Nearly every platform an independent artist considers falls into one of three fundamentally different business models, not just three different fee schedules. Understanding which model a platform actually uses, before comparing specific percentages or prices, makes every other comparison in this series easier to interpret. Here’s the three-model breakdown, and where Immibrand’s own approach actually sits.
This guide is meant as a reference point to return to whenever a new platform’s fee page feels confusing on its own, since the confusion almost always traces back to comparing across models rather than within one.
In this article:
- Three Fundamentally Different Selling Models
- How Commission Marketplaces Work
- How Print-on-Demand Marketplaces Work
- How Build-Your-Own Storefronts Work
- Where Immibrand Fits: A Sliding Commission With a $0 POD Option
- Choosing a Model Based on What You’re Actually Selling
- Best For
- Frequently Asked Questions
Three Fundamentally Different Selling Models
This isn’t just an academic distinction, it’s the single most useful lens for evaluating any new platform an artist comes across, before ever looking at a specific fee number. Every marketplace or storefront platform an artist encounters is really running one of three underlying business models, each with its own cost structure and its own trade-offs. Confusing one model’s math for another’s is the most common mistake when comparing platforms, since a percentage that sounds high in one model might be entirely normal in another.
Why the Distinction Matters More Than Any Single Number
A 40% commission sounds alarming next to a 0% transaction fee, until you realize the 0% fee comes with a separate monthly subscription and the 40% commission comes with none. Comparing the headline number alone, without the underlying model, leads to the wrong conclusion almost every time.
The Same Mistake Runs in the Other Direction Too
A seemingly generous 0% commission can also mask a real cost elsewhere, a product-count-gated subscription, a markup ceiling, or a traffic problem an artist has to solve entirely on their own. Neither direction of comparison works without first identifying which of the three underlying models is actually in play.
How Commission Marketplaces Work
Commission marketplaces (Saatchi Art, Singulart, Artfinder, UGallery) take a percentage of each completed sale, typically ranging from 40% to 50% of the sale price, sometimes paired with a modest recurring subscription fee. In exchange, the artist gets access to the platform’s own curated buyer traffic and, in several cases, editorial features or dedicated support built around selling original art specifically. Individual platforms within this group still differ meaningfully from each other beyond the shared model, in application requirements, exclusivity terms, and exactly what marketing support is actually provided, worth comparing platform by platform rather than treating the group as interchangeable.
The Trade-Off Built Into This Model
The percentage is high because the platform is doing real work to generate qualified buyer traffic and, often, to actively curate and market specific pieces, not simply hosting a listing passively. Whether that trade genuinely pays off depends on how much of that traffic an individual artist’s specific style and pricing actually converts, which varies considerably from one artist to the next.
Curation Sometimes Comes Bundled With the Commission
The curated vs open platforms guide covers this specific trade-off in depth, several commission marketplaces gate their best traffic and editorial features behind an application or acceptance process, meaning the commission isn’t just paying for hosting, it’s also paying for the platform’s ongoing curatorial and marketing effort.
How Print-on-Demand Marketplaces Work
Print-on-demand marketplaces (Redbubble, Fine Art America, Society6, Minted, ArtPal) work on a fundamentally different unit of measurement: instead of taking a percentage of the full sale price, they take a share of the artist’s own markup on top of a fixed production cost the platform itself sets. This is why POD commission percentages can look deceptively low or even 0%, the real cost often sits inside how much markup room the artist actually gets, not in a separate commission line. Some platforms in this group set the base production cost themselves and let the artist add any markup on top, while others cap how much markup an artist can actually charge, a meaningful difference worth checking platform by platform.
Why Markup-Based Math Confuses Direct Comparison
The zero-commission platforms guide covers this specific confusion in depth, a 0% commission on markup isn’t the same thing as a free sale, since production cost, shipping, and processing fees still apply underneath it.
Fulfillment Quality Varies Across This Group
Beyond the fee structure itself, POD marketplaces differ meaningfully in production quality, shipping speed, and how much control an artist retains over final pricing, worth comparing on its own terms rather than assuming every platform in this group is functionally identical once the fee model is understood.
