John Myers
San Antonio, TX (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal
RentMyArt.com
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Startup
Location:
San Antonio
Industry:
Arts
Year Founded:
2008
Number Employees:
1-10 people
Description:
The state of the home and office art scene today: there are many artists who have unviewed stacks of paintings, sculptures, and other works sitting around collecting dust, and there are many art consumers who have bare walls and empty shelf space due to relatively high prices for quality pieces. (URL removed) is positioned to become the leading provider of home and office art rental services throughout the South Texas and Northern California markets, as the website will bring together both the adventurous art consumer and the creative artist in an environment where the emphasis is on appreciation rather than purchase.
Consumers will have the opportunity to rent pieces (paintings, sculptures, etc) of their choice at a relatively low price for a specific period of time, either six or twelve months. The consumer may access the website, browse offered pieces, and make selections via a shopping cart ordering system, after which (URL removed) staff will set up in home appointments to hang or install the piece(s) rented via the website. The consumer may enjoy the piece for the rental period, after which they will have the option of renewing the rental or returning the piece. (URL removed) will offer a thirty day satisfaction guarantee - the consumer may return the rented piece within thirty days of install and (URL removed) will only charge first months rent.
To populate the available art collection, artists will access the website and upload pictures and descriptions of their works. Descriptions will include name of the piece, date of creation, galleries at which the piece has been shown, reviews, and other pertinent information. The artist is responsible for making the piece available within twenty four hours once that piece is rented via the website.
(URL removed) will generate revenue by collecting twenty percent (20%) or all rental dues collected from consumers, with the other eighty percent (80%) paid directly to the artist. Consumers will have the option of receiving a monthly bill, or to pay the balance due for the full rental period for all pieces rented. Both amounts will be listed on each bill, and multiple payment options (credit / debit card, check, Paypal) will be available via the website. Artists will be free to set a recommended “sale” value of their piece; however all pieces initially placed on the site will be rented at a standard rate based solely upon size of the piece (see table 1.) Once a piece has been rented out for a full rental period, the consumer will be able to log back into the site and “critique” the piece by simply deciding if they enjoyed it or not. The piece will be awarded a “point” for each positive critique. High scoring, popular pieces which are highly praised will command a higher future rental rate. No pieces will be sold outright from the site. If the consumer wishes to purchase a piece, then the consumer may request an auction. The piece will be placed on an internet auction site with a reserve price set at the artist’s recommended sales price. The auction will be advertised on (URL removed). (URL removed) will collect twenty percent (20%) of the final sale price of all pieces sold at auction, calculated before any other fees are deducted. Consumers may only request an auction at the end of a rental period, and only if the account is paid in full. The rental status of a particular piece will be listed on the website under the description of that piece. If a consumer who is not currently renting the piece wishes to place a reservation on a particular piece, they may do so for a fee equal to two months rent. The piece will then transfer to that consumer upon expiration of the current rental period.
The website itself will have the look and feel of a standard web store, with options to search and group by a particular artist, style theme, color theme, period theme, etc. Consumers will log into the site and have access to an account which keeps a history of past rentals, pieces viewed, favorite pieces and favorite artists, links to relevant art sites, and of course, suggestions for future rentals. Artists will log in to the site and view essentially the same information as the consumer; however additional features and tools for uploading pictures and descriptions of their own artwork which they wish to place up for rent will be made available. Both the artist and consumer login view will feature a page solely dedicated to the financial status of the account, with the artist page featuring an additional module for generated revenue. In order to receive payment from (URL removed), artists must provide basic checking account information in order for (URL removed) to electronically transfer funds. As (URL removed) merely acts as a broker, and does not employ artists directly, artists renting their works via (URL removed) will be solely responsible for reporting earnings to the appropriate agencies for taxation and / or other purposes.