Andrii Zhyvodorov is an entrepreneur who specializes in selling paintings abroad. His family brand, UkrainianVintageCo, has been specializing in antiques for over 30 years, offering its clients canvases by Ukrainian artists, unique paintings from private collections, and numerous authentic handcrafted items. The store owners aim not only to showcase Ukraine's rich historical culture to the world but also to support Ukrainian artists who often struggle to find ways to sell their work.
Before diving into the painting business, Andrii sold traditional clothing for a long time, including handcrafted vintage embroidered shirts from the 1920s and 1930s. However, organizing a remote sales process from Kyiv for these items was rather inconvenient. Eventually, Andrii turned his interest towards paintings.
"My father always took me to museums, and we happily visited all the new exhibitions. You could say I absorbed my love for paintings with my mother's milk. I was accustomed to this from early childhood. I even tried painting myself for a while, but I quickly lost interest, yet my love for paintings never faded," Andrii recounts.
The painting business began with helping his father, who collected art pieces. Everything was great in 2007-2008, but then the global crisis hit, demand dropped, and sales plummeted along with it.
"Paintings aren't necessities like bread or water. They're not mandatory purchases. I saw that my father had many paintings that were just lying around collecting dust. Eventually, he started selling them at a loss, just to get some money back. That depressed me. Then my girlfriend started painting. She heard about Etsy and asked me to see if her works could be sold there. I began researching what was in demand and realized that many people were looking for paintings similar to the ones piled up in my father’s studio," Andrii explains.
He decided to give it a shot. Following Etsy's standards, he took high-quality photos, wrote detailed, meaningful descriptions for each product, and created appropriate listings in the store. The results were immediate, and the brand UkrainianVintageCo found its niche.
Soon, Andrii realized that other collectors were facing similar problems. On the recommendation of his colleagues, artists began turning to him for help in selling their canvases. That's how, not through market research but through direct need, he became actively involved in selling paintings.
The law in Ukraine states that paintings created after 1950 can be sold and shipped without special documents. However, in practice, sending them abroad was not without problems. Paintings were returned, and delivery deadlines were disrupted due to customs delays.
"Customs officials explained to us that they couldn't determine the age of the paintings and therefore couldn't allow the goods to cross the border. Previously, art experts were involved in this assessment, but now there are no specially trained people at customs. Even portraits we painted on commission based on photographs were categorized as potential forgeries, even when it was obvious to the naked eye that the painting was created recently, not a century ago," Andrii says.
To avoid customs issues and obtain a special conclusion allowing the smooth crossing of the border, it was necessary to visit a museum or the Ministry of Culture for each painting. This was even more challenging for artists from small towns without the necessary specialists. In such cases, people had to travel to the regional center with their painting in hand, submit a request, and wait 2-3 days to receive the conclusion.
"The complexity of the procedure significantly complicates life for both the artist and the store, but we currently have no alternative. We have to work under these conditions and hope that someday the process of obtaining permission will become simpler, more in line with the experience of European countries," Andrii explains.
In addition to obtaining special permission, there are also difficulties in shipping paintings. Depending on their size, store employees decide how the artwork will be sent to the customer. For instance, small paintings are sent on stretchers, wrapped in ten layers of film, MDF, cardboard, and bubble wrap. If the painting is larger than a meter, it is safer to send it rolled up. Furthermore, the store sends paintings with frames, packing them even more carefully, especially if the frame is vintage.
"For shipments, we often use UPS and FedEx via Western Bid. According to our calculations, other logistic companies lose 5 to 10% of parcels in transit. That's why, when the shipping cost exceeds a certain amount, we only send parcels via UPS and FedEx. Of course, this makes shipping a single parcel more expensive, but overall, the losses are greater when a parcel is lost than with a slight overpayment," Andrii shares.
If a parcel does get lost in transit or is damaged, regardless of the circumstances, the store fully refunds the customer.
