Note: This article centers on Japan-specific marketplaces for selling art and illustration (Mercari, minne, Creema, BOOTH/pixiv, Coconala), including their current Japan-market fee structures. Readers outside Japan should look for the equivalent platforms available in their own region; the general framework for choosing a sales channel and building your own shop still applies.
Many people probably feel "I want to sell art I've drawn myself, but I don't know where to sell it," or "I'm already selling, but the fees and restrictions are starting to bother me."
Art and illustration can be sold through flea-market apps, handmade marketplaces, creator-focused services, skill-marketplace services, and online shops. That said, which works are suited to each place, and the fees, vary by platform.
This article walks through, in order, the main places to sell your art and how to choose between them, the steps for continuing to sell over time, the benefits of using your own online shop, and preparation and things to watch out for before selling.
The Main Ways and Places to Sell Art You've Drawn Yourself
Places where you can sell your own work broadly fall into the following five categories.
Flea-Market Apps Like Mercari
Mercari is a flea-market app that lets you list items easily from your smartphone. It's easy for individuals to list original artwork, hand-drawn pieces, or merchandise printed with illustrations, and it's a place you can easily use to first try selling. Because the pool of buyers is large, your work also gets more exposure.
On the other hand, it carries more of a "secondhand goods / everyday items marketplace" feel than an art-focused one. If you want to protect your work's brand image or the world it evokes, it's worth considering combining it with another sales channel.
Handmade Marketplaces Like minne or Creema
minne and Creema are marketplaces specializing in handmade work. Alongside handmade accessories and general goods, original artwork and illustration merchandise fit naturally into these listings too. Buyers here also tend to be centered on people already interested in handmade work, which is a strength — it's easy to connect with buyers who love handmade pieces.
Because the design makes it easy to convey your creative world through your shop page and product descriptions, this is a sales channel that pairs well not just with individual works, but with publishing about yourself as a creator.
BOOTH and pixiv-Related Services
BOOTH is a sales platform for creators, integrated with pixiv. You can sell a wide range of formats — digital illustration data, self-published works (doujinshi), merchandise like acrylic keychains, and posters. It has touchpoints with a community of users engaged in creative activity, and depending on your genre, it can be easy to reach the buyer base that's the right fit for your work.
Another convenient point is that you can handle both digital sales and physical merchandise sales within the same shop.
Skill-Marketplace Services Like Coconala
Coconala is a service where you can list and take on requests for your skills or things you're good at. It's well suited to commission-based needs like "I want an icon drawn for my social media," "I'd like to order a portrait," or "I'd like to request an illustration," and works well for a style where you create the piece after receiving a request.
It's an easy platform to use if you want to establish a sales style where you don't need to hold inventory, and instead create pieces one at a time in response to requests.
Your Own Online Shop
There's also the option of using a platform like Shopify to launch your own online shop. A major feature is being able to bring multiple sales formats together in one place — original artwork, reproductions, merchandise, digital pieces, and even a commission menu.
Because you can design how your work is presented, your brand's atmosphere, and the path to purchase according to your own intent, this is well suited to people who want to unify their creative activity and sales, or who want to build a sustainable sales foundation.
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform used by many stores around the world. It's well suited to anyone who wants to sell their own art or illustrations under "their own shop," and its appeal is that you can start a full-featured online shop from an affordable monthly fee. On top of that, since there's no setup cost and there's also a free trial period, it's an easy platform for artists to adopt if they want to start small and gradually build out their product pages and sales flow.
For more details on Shopify's features, pricing, and benefits and drawbacks, please see the article below.
How to Choose Where to Sell Your Art
When choosing a sales channel, it's important to weigh fees/costs, ease of getting started, how much freedom you have in selling, and fit with your work. Use the comparison table below as a reference.
