About half a year had passed since I started selling my illustrations overseas.
Of the several platforms I had registered with, FAA (Fine Art America) was the one that felt like it was actually “getting somewhere.”
Not that I’d sold anything — sales were still zero (tears). But my visitor count had reached 1,658 in total, and I could feel that people were actually looking at my work.
Then, one day, I suddenly couldn’t log in.
My battle to register with FAA, Part 1, is here
Previous entry: Overseas traffic to my blog, and what those “bots” really were
What this article covers
- What to check first if you suddenly can’t log in one day
- A real case showing how, with big overseas platforms, things can start — and end — with no explanation at all
- Why it matters not to depend on a single platform
At First, I Thought It Was Just a Glitch
I opened FAA as usual, and the screen was completely white. The address bar showed an unfamiliar page: “loginValidation2020.php”.
“Is my connection just bad?”
“The site’s probably just crowded.”
At first, I didn’t think much of it.
But even after waiting a while, there was no sign of improvement.
Time to ask AI for help!
The AI’s advice was to try accessing the site from a private (incognito) window, which is less affected by cookies and browser extensions.
So I did, and then…
“This account is closed.”
This is the message that appeared on the screen:
This account is closed. If you would like to re-enable it, please contact our technical support department by filling out the form on this page.
Wait — closed!?
For a moment, I couldn’t process it.
I had no idea of anything I might have done to violate the rules.
The only thing I could think of was that my account had zero sales and almost no activity.
But nobody sells right from the start. If accounts get closed for not selling, what are people just starting out overseas supposed to do? (tears)
Wondering if there might be a clue in my email from FAA, I went and checked.
But my email from FAA was arriving perfectly normally.
Still, that didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t use my account.
I Contacted Support, and Then…
I asked AI for help again, and it suggested contacting support.
So I sent an inquiry to Technical Support.
In it, I explained that I had no idea of any rule violation, and asked what the reason for the closure was and what I needed to do to get the account re-enabled.
Of course, I had Claude write the English for me (laughs).
Right away, an automated “Support Ticket Created” email arrived, and a ticket number was issued.
The email said they usually reply within a few hours.
But days went by, and no reply came.
(Oh, come on…)
“Am I seriously going to lose this account for good…?”
Then, one day, when I had half given up,
I casually opened my FAA profile page, and—
Huh? It’s working again, just like normal!
I could log in, my artworks were all still there, and my visitor count was displayed.
What’s more, my visitor count had actually gone up while the account was closed — from 1,658 to 1,733.
Wait, what on earth just happened??
In the End, I Never Found Out Why
The strangest part is that support never replied — not even once.
Why was it closed? And why did it come back?
Whether it was a false detection by their system, or the account had been temporarily suspended for some reason, I’ll never know now.
I’m glad it came back as if nothing had happened, but not knowing the reason leaves a nagging feeling (laughs).
Where things stand
Don’t Depend on a Single Platform
What this experience drove home for me was the risk of depending on an overseas platform.
I had spent half a year registering my artworks, and my visitors had been slowly growing. And all of that could disappear one day, without warning.
This time, my account came back. But there’s no guarantee it will next time.
That’s why I now think that listing my work on several platforms — not just FAA, but Redbubble, Zazzle, Displate and others — was the right decision after all.
It’s not just about “more places to sell.” It’s about making sure that if one place stops, you don’t lose everything.
I realized that in an overseas side business, this is an important strategy in its own right.
Still, FAA — you could at least have told me the reason (laughs).
You might also like: “Comparing 5 Overseas Illustration Platforms”
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