"We don't just give the tracking number to the customer and say, 'Your problem now.' The client planned this purchase, imagined where the painting would hang in their home, etc. Moreover, platforms like Etsy don't allow us to simply dismiss a problematic sale. Secondly, we, as the seller, haven't fulfilled our function. If the postal service didn't deliver, that's not the customer's problem, but ours," Andrii asserts.
Despite the losses, from which no business is immune, UkrainianVintageCo always strives to give its clients more than they expect when placing an order. Of course, this is all done within reasonable limits, as the primary goal of the company is to make a profit. But even so, the seller includes a small drawing, sketch, picture, "Love is" chewing gum, or postcards with each painting. These postcards are always hand-signed by the employees, rather than printed.
"Of course, there are fraudsters or people who, for one reason or another, don't like something. At first, I was very worried about this. But then I talked to a very successful businessman, and he said something to me: 'Don't worry about it. This will always happen. Every company sets aside 10% for various force majeure events, losses, fraudsters, and so on.' So yes, troubles happen, some customers start to blackmail us, threatening to leave a bad review, etc. We take it in stride because we understand that, unfortunately, problems will always be there," Andrii says.
Stories that give life meaning
To date, the brand UkrainianVintageCo has sold more than ten thousand paintings abroad. The store's assortment consists of paintings by Ukrainian artists and canvases from the personal collections of Andrii, his father, and other collectors who have been collecting artworks for 20-25 years.
"Many artists who have painted all their lives don't know what to do with the finished works. They intuitively feel how to convey a certain emotion or feeling through the image, but, unfortunately, they don't know how to sell them. In this regard, we help each other. Artists focus on creativity, and we sell the paintings abroad, deal with issues of documentary sale formalities, logistics, transactions, disputes, returns, and similar matters. That's our job," Andrii explains.
Currently, about 35 artists work with the store. Most of them are over fifty years old and have dedicated their lives to painting. Unlike the younger generation, it's difficult for older people to promote their work themselves, build websites, and use Facebook and Instagram as trading platforms. However, even young artists often turn to Andrii for help.
"Artists live in their own separate world. For them, shipments, transactions, phones, computers, and especially dealing with English, can be extremely challenging. But don't think that by selling paintings we fundamentally changed the life of any artist. Not at all. To ensure sales, a lot needs to be invested in advertising. SEO and keyword search only contribute to 50% of the success. The other 50% comes from active promotion, which requires additional time. So, if a person has, say, ten paintings, the results won't be there. That's exactly why we work with artists who have a large number of paintings."
One of the artists working with Andrii has been painting since his youth, just like his late brother and father. He lives in a small town in a tiny two-room apartment, where even sleeping is difficult, let alone moving around. The entire space is occupied by paintings that have accumulated over the years but were hardly sold. The owner, of course, couldn't just throw away his works, into which he had put so much effort.
"Before getting to know us, this artist managed to sell only a very small number of paintings. We, on the other hand, have already sold his works for 30-35 thousand dollars. With such success, the man regained the desire to create, he made plans, and actively began to paint new pieces. Before, he used to say, 'What's the point of painting if nothing sells?' So, in a way, we revived his artistic youth," Andrii notes.
Andrii also mentions that the entire team is greatly motivated by the reactions of their clients. "A painting is always an emotional gift. People often face the problem of what to give to someone who, in principle, has everything. And when we talk about an American family, they are provided with all the essentials at a domestic level. So, typically, our clients are looking for unusual, heartfelt gifts."
The store receives a wide variety of requests. For example, a landscape reminiscent of the place where someone's childhood was spent might be requested for a person who is involved in a certain type of sport. Or a wife, who has been living with her husband for 40 years, might order a painting of the house they dearly loved, where they spent their youth and shared most of their happy moments.
"By paying 200-300 dollars, our clients receive priceless emotions. Their joy inspires and motivates us to continue working. We had a very interesting story with several artists. They were convinced that their paintings were unsuccessful, wanted to repaint them or even throw them away. And suddenly, a client appeared for whom a painting reminded him of his young years. As a result, everyone was satisfied: the artist who was about to repaint, and the buyer who had been searching for a painting of that particular theme for a long time and even subscribed to a mailing list for a specific keyword. Just like that - the painting appeared for him. It turned out great!"