*Fees and pricing plans are subject to change. This table is based on information as of May 2026. Please always check each service's official page for the latest information before listing.
| Sales Channel | Rough Fees/Costs | Ease of Getting Started | Flexibility | Who It Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flea-market app (e.g. Mercari) | Free to list. A 10% fee on the sale price is charged when a transaction completes. | You can list from the app, making it easy for beginners to try. | How your product page looks is largely determined by the platform's own format. | People who want to try selling original artwork or merchandise for the first time. |
| Handmade marketplace (e.g. minne, Creema) | minne (non-PLUS members) charges 10.659% (tax included) per order. Creema charges 10.67% (tax included) of the total payment amount. |
The system is built around selling creative work, making listing easy. | Easy to convey atmosphere through product descriptions and your shop page, but selling still follows the platform's format. | People who want to sell original artwork, illustration goods, or handmade-feeling pieces. |
| Creator-focused service (e.g. BOOTH) | BOOTH's service fee calculation differs by product type; the base rate is 5.6% + 45 yen (after the October 28, 2025 revision). | Easy to list digital work or merchandise, and pairs well with creative activity. | Easy to sell in a way matched to your creative genre, but the path to purchase is shaped by the platform's format. | People who want to sell digital work, doujin-style work, or illustration merchandise. |
| Skill-marketplace service (e.g. Coconala) | Coconala's standard service charges a 22% fee on the sale amount when a transaction completes. | Easy to receive requests, and easy to start commission-based work. | You can design your pricing plans and delivery conditions, but you need to follow the platform's transaction rules. | People who want to draw on commission — social media icons, portraits, illustrations, and the like. |
| Your own online shop | Using Shopify as an example, the monthly fee starts around 4,365 yen, with payment processing fees from around 3.55% as a rough guide (varies by plan and payment method). No separate selling fee is required. | Requires initial setup, product registration, and preparing a customer-acquisition path. | Easy to design how your work is presented, your product lineup, and your brand expression yourself. | People who want to sell art on an ongoing basis, and people who want to build their own sales foundation. |
If you're a beginner, it's fine to prioritize ease of getting started. First, get some experience with listing, pricing, handling buyers, and the shipping or delivery process.
On the other hand, as your selling experience grows, you'll start to care more about fees, how much freedom you have on your page, building relationships with fans, and the path to repeat purchases. Thinking of channels as either "somewhere to sell in the short term" or "somewhere to grow in the long term" makes it easier to choose where to sell.
How to Think About Leveling Up Your Art Sales Over Time
You don't need to start big with art sales. It's easier to move forward if you think in the order of "try it first," "expand your sales channels," then "build a sales foundation."
Step 1: First Experience Selling on an Existing Service
If this is your first time selling, it's a good idea to start by using a flea-market app or handmade marketplace to experience the basic flow of listing, pricing, and handling buyers. There's a lot you can learn through selling — how your work is received, and what kind of work tends to get a strong response.
It's important to first try it on a small scale and build up experience at your own pace.
Step 2: Build Touchpoints With Fans Through Social Media and Events
If you want to keep selling, you need touchpoints beyond your sales site for people to discover your work. Publishing your work and your creative process on Instagram, X, or pixiv makes it easier to convey the feel of your work.
Participating in social media or events doesn't necessarily lead to a sale right away, but it helps build a sense of reassurance before purchase and helps you build relationships with fans.
Step 3: Build a Sales Foundation With Your Own Online Shop
Once you've built up selling experience on existing services, it's worth considering having your own online shop as well.
As your sales on existing services grow, you may start noticing things like accumulated fees, or how the way your page is presented and your sales rules are shaped by the platform's format. By having a sales base you can control yourself, rather than relying solely on external services, you can build an environment where it's easier to keep selling consistently as a brand.
The Benefits of Selling Art on Your Own Online Shop
Your own online shop increases how much freedom you have in selling, and can be used as a base for selling your work on an ongoing basis.
You Can Reduce Fees and Raise Your Profit Margin
Having your own online shop makes it easier to keep the fee rate per transaction low. External platforms charge a set fee every time you sell, so the larger your sales volume grows, the more this difference tends to affect your profit.
That said, since you pay a monthly fee, an external platform may actually end up costing less while your sales volume is still small. It's realistic to consider your own shop once you can expect ongoing sales.
