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Availability Options for Your Artwork.

Holidays / Unavailable > tips to marking artworks temporarily unavailable

Stephen Tschaepe avatar
Written by Stephen Tschaepe
Updated over a week ago

We've provided a few different availability options for artworks as we know works can be on display or entered into art prizes. This affects how quickly you can ship the work, so we need to be proactive and inform the buyer upfront when they are looking to purchase a work.

Availability options are designed to help you set clear expectations for potential buyers, such as:

  • You're away from your studio until a certain date (Holiday Mode)

  • A new artwork is drying and can't be shipped immediately

  • An artwork is currently not in your possession (Exhibition, Art Prize etc.)

  • An artwork is permanently unavailable


How do these options help me as an artist?

It can be tricky to handle the expectations of buyers when an artwork is not ready for dispatch just yet, but you do want to publish it for sale now. Reasons can be any of the reasons listed above, or perhaps something else.

We've found that almost all collectors are happy to wait a bit longer if they understand: 1) the reason for the delay, 2) that the artwork is indeed available, and 3) an expected delayed delivery date is provided.

We know from collector feedback artworks marked 'unavailable' without clear reason will be skipped over if they're shortlisting artworks for a future purchase or a project.

With all of this in mind, we've made this experience intuitive for you, and for our collectors.


What are the options?

You can distinguish the artwork availability on the Listing Page under the "Availability" section, currently there are 4 options:

  1. Available

    Work is ready and available and can be dispatched immediately after sale. There is no delay affecting this listing.

  2. Available with delayed dispatch

    When uploading or editing an artwork, instead of simply marking your artworks unavailable for a short period of time, you can now let collectors know when it will be available for dispatch. Collectors can then go ahead with the purchase if they're happy to wait. The maximum amount of time a work can be delayed under this option is 30 days.

    Use this option when an artwork is available for sale but you're unable to ship it within 1-5 working days from the sale date. Up to a maximum of 30 days. This would apply in situations such as:

    • The artwork is at a local gallery or cafรฉ and you need a few days to collect, package and dispatch.

    • The artwork is still drying and you think it'll take more than one week to completely dry.

    • You're making changes to the artwork and will update the listing in a week's time.

    • The artwork is currently not with you (you've just moved or some of your works are in storage etc.).

    Note that artworks marked with Available with delayed dispatch setting will appear as Add To Cart for the collectors. If they wish to purchase, we'll show a notice informing them that this artwork is unavailable until a certain date (example below).

  3. Unavailable

    If your artwork is unavailable for more than 30 days, but you still want to list it on site you can use 'Unavailable'. This lists the work and makes it visible to potential buyers but buyers can not purchase it. Collectors will see this as Enquire Now and can still reach out to you should they have any questions around it.

    You should only use the 'Unavailable' option when the artwork is not available for sale for less than 60 days, but you still want to include it in your Bluethumb portfolio.

    If it's unavailable for more than 60 days, you can mark it as sold (if you'd like to add it to your portfolio) or save it as a draft if you want to publish it later when it's available.

    It's important to understand that if marked unavailable, we will not include it in our advertising campaigns or any promotional projects until it becomes available. When it does become available, we recommend re-listing this artwork so it goes through the All Art feed for maximum exposure.

  4. Mark as Sold

    This availability option allows you to list works on site under your 'Just Sold' section on your profile. By selecting 'Mark as Sold' the listing will not be shown in All Art but can be visible on your profile.

    We recommend the use of this option when you are just starting out on Bluethumb, you may not have a large amount of available works, listing work you have produced previously but no longer have, allows you to still showcase your work.

Other Options

Holiday Mode

Holiday Mode is a profile wide function that allows collector to see you're away from the studio, and will be able to dispatch artworks only after you're back. Click here for a reminder on how to use Holiday Mode.

While you're away, collectors can still see and purchase your artworks if they're okay to wait until your return. The sales don't have to stop while you're on holiday ๐Ÿ™Œ.

Use this option when you're away from the studio and are unable to attend to any sales or shipments during this period.

This advises the team at Bluethumb plus your collectors of your unavailability, though allows the purchase artworks if people are happy to wait so you don't lose out on sales.


If you have any questions, as always, please reach out to help@bluethumb.com.au

Note: All artworks listed with the delayed dispatch option will be available for sale for Bluethumb collectors. If this is sold in the interim through another channel, you're obligated to send the original work to the Bluethumb collector and offer the other client a replacement or refund. Read our terms and conditions on your obligation to fulfill Bluethumb orders here.

Your team at Bluethumb

๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

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