After February 24th 2022 (After the War Began)
The first weeks after the start of the full-scale invasion paralyzed any work. The schemes that the store had been operating on for years were paralyzed. The team was saved by the support of western partners. Since UkrainianVintageCo primarily focused on quality service, many people looked up the store based on their previous purchases just to offer their support.
"Clients wrote that they didn't need the painting, they just wanted to support us, so here's the money. They assured that it would be fine if the possibility to send the package arose, but if not, it was no big deal. Of course, all this helped us tremendously. With such support, we didn't lose hope and believed that the business would survive these difficult times."
Despite clients' assurances that orders didn't need to be sent, the store still fulfilled its obligations. "We represent Ukraine, so it was important for us not to appear as beggars just receiving money. Of course, we could have waited for the complete de-occupation of the northern and northeastern regions, but we didn't. As soon as the opportunity arose, we immediately sent everything we had planned to send."
Cities Uzhhorod and Lviv were among the first to resume international shipments. Andrii was actively searching for people traveling to Western Ukraine to transport paintings and then, on-site, he looked for new individuals to forward the parcels to Europe, and from there, by mail to the USA. The process became simpler later on, with the ability to dispatch from the Poltava region.
"This cost us a lot. We rented a vehicle, carried parcels to the neighboring region just to send them via Ukrposhta. Sometimes they demanded documents for the shipment of paintings, but no museums or ministries were operational, making it physically impossible to obtain the necessary permits. So, we shipped blindly. Some items returned, but we had no other option."
At that time, the main office of UkrainianVintageCo, which was located in the city of Romny, Sumy region, was under occupation. Parcels could only be transported out during green corridors. After the de-occupation, Nova Poshta resumed operation, transporting every five days, and within a month and a half, Ukrposhta started working stably. Parcel shipments became regular.
"From the first days of the full-scale war, I tried to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine in any way I could. Initially, I was transferring money, but soon I realized that I didn't feel satisfied with just that. I wanted to do more, to help hands-on. I joined people at blockposts and groups mixing Molotov cocktails. In a day, we could make 30,000 incendiary mixtures. And although this was gratifying because I knew I was protecting my family and country, I still felt that I was not doing what I should be."
Eventually, Andrii decided to focus on the business. He had a large customer base that constantly wrote to him, as well as artists with whom he worked and who depended on the store.
"The artists have families, friends fighting at the front, and in need of financial support. So we decided to get back to work. We didn't think about developing the store, researching new platforms, about SEO, or about the changes that could be applied. There was free time, so my team started blocking enemy channels on Telegram and Instagram. It was chaotic, but I understood that if we had the opportunity to sell, that's exactly what we should be doing, to support the artists and the Ukrainian economy that suffered from the war."
When Andrii was looking for a financial intermediary, he considered many options. He had heard a lot of good things about Western Bid and was already considering working specifically with them. However, the collaboration between the store and the company did not start immediately.
I needed to transfer money from certain partners. Western Bid listened to me and said that other companies would charge significantly higher prices. Moreover, they indicated they wouldn't work with me due to the transaction size. I began looking for a service, but the level of support significantly differed. However, I agreed because I had no choice. I missed Western Bid. They responded quickly, provided feedback, recommendations, advice, and always resolved any issues.
Andrii faced serious problems with one company. He couldn't withdraw about $10,000 from his account. Initially, the company demanded certain documents, then continuously invented new requirements. Eventually, they said they would withdraw the money within six months.
"We agreed that they would send the money back to my partners, and our cooperation would end there. But still, they managed to withdraw $700 after 7 months. At that time, the director of external communications, Oleksandr Radich, was of great help. I consulted with him about whether it was possible to receive these payments through Western Bid in the future."
Since then, Andrii has been working with Western Bid on a permanent basis. He likes that the company never stands still, is constantly evolving, trying new things, even if some innovations don't meet expectations.
"I've worked with other companies, so I have something to compare it to, and Western Bid's commitment to constant development says a lot about the company. Specifically, about its desire to give its clients more than they expect."