ArtFire Announces “The Basic Account Retires on August 15th”

ArtFire recently announced this past Friday that they will no longer offer free Basic Accounts.

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In the next few weeks, they are launching a new studio (shown on the right) and overall design updates that will no longer have space for the advertisements that were used to subsidize the free basic accounts.

To further explain why the free basic shops are going away, Tony Ford, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President of Marketing, and Co-founder of ArtFire posted the following in ArtFire’s forum as part of the official announcement, “Basic Accounts – Start your free Pro trial before 8/15/2011”:

“In reviewing ArtFire’s performance stats for different seller types we’ve found that Pro sellers still account for more than 85% of the total sales on ArtFire, even though they comprise just 25% of active sellers.

We’ve frequently seen members who signed up for basic accounts frustrated; their plan was to start with a basic account and upgrade to Pro after making sales. Unfortunately, the purpose of the basic account was not helping them reach this goal. By design, the basic account was created to let members get started in the ArtFire marketplace, completing set-up and listing product without paying anything upfront.”

In a reply to a comment left by an ArtFire seller, Ford went on to say, “There are a lot of items and accounts abandoned here by basic accounts. While not all basic accounts abandoned their studios, many do. When there is no cost, there is often less reason to actively work on the venue. While this is not the case with all sellers, it is the case with a large amount of free accounts.”

Sellers with an existing free basic ArtFire account will have until 8/15/2011 to start a free 30 day pro account trial.

Pro account features include the following:

The ResponseFrom ArtFire Sellers

Right from the start there were mixed emotions about whether or not this new move by ArtFire is a good one.

Below is a small sampling of comments that have been left in reply to Friday’s big announcement. At the time of writing this post 186 pages of comments have been posted thus far.

Some ArtFire sellers welcome the change and consider it to be a positive one.

“I just read your post and I think that Artfire has made a very wise decision. I also just received notice of an email from Artfire about this subject.” – JimJuris, pro account seller.

“I am new here on Artfire and made a sale within my first week. I think that the change is a great idea. I also have an Etsy shop and even the pro account fee here at Artfire is by far less expensive than my monthly Etsy bill. By the way I love the way the new shops are going to look. Good luck to all of us here.” Fancie Strands, pro account seller.

“Thanks for the for sure announcement so we all will know when this takes place. I stand behind AF 100 and 10% on this. And I DO know how much being a PRO help my basic shop when I upgraded it. Hope things keep going up” TreasuresToCherish, pro account seller.

“I totally agree, I think ArtFire is doing the right thing for all. If they don’t make money, how are they going to keep the site going and add all the improvements sellers and buyer want and need?” – AtticTrunk, pro account user.

Other ArtFire sellers, who have tried both pro and basic accounts do not agree with the decision to get rid of the basic accounts.

“I made more sales using a basic account than when I had a pro account. Artfire definitely has potential but I don’t see why everyone thinks this is a good idea. You will lose a ton of shops that use Artfire as a 2nd site to sell on, which also creates business for Artfire. Even though I use Etsy more, I send a lot of business here when I advertise both of my sites. Artfire is not well known at all and this will probably run it to the ground since a lot of shops won’t sign back up.” – PrettyInPunk Boutique – former pro account user/current basic account user

“I also had a pro account for a few months and NO sales….I have been on ETSY and have had daily sales. I really don’t even check my ARTFIRE acct. any more. Just did not have the traffic for the same products being sold daily on another account. I actually lost money paying the pro fee and having no sales. Goodluck with the changes…hopefully sellers that are staying will see an increase in sales” – addirosebows, former pro account user/current basic account user

“I am afraid Artfire is on down trend with this decision. I was pro for 3 years and just downgraded my account in June due to lack of sales, traffic, views, etc. I have better traffic on my personal website than I ever did here. Artfire could have simply revamped basics to pay when they sell and limit our inventory…. With such a large percent being basic (75%) that will be a huge hit on Artfire traffic… I don’t foresee many upgrading to pro at $9.95 per month. I downgraded from the $5.95 per month due to poor performance. My website traffic and bounce rate are far better than here on Artfire.. and actually My Etsy Shop is far better too. I have to ask.. if my shop wasn’t performing well and I was spending $5.95 why on earth would I want to spend $9.95 for each shop?/!! I am sure after this post there will be those who will not agree… but percentages don’t lie. I am very disappointed with Artfire and will be seeking other options”- madeformebyoaklie former pro account user/current basic account user.

There are also some ArtFire sellers who have left comments proposing alternative solutions.

“I would suggest having a pro account (as normal) and a basic seller account which is free but charges a listing fee and doesn’t have the perks of the pro account.” said pro account seller, MonsterLady.

“…And if you want to move to an “All Sellers Pay a Flat Fee” model, may I suggest you lower the fee. I see lot of comments herein that sales and views and whatnot are down so much that it’s not paying for itself, so clearly ArtFire is charging more than it’s is actually worth.” said pro account seller, amyelyseneer.

ArtFire’s new change has definitely created a lively discussion among current sellers. What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a wise move for ArtFire that will continue to move them up the ladder of success or is this the “beginning of the end”? Feel free to share your thoughts below in comments.