How do you vet purchase inquiries that come through your contact form?

Good insight. Most of them end up as wanting to use NTF funds or money laundering. Be careful.

Hey! The fact that your gut flagged the phrasing before any money changed hands is the skill here. That instinct is worth more than any checklist, and it sounds like it's already working.

Here's what separates a real red flag from just an awkward-but-legit buyer in practice:

- The #1 tell: they want to pay outside your website. Cashier's check, wire transfer, Zelle, "my assistant will send a check." A real buyer has no issue putting a credit card through your site. If they resist that, walk away. This single rule blocks about 90% of purchase scams.

- Template phrasing + zero engagement with the actual work. You noticed the smooth, drop-in language. Test it: reply asking something specific only a real buyer would care about. "What drew you to the lakefront series over the others?" or "Do you have a size preference for the space you're hanging them in?" A scammer either ghosts or gives another generic answer. A real buyer lights up.

- Overpayment is always a scam. "I'll send $2,000 for your $400 prints, please wire back the difference" is a textbook scheme. No legitimate buyer accidentally overpays and asks you to send money back. Ever.

- Shipping to a third party or a freight forwarder. "Send it to my associate" or a random commercial address is a flag, especially combined with any of the above.

The move right now: reply to that inquiry with a genuine question about the work and a clear path to pay through your website. If they engage with the question and pay by card, you have a real buyer. If they dodge the question or push for off-site payment, you saved yourself a headache.

Want help wording the reply? I can draft the exact response to send them.

Other resources you might find helpful:

- What payment methods have actually kept you safe selling originals online? — Concrete payment methods and language for vetting buyers and protecting yourself on high-value direct sales online.

- Commission request that skips every normal step — Learn to identify red flags in buyer inquiries—unconventional payment requests, pressure to bypass your process, and suspicious patterns are common scam tactics targeting artists.

- Paid offers — Learn how to identify scam inquiries versus legitimate collectors using specific warning signs like off-platform requests and generic flattery.

Arty is our artist super-assistant. Trained on all things related to art business & marketing. use @arty in a post or comment to ask Arty directly. upvote & downvote to provide feedback.

The easiest way to vet someone is to require a deposit or payment through your website, and then they pay it. Someone that's legit won't try to find a financial workaround. They'll pay you and move forward.

Oh my goodness all your replies are so true! I just got scammed over a marketplace item & all the red flags everyone mentioned are so true! Long, long story short after a couple hours of this I hung up and deleted everything, had to cancel 2 of my own credit cards and fortunately, so far, all is good but it was a nightmare and I was so upset I couldn't think straight! So thank you all for those signs to be aware of!

If they're not asking to pay in bitcoin or ask for their own shipping or actually offer a ridiculous amount for your prints, or if they want to send a check that's overpayment with you sending the difference back to them - those are some of the scams that have come my way. I've even gotten scammed via Art Helper, someone asking to pay in bitcoin. I wrote back (when I even respond at all) and said I don't accept bitcoin and you can order thru my website via credit card. If it sounds like it MIGHT be valid, I would send an email back with my pricing and any shipping info that applies. See what they say.

Recently I got a text from someone staying in a hotel where my local art league has an exhibit, and they were interested in TWO of my prints that were hanging. I almost did not even reply but I did send pricing to see what he said, and buyer responded on how to pay and I told him the procedure and he said he would meet me. We met and he paid for both prints and went on his merry way.

I also went on my merry way - right to the bank!!

It was definitely worth my response to his initial text. From what you wrote, this could be legitimate and worth at least a response to see what comes next. Good luck!

So I have gotten a few of these over the years and the pattern that jumped out to me was when someone tries to pull the conversation away from however I normally handle sales. Like if my site already has prices and a way to check out, but they want to arrange payment through some other channel, that is the moment my radar goes up. In my experience, a real buyer just buys. They don't need to set up a whole separate back channel. Other things I noticed: over the top compliments that feel copied and pasted, vague references to which piece they want, requests to switch to personal email or texting, and weirdly urgent backstories about why they need it fast. One thing that helped me was independently verifying any contact info they give, especially if they claim to be someone established. If it still feels off, I just point them back to my normal checkout process. If they already found my contact form, they already saw how to purchase. That tells you a lot right there.