Shipping an artwork without bad surprises
The work is sold, the payment has cleared — now it has to arrive intact. Packing, carrier, insurance, delivery: what to prepare before handing an artwork to a carrier.
The shipment stays your responsibility to the end
Until the buyer has received the work, the problem is yours. This whole guide follows from that rule.
The risk is on you until delivery
In a distance sale to a consumer, French consumer law places the risk of loss or damage on the seller until the work is handed to the buyer. A lost or damaged parcel means a work to refund or replace — even when the carrier is at fault, the buyer turns to you. So the shipment deserves the same care as the sale itself: packing that truly protects, a carrier chosen with open eyes, and coverage that matches the value.
A “fragile” sticker protects nothing. It binds the carrier to nothing and changes nothing about compensation. What protects the work: the packing, the choice of carrier and the insurance. And photograph the work before and during packing — if damage occurs, those photos make the difference.
Pack as if the parcel were going to be dropped
It may well be. Serious packing assumes shocks, humidity and other parcels stacked on top.
Canvas or work on paper, no glass
Acid-free tissue paper or glassine against the painted surface — never bubble wrap in direct contact, it can leave marks. Foam corners, a “sandwich” between two rigid boards extending at least 5 cm past the edges, bubble wrap on top (bubbles facing out), then double-wall cardboard. Large canvas that can come off its stretcher: ship it rolled in a double tube, painted side out, not tight. The test: nothing should move when you shake the parcel.
Framed or glazed work
Glass travels so badly that fine art handlers remove it from the frame or replace it with plexiglass. If you keep it: criss-cross tape to hold shards in case of breakage, reinforced corners, double cardboard with padding. When possible, offer to ship without frame or glass — it is often the best protection.
Large formats and high value: the crate
Past roughly 120 cm on a side — or as soon as 45 × 60 cm for a framed work — cardboard is not enough: a wooden crate with 5 to 10 cm of foam padding protects against shocks and crushing. Lid screwed on, never nailed or glued, opening side marked. It is the standard in art transport — specialists build them to measure.
Sculpture and ceramics
Double boxing from about thirty centimetres or a few kilos: the piece immobilised in a first box, itself padded inside a larger one, top and bottom marked on every side. Protruding or fragile parts get protected separately. A piece that can move inside its parcel will arrive broken.
Before sealing the parcel: photos of the work, of the packing stages and of the closed parcel. Across the industry, these photos are often the condition for any compensation — and your proof of condition if a dispute arises.
Standard, broker or fine art shipper: choose for the work
There is no best carrier in the absolute — there is a transport suited to each work.
Postal services, UPS, DHL…
Simple and affordable for a work of moderate value. But their general terms exclude nearly all works of art: standard compensation is calculated by weight (23 €/kg with Colissimo) and several carriers make artworks travel “at the sender's own risk” — even when the parcel is accepted at the counter.
Shipping comparison services
Boxtal, Packlink and other brokers compare rates across carriers and offer additional insurance. Check its exclusions: works of art are almost always on the list — up to any work “that cannot be reproduced by the artist”. And a broker cannot cover what the underlying carrier excludes.
Fine art shippers
Made-to-measure crates, dedicated handling, insurance designed for artworks: the right framework for valuable pieces, large formats and international shipping. Some work mainly with galleries and institutions, others offer instant online quotes open to individuals. A benchmark: a local journey for a work under one metre generally runs between 90 and 150 € excl. VAT, crate not included.
A simple rule of thumb. Moderate value → standard carrier, very well packed, knowing the compensation limits. Valuable work, large format or long-distance shipment → fine art quote. In between → a broker, with insurance whose exclusions you have checked.
Insure the work at its real value
A carrier's default compensation has nothing to do with the selling price of an artwork.
Default compensation
Calculated by weight or capped at a flat amount, it ignores the real value: the standard French road-transport contract stops at 33 €/kg and 1,000 € per parcel, often less under the carrier's own terms. For a light painting sold at a good price, that is derisory — when the work is not simply excluded from coverage.
Declared value
Also called “ad valorem” insurance: you declare the work's value and pay a proportional premium — in the order of a few tenths of a percent of the declared value. In case of loss or damage, compensation is calculated on that basis. Always check that works of art are not excluded from the offer.
“Nail to nail” insurance
It covers the work from the moment it leaves your wall to the moment it hangs at the buyer's, packing and handling included. It is the art world's standard, offered by fine art shippers and specialist insurers — for a single journey, the premium counts in per-mille of the value.
