Painting by gallery artist Keith Davis.
Renting and rent to own “high art” is nothing new. Galleries in L.A., Chicago and Seattle have been doing it successfully for years. Traditional rent to own stores have been renting to own art for decades. But, is now the time for gallery-level art to hit national distribution and demand? One company, GetArtUp, is testing the timing.
The Y generation that is now coming into their independence have a higher sense of their standard of living that lends itself to a renters attitude. GetArtUp is the first (that ShopRTO knows of) that is taking the web to reach out to the country to help decorate homes with original art.
Based out of San Francisco, GetUpArt feels good about their prospect with the launch “going well!”. They’re trying to keep the concept simple by offering art that is under $10,000 and at a standard $55 monthly rental.
If the customer wants to own then 50% of their previous payments go towards ownership. The 50% formula is a little different to traditional rent to own that offers a 50% of the remaining payments towards ownership.
GetArtUp also works as traditional rent to own where you’re never obligated to make the next payment and can return at any time for any reason.
Renting art has always been a successful concept but never nationally at a gallery level. Renting home furniture and art gives consumers and decorators a great advantage of the “try before you buy” option especially when it comes to art. And swapping out art on a periodic basis gives a great decorating element of a fresh, new home each time a new piece is delivered.
ShopRTO will be looking closely at this concept. If it works, it could create a whole new element to home decorating, access to gallery art and the image of renting and rent to own for the home.
Just another ShopRTO Home Decorating tip.
