 500 = purchase of 3 works in edition of 2) and an invitation for a solo exhibition of the artist during the next annual exhibition.
Second Prize (USD 200 = purchase of 3 works),
Third Prize (USD 100 = purchase of 2 works).
5 Special Prizes, each one equal to USD 80 (purchase of 1 work) - a cheque covering the entry fee for participation in the next print annual.
Prize For Young Emerging Artist - USD 300 (in materials for print works) and an invitation for a solo exhibition of the artist during the next annual exhibition.
The Jury has the right to grant more than one Second and Third prizes and also more than one Prize for Young Artist.

from Lessedra Conditions for Entry

And I can attest to the fact that the catalogue itself is a potentially valuable asset to the participants: I sold a piece from the exhibit as a result of that catalogue to a purchaser in France. That sale actually managed to mostly cover the cost of my entry in 2007. So really, I shouldn't complain about the cost, but the chance of a sale from an exhibition is always iffy, so you can't bank on it when you're calculating your expenditures for the year. And I'm particularly adept at whinging about money.

I wish to thank Georgi Kolev for taking the time to contact me and to explain the success of the Lessedra exhibition, and the value of the event to international printmakers. I hope that other printmakers who are interested in participating will have a better understanding of this event when they're considering entering. If I've got enough cash rolling around spare by the time the entry nears, I'll definitely submit again.