If you carry studio insurance or professional liability cover, check whether it covers works in transit — it sometimes does, within limits.
Delivery, damage reports and the right of withdrawal
A serious shipment also plays out on arrival.
On delivery: open and check
Ask the buyer to examine the work upon receipt. If there is damage: precise remarks on the delivery note (“corner crushed, glass broken”, not “pending unpacking”), photos — and above all a reasoned protest sent to the carrier by registered letter within three days, public holidays excluded. Without that letter the recourse lapses: remarks alone are not legally sufficient.
The distance-selling right of withdrawal
For a distance sale by a professional seller to a consumer, the buyer in principle has 14 days to withdraw — a work made to order, clearly personalised, is an exception. State the rule and the return costs clearly in your terms: it is also a signal of seriousness.
Shipping outside France
Within the European Union, the work circulates freely. Beyond: a customs declaration, the invoice in a pouch on the outside of the parcel, the real value declared — never “gift” —, and possible duties and taxes payable by the buyer, to be announced in advance. Works by living artists under fifty years old require neither the French cultural goods export certificate nor the EU export licence, whatever their value.
Shipment tracking, attached to the sale
The shipment lives in the same thread as the payment and the documents.
Tracking on the sale record
Mark the sale as shipped: the shipping date is recorded and the status changes to “shipped”. You keep track of what left and when.
The documents travel ahead of the work
The invoice (or receipt) and the certificate of authenticity go out as soon as the payment clears. The buyer waits for the parcel with verifiable documents in hand — and the invoice serves as the customs document for shipments outside the EU.
A clean delivery address
Billing and delivery addresses are recorded on the sale: when you create the shipping label, you copy a verified address instead of retyping from a message.
What artists ask
Physically, yes — but read the general terms before shipping: most consumer services exclude works of art, which then travel “at the sender's own risk” even when the parcel is accepted. Colissimo's standard compensation is 23 €/kg and its declared-value option is capped at 1,000 € for individuals; above all, buying the insurance option does not lift an exclusion written into the terms. For a work of moderate value, very well packed, the risk can be taken knowingly — beyond that, switch to a fine art shipper.
For a common format well packed within France, count a few tens of euros with a standard carrier, depending on the parcel's weight and dimensions. With a fine art shipper, a local journey for a work under one metre generally runs between 90 and 150 € excl. VAT, a made-to-measure wooden crate adds 150 to 300 €, and international shipping is quoted case by case. The right reflex: establish the real cost before collecting payment, and build it into the price or bill it clearly to the buyer.
In a distance sale to a consumer, the seller bears the risk until delivery: you must refund or replace, then turn to the carrier. That recourse is capped — at best 33 €/kg and 1,000 € per parcel under the standard French contract, often less, sometimes nothing for a work of art excluded by the terms — unless you declared a value. Hence the three reflexes: photos before shipping, suitable insurance, and a registered letter to the carrier within three days if damage occurs.
Three avenues: the declared-value (ad valorem) option offered by some carriers and brokers — a premium in the order of a few tenths of a percent of the declared value —, the “nail to nail” insurance of fine art shippers and specialist insurers, which covers the whole journey including packing, and your studio insurance, whose transport or transit clause sometimes covers works on the move. In every case, read the exclusions: that is where works of art — unique ones especially — often disappear from coverage.
If you sell at a distance as a professional to a consumer, they in principle have a 14-day right of withdrawal after delivery, with no justification needed. Return costs can be theirs if your terms say so. One notable exception: a work made to order, clearly personalised, does not carry that right. State the rule in your sales terms rather than discovering it with the first return.
Within the EU, nothing special: the work circulates freely. Outside the EU, the parcel goes through customs with an invoice or declared value, and the buyer may have duties and taxes to pay on arrival — tell them before the sale. Good news for living artists: a work under fifty years old requires neither a cultural goods certificate nor an export licence, whatever its value. For a valuable work, a fine art shipper handles these formalities with you.
Related guides
Shipping is the last step of a well-run sale. Here are the previous ones.
Selling your artworks online
Reassure a remote buyer and close the sale cleanly.
Selling safely
The common scams — including the fake carrier to be paid up front.
Tracking your sales
Payment, documents, shipping: each sale keeps its full record.
Sale invoice
The document that backs the sale — and the parcel through customs outside the EU.
Ready all the way to delivery
Go Pro to follow each sale in one place: payment, invoice, certificate and shipment tracking shared with the buyer.