ART SALES on EBAY

Auctioning Art on eBay

I’ve been auctioning my mini paintings on eBay and it’s great!

Art by the author Celeste Wilson

In January 2026, I decided to paint a series of ACEOs (artist cards, editions, and originals). These are like artist’s trading cards, but instead of trading them, you sell them. ACEO’s measure 2.5 x 3.25 inches and are typically made on paper.

My ACEO’s are done in acrylic paint and markers, but they may be created as a collage, pen or ink drawing, or watercolor. I’ve seen stamp art on eBay, too.

At first, I thought I would list them on Etsy, but honestly, that platform is so saturated right now. I didn’t feel confident that I would get any sales traction there. It was time to try a new avenue. I considered Kofi, but eventually decided on eBay.

I didn’t have an eBay account. I had never bought or sold anything on the platform, and it was going to be another learning curve that I was not looking forward to either. I’m a creature of habit and change is exhausting. I’m super happy that I listened to my gut and went for it.

Opening an account wasn’t that difficult. Once I opened the app, I had to choose whether I wanted a personal or business account. I chose personal to begin with because I anticipated casual sales. I also had to choose a shop name and password.

I was asked to verify my identity with an ID or bank account. I chose my PayPal account since it’s linked to my email address. This was also how I wanted to pay for purchases and receive payouts for sales. I could choose if payouts were daily, weekly or monthly.

eBay asked for my email address and my phone number, then emailed and texted a time-sensitive code to me that I had to click on to verify my contact information and identity again.

I bid on a few ACEO’s from other artists to see how the bidding process worked. I won a few bids and was interested to see how these artists packaged and shipped their art to me. It was part of my research before I listed any of my own.

Art by the author Celeste Wilson

The recommended starting bid for an ACEO is 99c with free shipping. That felt like daylight robbery to me, and I certainly didn’t make any money at that base price. However, after roughly a month, as my art was recognized on the platform, I was getting multiple bids and selling at an average of $1.25. So, I increased my starting bid to $1.25.

Since January 2026, I have developed a bit of a following with several repeat customers. I believe it’s because my starting bid is low and I shipped same day. My reviewers talk about fast ship times, good packaging and I add a personal note with each sale.

My bid period lasts 7 days, but you can make that longer if you want. My average sale price is over $2 now, and I’ve sold one or two pieces over $6. Right now, my starting bid is $1.50 and I’m getting ready to push it up to $1.75.

Art by the author Celeste Wilson

I’ve also started auctioning off larger 4 x 6-inch pieces. Starting bid was $2.99 and I just pushed it up to $3.25.

I would say that the only confusing thing for me was the payout wait period. Since my art is very inexpensive and I offer free shipping, I can’t afford USPS tracking. I must trust the postal service and just pop each order in the mail with a USPS forever stamp. So far, that isn’t a problem. However, since I have no way of verifying delivery with a tracking number, eBay waits 31 days from the day that I mark the order as shipped before I receive a payout. My first payout was 78c.

eBay collects the sales tax for me and takes a 13.6% commission on every sale. This percentage differs depending on what you sell on the platform.

Right now, I’m using these mini paintings to refine my art style, to build a following and to satisfy my yearning to paint daily. I just hit 90 sales, and I intend to paint and sell ACEOs for as long as this trend holds. I suspect it may not last forever. All trends wind down eventually. Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

One of the ways that I advertise new listings is by filming a 60-second reel that I then post on TikTok and Instagram. TikTok has a very healthy ACEO artist community. I didn’t have a TikTok account until I started my eBay shop. To say that it all felt intimidating at first is an understatement, but here I am approaching 100 sales and loving it.

I am barely covering my material cost right now, but hopefully I can grow on the platform to where I’m selling larger and more profitable art. I view these ACEO’s as a building block to a larger art business.

Fingers crossed.

Visit me at: YouTube | Etsy | Spoonflower | eBay