If you are an artisan wanting to upload photos of your creative works, or a performing artist wanting to show photos & info related to your skills & talents, choose the appropriate Main Category, (i.e. MUSIC, GLASSWORK, PAINTING and so on) and then relevant sub categories. Please do not use the main category of PHOTOGRAPHY or the PHOTOGRAPHY sub categories. Please feel free to contact us if you think we need additional Main or Sub-Categories.
IV) Does it cost me anything to sell my photos and/or fine art on this site? No, participation is free with our introductory offer: Effective to December 31st, 2009.
Photographers may upload/edit up to 50 photos. We take 13% commission (10% to us, 3% handling fees) of your selling price. Cost of prints (if applicable) are also taken from your selling price. Other artisans may upload/edit up to 12 photos. Performing artists may upload/edit up to 6 photos.
Can I set my own prices for STOCK PHOTOS AND PRINTS? Yes, you may set your own price. There is a default price for both stock photos and prints if you do not set your own price. Default prices and actual printing costs are shown further down on this page (see # SELLING - GENERAL #XII). As British Columbia tax will need to be recovered from the sale of prints and other tangibles if the purchaser resides in BC or 4 of the Canadian maritime provinces, please increase the selling price of your stock photos and prints to accommodate this situation. Currently we are not able adjust the payment process to automatically add BC provincial Sales tax when appropriate. You will find more information concerning this in the following paragraph.
TAXES:
Note re taxes on purchases : as PST (7% British Columbia provincial sales tax), GST (5% Canadian Goods & Service tax) or HST(15% Harmonized Sales Tax for 4 Canadian maritime provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador) may be applicable if the purchaser resides in Canada , please include an appropriate amount in your pricing. We are recommending a 5-7% increase of your selling prices. Vancouver Island Photo Art will remit the appropriate taxes (see below). The PayPal shopping cart automatically charges GST to Canadian purchasers. We expect to eventually have our payment system worked out to include the provincial taxes automatically depending on the purchaser's location but on the short term, PST needs to be figured into the selling prices and remitted from this end.
BC Provincial tax is applicable only to tangible items (i.e. prints and photo postcard CDs) and only applies to residents of British Columbia, Canada. Our PST # is 161787. (Poncho Villa Ltd o/a Vancouver Island Photo Art).
GST is applicable to all sales (downloads, user fees, prints) to residents of Canada. HST is applicable to all sales for Canadian residents living in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador. Our GST # is: R136235264
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Artisans(as opposed to photographers selling their stock photos and prints) may display photos of their Fine Art and include both description and sale prices of each item. In each item description (or in your biography), you may include a contact phone number and/or email address so that potential purchasers may contact you directly. This should also be included in your biography as this shows along with each of your photos (either photography or fine art). You are encouraged to send us a photo of yourself "at work". This will not be counted as one of your "added" photos.
We do not take a commission on any sales made by the artist that are the result of the artist's work being shown on this site. Please remember to include your contact information with your photo description and/or biography.
What if I want to upload both stock photos and photos of my fine art for sale? That is possible. Just make sure your photos related to stock photos, prints, or photo-related items go into the Photography main category (and photography sub-categories).
Some of the main Fine Art categories to date are: Pottery, Paintings, Woodwork, Glasswork, Textile Art, Sculpture, and Carvings.
Performing artists, musicians,songwriters, script writers and people with skills related to the theatre and/or film industry may display photos and descriptions relating to their personal or group talent and skills. In the "biograophy" section, they can include contact information (including email address and/or website URL) so that potential employers and other interested parties can contact them directly.
SELLING - GENERAL:
VI) What format are the photos in?
All VIARTWORKS photos are in JPG format.
VII) What size of photos can I upload? Recommended minimum pixel size is 1024x768 for PHOTOGRAPHERS (stock photos). Photos need to be a minimum width of 500 pixels. (otherwise they will appear pixelated)
VIII) I would like to sell prints of my photos on your site. How do I do this? You may contact us for our FTP site address and password to upload a zipped file of your TIFF photos. We will store your TIFF photo file on disc and when there is an order for your print, we will have your photo printed and mailed out. We will take our 10% commission + 3% handling fees and printing cost from your selling price. Please see note re taxes above.
Please note: Photographers wishing to sell prints of their photos also need to inform us (through support or info@viartworks.com) which photos are available as prints, the available sizes and price/size (if not using our default prices shown below in "Selling General XII"). We can then easily add this information into your photo details at this end. (We expect that artists themselves will soon be able to insert this information.) In addition to uploading your jpeg files, you also need to separately send us the large photo files for print(see below for further info).
All photos will be printed on quality photo paper by a professional printer. Purchaser pays shipping cost and applicable taxes.
X) After I register, at what point do I upload my photos? You may upload photos immediately after submitting your registration information and choosing a login password.
XI) What are the site's default prices and what does the cost of prints include?
*Actual Print costs includes printer ink, quality photo paper, cello bag, handling/labour charge, and photo size acid-free backing. Actual print cost is shown under the default prices below.