Easier to Convey the World of Your Work
On existing platforms, page design and layout basically follow the service's own format. With your own online shop, you can design how your work list is presented, what your profile says, and how you convey the background behind your creations — the atmosphere of your brand — according to your own intent. Letting buyers choose your work while feeling the artist's world is also a way to differentiate yourself from external platforms.
Easier to Sell Original Art, Merchandise, and Digital Work Together
When selling art, the more types of work you have, the more likely your sales channels are to become fragmented. Having your own online shop is also a strength here, since you can bring together multiple different sales formats — original artwork, reproductions, merchandise, digital downloads, and a commission menu — into the same shop.
This makes it easier for buyers to access multiple works in one place, and easier for you to widen your sales opportunities.
Easier to Build Relationships With Customers
To keep selling art over time, building relationships with people who've bought from you once, or who've shown interest in your work, is important. With your own online shop, it becomes easier to deliver news about new work or exhibitions through email newsletters, a blog, or social media integration.
What to Prepare Before Selling Art
Before selling art, organize your product information, pricing, sales conditions, and scope of use. This makes it easier for buyers to judge, and also helps prevent trouble.
Prepare Information That Conveys Your Work Clearly
When selling online, you need to convey your work's information carefully. If you're selling an original piece or an oil painting, note the size, materials, whether it's framed, the year it was made, the condition of the work, and the shipping method.
For digital work, clearly state the file format, resolution, delivery method, and the scope of allowed use. For photos, including not just the whole piece but close-ups, thickness, and a sense of scale makes it easier for buyers to judge.
Decide on Pricing and Sales Conditions
If you decide your price purely by feel, it becomes hard to sustain. Think it through based on your production time, material costs, packaging materials, shipping costs, selling fees, and whether you'll offer revisions.
For commissioned work, it's important to decide in advance on the delivery timeline, number of revisions, conditions under which extra fees apply, and how cancellations are handled. For original art and merchandise too, noting the expected shipping date and your return/exchange conditions helps put buyers at ease.
Clearly State Copyright and Scope of Use
When selling art, it's important to clearly state how far a buyer can use it after purchase. How a buyer uses your work will differ depending on whether it can be used as a social media icon, whether commercial use is allowed, and whether it can be edited.
Even when selling an original piece, transferring the physical work itself and transferring the copyright are two separate things. State this clearly on your sales page or in your commission terms.
Points to Watch Out for When Selling Art
When selling art, you also need to be careful about terms of service, fees, rights, and misunderstandings with buyers.
Check Each Sales Service's Terms and Fees
Flea-market apps, handmade marketplaces, and creator-focused services each have different fee rates, listing rules, and prohibited items. Also, as mentioned in this article, fees can be revised. Be sure to check each service's official page for the latest terms and fees before listing.
Don't Use Someone Else's Copyrighted Work Without Permission
As a rule, don't sell work that uses material requiring the rights holder's permission without authorization — characters, photos, logos, existing works, and the like. If you want to sell derivative (fan) work, you need to check the guidelines the original rights holder has officially published, and also cross-check them against the terms of the sales service you're using.
This is often treated as a "gray area," so we recommend judging carefully.
Prevent Misunderstandings With Buyers
Trouble after a sale sometimes arises from insufficient explanation beforehand. For commissioned work, clearly state the delivered content, delivery timeline, number of revisions, and whether commercial use is allowed.
For original art and merchandise, it's important to note the size, color, materials, shipping method, and return/cancellation conditions. Supplement anything that's hard to convey through photos alone with text in your product description.
Choose How to Sell Your Art in Stages, Based on Your Goal
You don't need just one method for selling art you've drawn yourself. A realistic set of steps is to first experience the flow of selling using a flea-market app or handmade marketplace, increase opportunities for people to discover your work through social media and events, and gradually build out your sales foundation along the way.
Once you're used to it, also consider having your own online shop. By building a base for delivering your work that doesn't rely solely on external services, you can create an environment that's easier to keep active in over the long term.
Which method is best differs depending on the type of work you make, your sales style, and what you're aiming for. Choose the option that fits your own goal.
