With a goal of connecting buyers with high-quality, original art, Zatista works with individual artists to provide a venue from which the artists can build their own online presence and reach a global marketplace of buyers.
Unlike eBay and some other online auction sites, Zatista is a more like an online gallery where buyers can browse art and read artist profiles to find the right piece. There are no auctions on Zatista, only prices that have been set by the artists.
Zatista was first launched in beta last May, and it opened to the public in October. The site currently showcases more than 3,000 distinctive works created by emerging and established artists from more than 17 different countries. Zatista offers original artwork in the following five categories; photography, paintings, drawings, mixed media, and digital artwork.
How it Works For Artists
To get started, you need to create an online account, fill out an artist profile and list three items for sale in your account. Zatista differs from most online marketplaces, as the site ensures a base-level quality in the work of any artist who wants to list on the site.
Pete Borowsky, founder and CEO of Zatista said that once an artist has registered, a review board looks at the profile, the artwork and the quality of the photos the artists uploads.
“We may offer suggestions or, in some cases an artist may be rejected,” said Borowsky. “The review process ensures that buyers will get a good sense of the artists, and we help the artist take proper care in creating an online showcase."
Zatista also handles the bulk of the transactional and customer-service tasks for the artists. Once an item sells, you ship the art and provide Zatista with the shipping tracking number. Zatista collects buyer payments and handles all e-mail communication and any buyer disputes. When an item has been successfully received on the buyer’s end, Zatista releases the payment to your PayPal account.
Borowsky believes that having Zatista manage this aspect of the sale helps busy artists who would rather be creating art than micromanaging customers. “On the artist side,” he added, “we’ve made sure that using Zatista to sell original artwork is a simple and straightforward process.”
 Item-listing pages offer a nice clean design that focuses on the art. Artist profiles are accessible from each of their item pages.
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How it Works For Buyers
On the buyer’s side of the site, Borowsky said that Zatista is unique in that the site provides both education and tools to help buyers discover the type of artwork they like before making a purchase. A number of on-site tools help buyers choose their original artwork.
For example, when a buyer views any artwork on Zatista, a magnifier tool on each listing also lets them get up close and personal with the art. They can see textures, brush strokes and small details. There is also a “See in a Room” tool that you can customize to virtually position a piece of artwork in a typical living space, to see what it will look like at home.
Using another online tool called the Art Explorer, buyers choose pieces they are interested in. the Art Explorer then informs buyers about their tastes and interests to help them figure out which type of art (e.g. Folk Art or Abstract Landscapes) they like most.
Borowsky believes that tools like this help engage the customers and make shopping for original artwork easier for novice art buyers. “Buyers sometimes just know they like certain looks, but our tools help then figure out what type of art they are looking at, and also help them to discover other, similar pieces on the site they can choose from.”
The Cost of Doing Business on Zatista
One thing that busy artists will appreciate about Zatista: you don’t have to calculate any listing fees, store fees or optional upgrade fees. Artists do not pay to have their own space or to list on the site. When an item sells and Zatista disperses the payment to your PayPal account, they deduct an 18 percent fee from the sale. There are no other fees charged for listing or selling.
Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.
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