Buying Art Supplies Online

As you might guess, Bakersfield is not one of the best places to shop for art supplies. The selection is limited, and most of the stores that sell art supplies at all cater mainly to crafters and kids. As a result, I buy most of my art supplies online.

Prices can vary a lot from one site to another, and each one seems to have one range of products that they sell cheaper than anywhere else. I did an unscientific comparison among all the stores listed below for a selection of items, and found that no single store was cheaper than any other. They vary in the selection of products and brand names as well, so a complete item by item comparison is not possible.

There was no clear "low price" winner overall, though one store (Mr Art) was lower for more of the items on my list than the rest, followed closely by Dick Blick and Jerry's Artarama. Watch the web sites for sales, and take advantage of "free shipping" offers if you find them -- you may come out ahead even if some items are a little more expensive.

Reasons for and against online shopping

Pros:

• The selection is unbeatable. Anything you can imagine is available online.


• Deep discounts. Even with shipping, prices tend to be lower if you shop carefully.


• Pretty printed catalogs make great bathtime reading.

Cons:

• By buying online, I am bypassing local merchants. At some point, though, local retailers need to offer something of greater value, whether that's products or service, than I can find online.


• Delivery can take a week or more, sometimes much longer, especially if items are back-ordered or the dealer is clueless.


• Not much opportunity to try before buying. This is a significant drawback for all but the most generic of products.

About credit card security:
People are often reluctant to provide credit card information to internet sites when placing an order because they are worried about hackers getting their information. Not to make light of the situation, because more than a few major online retailers have indeed been hacked, but shouldn't you be at least as worried about offering your credit card to your local pimply-faced teenaged minimart clerk with with the pregnant girlfriend? Think about it...

Here are a few online art supply dealers I've ordered from:

• Dick Blick - Art Supplies. Huge selection, great product descriptions, immediate order acknowledgment by email, updates and ETAs on backordered items. Huge printed catalog, plus smaller catalogs sent throughout the year. In meatspace for decades, came online only near the end of 1999. They manufacture their own "store brand" paints, which could be a real moneysaver. Some great deals and some higher than average prices. This is the model of what an online art supply store should look like, with a good search engine, items indexed by category and by manufacturer, with descriptions and lots of illustrations -- competitors take note.
  


• Jerry's Artarama. Recently redesigned web site with much better navigation than before. I haven't seen any online retailer that can match the selection and prices offered here. About the only thing they don't carry that I like to use are Schmincke watercolor paints in half pan sizes. They have everything else, though, at prices nobody else can beat. Huge paper catalog, updated frequently throughout the year, but finding anything is a bit of a scavenger hunt.
  


• Cheap Joe's. Nice web site, great selection, a few unique items I couldn't find elsewhere. Prompt shipment, not the lowest prices but still reasonable. Big paper catalog, quirky sale flyers with great deals.
  


• Pearl Paint. Huge selection, needlessly complex web site layout, fast shipment but many items are inexplicably out of stock (although they do take the time to phone me if they can't ship an item). They do carry the elusive Schmincke half-pans, which makes up for their sometimes spotty inventory on other items. Great paper catalog.
  


• Mister Art Store. Lots of stuff on the web site, but good luck finding it. On the plus side, they have a great selection (once you figure out how to navigate a large and not very well designed site), and prompt delivery.
  


• Utrecht. To their credit, they sent me a printed catalog almost immediately after I requested it. You'll need to have the catalog handy to figure out the web site, though, because there are few or no product descriptions, and photos of items are rare. The web site looks like it was designed by someone who has never actually tried to order items online -- you guys need to do more than just a plain database query with the results dumped to the screen -- this site is almost as difficult and annoying to navigate as MisterArt. Like Dick Blick, they manufacture their own line of paints, which they claim are equal to or better than the brand name equivalents.
  


• Dixie Art & Airbrush Supplies Home Page More for the airbrush crowd, but a usable selection of fine art materials and great prices. More items promised Real Soon Now. Fast delivery, and they answer their email!!
  


• Molly Hawkins' House Plenty of low-priced, "house brand" stuff for art teachers, lots of "student grade" paints, brushes, and other supplies. Some fine art materials at really great prices. No online ordering -- you have to print and fax back the order form, but order fulfillment was fast, accurate and friendly. The catalog contains actual samples of their drawing and watercolor paper, so you can see what you're buying.
  


• Art Supplies from Rex Art Another meatspace mail order art supply dealer moving onto the web. "Search" button never seems to work, but the site is reasonably well laid out. Prices are on the high side for many items, but they do offer a good range of Richeson easels with free shipping -- a potential bargain. Huge paper catalog plus separate price list, $5.00 or free with order. Nice, personal email responses to questions and comments.