Stock photos site default price: $10.00 (revised July 17th, 2008)
Prints: print cost is included in the price at the far right. Print cost is shown in brackets under each item below so you know how much will be taken off your selling price in addition to our 10% commission + 3% handling charge. If you choose to set your own prices, the print cost remains the same as shown. As noted above, in some cases BC provincial sales tax or the balance of HST (8%) may need to be also taken off your gross sale price depending on whether or not the purchaser is located in British Columbia or 4 Canadian maritime provinces.
5"x7" Premium Glossy (or matte) photo paper..... $22.95
(*print cost of 5" x 7"= $6.19)
8"x10" Premium Glossy (or matte) photo paper..... $28.50
(*print cost of 8" x 10"= $8.80)
11" x 17" Photo Silk (12" x 18") $35.00
(*print cost of 11" x 17" = $11.00)
(XII) Are there any restrictions placed on a purchaser's use of my photos? Although this site offers great freedoms and a wide range of uses of our stock photos, there are some restrictions. As a person submitting photos and information to this site, you need to be informed of our End-User Agreement and Licensing statements. (Links to these pages may be found at the bottom of all VIARTWORKS.COM pages)
XIII) When are model and/or property releases necessary and how do I go about getting one to you?
To put it very simply, if a person is identifiable, then a model release is required. If private property is identifiable, then a property release is required.
Model and Property releases address the fundamental right of the subject to his/her/their privacy and the fundamental right of the photographer to free expression.
Vancouver Island Photo Art has provided sample model and property releases. They may be used and edited as you see fit (please read all of this section). As every situation in regard to Releases is different, for your protection, you should always seek the advice of a lawyer. We at viartworks.com (Poncho Villa Ltd. o/a Vancouver Island Photo Art) are not responsible for any dispute that may arise from the use of these sample Release forms. They are just samples to be used as a guide for your own Release Forms.
Users of the forms assume full and complete responsibility for the use or misuse of these forms and hereby agree not to engage viartworks.com, Poncho Villa Ltd. or Vancouver Island Photo Art in any legal action tied to their use. By using any of the following 3 Releases, you agree to these conditions.
http://www.viartworks.com/model_release_adults.pdf
http://www.viartworks.com/model_release_minors.pdf
http://www.viartworks.com/property_release.pdf
After the releases have been signed and completed, the releases may be digitized via scanner or digital camera, saved as a jpg or pdf file and uploaded to this site when submitting the applicable photo(s). Photos of recognizable people or personal property will not be accepted without a signed release.
(C) GENERAL QUESTIONS
I) Do you add photos and information on a regular basis?Yes. We approve/add photos as soon as possible after they are uploaded. Click on "Newest Photos" to see the latest photos that we have posted.
II) I would like to have a web site built for my Fine Art business. Can you please recommend someone to build and host my web site?
Yes, Coexist Design Inc. offers good work and service at competitive prices. For information, visit their web site at: www.coexistdesign.com In the spring of 2006, Coexist Design Inc. won the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce Sterling Award for Business Excellence. This same year, Marie Boichuk of Coexist Design Inc. won the Athena award for her excellent customer service.
III) I would like to sell my carvings through your site but have no photos of them. Can you recommend someone in the mid-Vancouver Island area who can take good photos of my carvings and help upload them to your site. (I am not very computer-wise!).
A) Yes, there is an excellent, very active photography club in the mid-island area - The Harbour City Photography Club (Nanaimo). Its web site is www.harbourcityphoto.com You can go onto this site and send an email request for members to contact you if they are available to assist you with this task of taking photos of your work and saving digital images to your computer or disc. Once the photos are on a computer or disc, the whole process of getting them on our site is VERY simple and straightforward. You do require access to an internet connection. The HCPC has a both a member forum and membership e-mail list so your request would go out to most of the current 90+ members.You can discuss fees with members that contact you and go from there.
This site will shortly post a link to the names and contact phone numbers for some of the photography clubs on Vancouver Island. (Currently we have contacts for some but not all of the photography clubs on Vancouver Island....Please advise if you have additional information that can be posted on this site)
(B) Vancouver Island Photo Art (sponsor of this site) also provides photographic services in the mid-island area. We also produce custom photo CDs or DVDs and welcome the opportunity of putting together a CD showcasing your Fine Art. Our rates are $20.00 per hour. You will find one of our custom photo CDs (Beautiful Nanaimo & Area) for sale on this site and also highlighted with photo samples on our main site: www.viphotoart.com. Contact email: info@viphotoart.com
IV) Our Art Gallery is sponsoring a series of instructional courses. Is it possible to pass this information on to your Vancouver Island viewers? Yes, we now have an "events" calendar for Vancouver Island (including the Gulf Islands) art-related events, shows, and instructional courses. For events to be posted, sent details to news@viphotoart.com. To locate events, visit the following link: http://www.viartworks.com/calendar If you expect to have regular postings, please contact us to receive a user name and password for your direct access.
V) I do not see an answer to my question, what can I do?
If you have further questions or comments, please use the link here to contact us for support. Send a support request. We will do our best to quickly and thoroughly answer to your questions or concerns. If you wish to contact us by mail, our address if as follows:-
Vancouver Island Photo Art mailing address:
Vancouver Island Photo Art, #283, 4-1150 N. Terminal Ave., Nanaimo, BC, V9S 5L6, Canada.
