TurningArt

Was really put off by their change of ArtCredit use this last month. Essentially, the took away previously agreed use of Art Credits and reduced their value by 60%. See more here. http://www.traverselegal.com/internet-law/internet-law/turningart-com-to-customers-you-just-lost-your-artcredits/

Poster from the original art? Forget it...

At first I was really excited about turningart - netflix for art? Great idea! Getting good artwork is generally a serious investment, and it would be nice to "rent" art to see how much you like it.

My main problem with this site is that it does not provide clearly what exactly it was offering. What they don't offer is:
1) The "real art." This was expected since some of the pieces are priced at thousands of dollars, but this was not explicit on the site. I had to ask them on their facebook page exactly what I was getting, and they answered "a high quality print."

2) "a high quality print" - basically what ended up coming in the mail was a 12x14 POSTER with a 17X21 frame. Again, the size was also not given explicitly in the site, and I was NOT expecting something in a size more appropriate for my bathroom than my living room. Also, I was expecting at least something printed on canvas.

What made me upset was the lack of disclosure anywhere on their site on what you are getting. This whole thing is just such a disappointment and I feel a bit cheated. Who would pay $10 a month to rent a poster that probably costs $5 to print? I'm cancelling my service asap.

<update> so I was looking to cancel my subscription, but can't find the form to do so. I did find the info about what I was getting (small 12x14 print) on the FAQ section - I'm not sure why this info was not up front and center. Also found out that it was a $75 fee if you mess up the print. Great. Do yourself a favor and go and barnes and noble, buy a big book on art, tear the picture out and put it in a frame yourself.

I have researched the internet sites that can promote and sell MY art for the last 3 years. Turning art is the best. Hands down. Its obvious that they work to promote the work of their artists and the results show up in the form of a regular check. All artists want to be rewarded for their dedication, and this company does that. Will Birdwell---artist

I cannot praise Turningart, both the product itself and the people who work there, highly enough. After years of living in what amounted to a white box, I have transformed my small San Francisco apartment into a lovely place to live, thanks to Turningart. The concept, or at least its application, is innovative. The website itself is sleek and appealing, and it is easy to use. (I see that one reviewer did not find it so, but that was early in the game, and I have had none of the problems he mentions.) Turningart negates the investments of time and money that shopping for art usually requires, and the opportunity to live with the art before purchasing it diminishes the likelihood that such investment prove wasted. Customer service has been quick, personal, friendly, and effective. The selection is great; I for one usually request the work of local artists as a matter of principle, but the service allows for many different strategies for making choices. When I first subscribed, the service was already excellent, and in the fairly short time since, it has improved. The prints are in fact high quality (they are not mere "posters," at least not at this stage), and the last frame that came to my home is better than the first few I received. I am worried that I may need to move to a larger apartment to accommodate the great pieces I have and will rent and purchase in the future. I enthusiastically recommend this service!

I love this service--it's an affordable way to try out prints from different artists without having to make a big financial commitment towards one piece. You have the option to purchase the original work if you are interested, but I have not found a piece I want to commit to yet.

I only have two minor gripes:

1. The default frame they send out is cheap and not well made. For $10 a month, it might be unreasonable to expect more, though. It does the job and holds the prints without a problem. It's also very easy to switch out the prints, which is why I haven't purchased a separate frame yet.

2. The shipping seems a bit slow, if you have Netflix in mind as the example to follow.

On the positive side:

1. The packaging/shipping for the prints is well done--it's easy and intuitive to return old prints. Turning Art provides a good box and pre-paid shipping label. Basically, you just roll up the old print, stick it in the box, and slap on the shipping
Label. Super easy.

2. The website uses a Queue, like Netflix, and it's easy to navigate the site to filter the pieces down to what you want and add them to the queue. You can sort by color, type, subject, etc. I haven't found a way to search by artist, though, which I
Think would be a good addition. You can re-arrange the order of the prints in your queue and tell them how often you want new prints shipped. Mine is set to not ship until I request a new piece, and that has been working well for me.

For my needs, it's been well worth the $10 a month. I hooe they continue to add artists, as I always enjoy browsing the newest additions.