Communication with artists through the messaging system
As part of your browsing experience on our site, you have the ability to contact artists directly via our direct messaging system.
You can contact artists for any of the below reasons:
- To ask further questions about a specific artwork, size, price, or any associated shipping costs/questions you may have prior to purchasing.
- To make an offer on an artwork (if the artist has allowed this feature on their shop).
- To commission an artist for a bespoke artwork (if the artist has allowed this feature on their shop).
- To discuss any order questions you may have after purchase.
- To notify the artist of a problem with your delivery or order, such as delays, damages or custom charges.
- For information exchange with artists you have ordered from and want to keep in touch with.
How do I contact an artist?
For a detailed guide on how to contact an artist using our messaging system, please check our Knowledge Base Article here.
Where can I access my messages?
Messages can be accessed from your message inbox here https://www.artfinder.com/messages/inbox/#/, but kindly note that in order to view messages you will need to first be logged in.
You can also access messages directly by login into your Artfinder account and clicking on the account icon (top right hand corner of the page), then selecting “Messages”.
Can an artist contact me directly?
No, artists on Artfinder are unable to contact customers unless they have been contacted first.
I used guest checkout, how will I know I have a message?
You will receive an email notification (from info@artfinder.com) advising you that a new message has been received. You will then be able to access the message by clicking the link on the email, which will prompt you to first login.
If you used guest checkout and do not have a password, you can reset this by clicking “forgot password” on the login page.
Are there any restrictions on what I can discuss via messages?
Messages are for you to discuss with artists freely, however we ask that you do not discuss/request artists details to purchase artworks outside of Artfinder, as this goes against our Terms and Conditions and could result in the artist being suspended from our platform.
Please also note that phone numbers, website links and email addresses may be blocked by our system and will therefore show as [BLOCKED] on your messages. If you need us to transfer your email address or other contact details to an artist, please contact customers@artfinder.com and we will forward this to them for you.
Can I send attachments via the messaging system?
Yes, if you need to send the artist images you are able to do so. It is important to note that attachments don't show on the message when you add them, they will only show once the message is sent (they then show on the message as an attachment).
The artist has not seen my message, what do I do?
Although we encourage our artists to check their messages as often as possible, and notify them of new messages in their inbox, some may take a little longer to get back to you, mostly due to being busy painting/managing their orders. We have artists located around the globe so it is also important to remember than an artist you contact may be in a different timezone and may therefore take longer to respond.
We advise you to give at least 48 hours (unless urgent) for artists to respond and if you have not heard back from them, to let us know via customers@artfinder.com and we will contact them directly, to relay your message.
Due to the volume of messages and number of artists on our site, we will not be able to facilitate all communications between buyers and sellers via emails, so we encourage you to familiarise yourself with our messaging system, but we will always be on hand to assist if an artist is being unresponsive.
An artist was rude to me via message, what can I do?
Our artists are professional and friendly people so you should not face such an issue when messaging them. It is however important to remember that a lot of our artists do not use English as their first language and sometimes, this can lead to misunderstandings, as online messaging does not always accurately convey tone.
If you feel that an artist has been unprofessional or rude in their communications with you, please let us know and we will be able to look into this further.
Kindly note that if an artist behaves untowardly towards a customer, we will of course take the necessary actions. It is also important to note that we will also not tolerate abusive messages to our artists and ask that you please keep communications constructive and respectful as much as possible.