How Build-Your-Own Storefronts Work
Build-your-own platforms (Squarespace, Shopify, Big Cartel, ArtStorefronts) charge a recurring subscription, sometimes paired with a per-transaction fee, in exchange for a fully independent, branded site the artist controls completely. None of these platforms provide built-in buyer traffic, every visitor has to be brought in through the artist’s own marketing or existing following.
Cost Scales With Time or Catalog Size, Not With Sales
Unlike the other two models, where cost is tied directly to a completed sale, this group’s cost typically exists regardless of whether anything actually sells that month, whether that’s a flat monthly fee or one tied to how many products are listed.
Where Immibrand Fits: A Sliding Commission With a $0 POD Option
Immibrand doesn’t fit neatly into a single one of these three models, it deliberately blends elements of two of them. On original art, Immibrand uses a sliding commission (10-20% depending on sale price) closer to the commission-marketplace model, but at a meaningfully lower rate than the 40-50% typical of that group. On print-on-demand, Immibrand charges $0 platform commission, meaning the seller’s markup isn’t reduced by a platform cut at all, though production cost, shipping, discounts, and payment processing still apply the same as on any POD sale. There’s no recurring subscription fee in either case, unlike the build-your-own group.
Why a Blend Instead of Picking One Model
Original art and print-on-demand products have genuinely different cost structures underneath them, a single fee model applied uniformly to both would either overcharge one category or undercharge the other. Matching the fee structure to what’s actually being sold, rather than forcing one flat rule across both, is the reasoning behind treating them differently.
Choosing a Model Based on What You’re Actually Selling
An artist selling primarily original, one-of-a-kind work benefits most from weighing commission-marketplace percentages against the traffic and curation they provide. An artist leaning heavily on print-on-demand products should focus comparisons on markup and production cost, not headline commission percentage. An artist with an existing following and a preference for full site control may get more value from a build-your-own platform’s fixed cost structure instead.
Many Artists End Up Mixing Models
It’s common, and often sensible, for an artist to sell original work through one channel while offering print-on-demand versions of select images through another, rather than treating the choice as permanent or exclusive. The three models aren’t mutually exclusive commitments, they’re tools that can be combined based on what a given piece or product actually needs.
Best For
Understanding these three models first makes every individual platform comparison in this series easier to read correctly, rather than comparing unlike numbers as if they measured the same thing. This framework is worth returning to any time a new platform is being evaluated, well beyond the specific platforms named in this article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a lower commission percentage always the better deal?
Not necessarily, the underlying model matters more than the number itself, a 0% POD commission and a 40% original-art commission aren’t directly comparable without understanding what each percentage is actually calculated against.
Which model does Immibrand use?
A blend: sliding 10-20% commission on original art, and $0 platform commission on print-on-demand, with no recurring subscription fee in either case.
Do build-your-own platforms provide any buyer traffic?
No, an artist using a standalone storefront platform has to generate all their own traffic through marketing or an existing following.
Why do print-on-demand commissions look so much lower than original-art commissions?
Because they’re calculated against a different base, markup on top of a fixed production cost, rather than the full sale price, which naturally produces lower-looking percentages.
Can an artist use more than one of these models at once?
Yes, many artists sell original work through a commission marketplace while also offering print-on-demand products, or maintain an independent site alongside a marketplace presence.
Is one model objectively better than the others?
No, each fits a different combination of product type, existing audience, and how much control versus built-in traffic an artist actually needs.
Does Immibrand charge a recurring subscription fee?
No, Immibrand doesn’t charge a recurring subscription in either the original-art or print-on-demand model, unlike the build-your-own storefront group.
Can an artist sell both original art and POD products on the same platform?
Yes, this is common, and Immibrand’s blended fee structure specifically accounts for both categories having their own appropriate cost model rather than forcing one flat rule across both.
Ready to try a model that blends sliding commission with $0 POD fees? Sign up to sell on Immibrand, it’s free to start.
