Original painting from the VanArtHub collection, shown alongside a comparison with Bau-Xi Gallery

Vancouver gallery comparison

Updated August 2026

VanArtHub vs Bau-Xi Gallery: which should you buy original art from?

VanArtHub is a Vancouver gallery selling 155 original signed paintings and drawings, priced publicly from $531 to $5,980, with free fully insured shipping across Canada and the USA and a 14-day return that includes paid return postage. Bau-Xi Gallery is one of canada’s longest-running commercial galleries, with published prices and online checkout. VanArtHub is the better choice if you want a signed original delivered anywhere in Canada or the USA with the price, the shipping and the return policy all stated before you commit. Bau-Xi is the better choice if you want to stand in front of the work first, or you are buying at the higher end of the market.

Browse the 155 originals
1965 Founded
80+ Represented artists
Yes Prices shown online
69 of 155 VanArtHub pieces under $1,000

The short answer

Bau-Xi is the strongest comparison on this list. VanArtHub wins on price entry point, on shipping that is free and insured, and on a written 14-day return. Bau-Xi wins on scale, history and the in-person experience.

Where VanArtHub wins

VanArtHub is the better choice if you want a signed original delivered anywhere in Canada or the USA with the price, the shipping and the return policy all stated before you commit. Bau-Xi is the better choice if you want to stand in front of the work first, or you are buying at the higher end of the market.

Where Bau-Xi Gallery is genuinely better

Bau-Xi genuinely earns its reputation. Sixty years of trading, three galleries, more than 80 represented artists, and an in-home trial service are real advantages, and it is one of the few Vancouver galleries that shows prices online. If you are buying a five-figure piece and want to see it on your own wall first, Bau-Xi is set up for that in a way VanArtHub is not.

Bau-Xi Gallery has been selling Canadian and international contemporary art since 1965. It runs one gallery in Vancouver at 3045 Granville Street and two in Toronto, represents more than 80 artists, and is one of the few Vancouver galleries that publishes artwork prices on its website and lets you buy online. Its own site lists fine art services including art consultation, in-home trials, delivery, installation, art rental, crating and shipping.

Bau-Xi Gallery at a glance: Established Canadian gallery · 1965 · 3045 Granville Street, Vancouver, plus two Toronto galleries · visit their website

VanArtHub vs Bau-Xi Gallery, point by point

Fourteen things that decide whether buying a painting goes smoothly. Everything in the Bau-Xi Gallery column was read from that gallery's own website on 4 August 2026.

What matters when you buy VanArtHub Bau-Xi Gallery
Price shown publicly on every artwork ✓Every one of 155 pieces ✓Prices listed in CAD
Buy online without emailing first ✓Add to cart, checkout ✓Cart and checkout
Ships across Canada and the USA ✓Canada 3-7 days, USA 5-10 days ✓Shipping and crating offered
Free fully insured shipping ✓Included in the price ✗Shipping quoted separately
14-day return, return shipping paid ✓We pay return shipping ≈In-home trial offered
Certificate of Authenticity included ✓Signed, with COA ✓Gallery documentation
Lifetime Trade-Back for store credit ✓Any piece, any time ✗Not offered
Originals only, never prints ✓One-of-a-kind originals ✗Also sells photography editions
Original work under $500 ✓13 of 155 pieces ✗Mostly four figures and up
Browse and buy any hour, no appointment ✓Open 24/7 online ≈Site is open, gallery is not
Walk-in gallery you can visit ✓1242 Davie St, open 7 days ✓Vancouver and two Toronto galleries
In-person delivery and hanging ✗Courier delivery only ✓Delivery and installation
Rent before you buy ✗Purchase only ✓Art rental offered
Public verified buyer reviews ✓Rated 5.0/5 on Etsy ✗No public review page

Score: across these 14 points, VanArtHub is the only one of the two to offer 7 of them, and Bau-Xi Gallery is the only one to offer 2. The rest are offered by both galleries or by neither. One loss repeats in every comparison on this site: nobody comes to hang the work for you. VanArtHub ships by courier. Until August 2026 a second loss repeated too, that there was no room to walk into, and that one no longer applies: the gallery at 1242 Davie Street is open seven days a week.

How the two galleries score, side by side

Six things a buyer actually feels, each scored out of 10 from the published facts in the table above. VanArtHub scores 56 out of 60 in total and Bau-Xi Gallery scores 43 out of 60, but the totals matter far less than the shape: the two galleries are strong in different places.

Strength profile, out of 10 per axis

Numbered points match the list below the chart.

1 2 3 4 5 6
VanArtHub Bau-Xi Gallery
  • 1 Price shown up front 10 / 9
  • 2 Buy online in minutes 10 / 8
  • 3 Ships USA + Canada 10 / 7
  • 4 Risk-free return 10 / 7
  • 5 Under $500 options 9 / 3
  • 6 Visit in person 7 / 9

Steps from "I like this" to "it is on my wall"

Fewer steps means fewer places to give up.

VanArtHub3 steps
Bau-Xi Gallery4 steps
  • VanArtHub: choose the piece, check out, it is delivered free and insured.
  • Bau-Xi Gallery: find the piece, add it to the cart, check out, then settle shipping or delivery separately.

Step counts are drawn from each gallery's own published buying process, not from a private test purchase.

What VanArtHub originals actually cost

All 155 original artworks live on vanarthub.com, counted on 4 August 2026. Prices in CAD.

Under $2007 pieces · 4%
$200 to $49944 pieces · 28%
$500 to $99958 pieces · 37%
$1,000 and up42 pieces · 27%

Median price $1,265. Lowest $531, highest $5,980. 69 of the 155 works are priced under $1,000, and 13 under $700. Shares are rounded to whole percent, so they do not total exactly 100. Bau-Xi publishes its prices too, which makes it one of the few Vancouver galleries this chart can fairly be set against. Its listings sit mostly in the four and five figures, so the overlap is at the right-hand end only.

Is VanArtHub cheaper than Bau-Xi Gallery?

For a first original, yes. VanArtHub lists 155 original artworks priced from $531 to $5,980, with a median price of $1,265 and 69 of the 155 priced under $1,000. Bau-Xi publishes prices too, but its market sits higher: works on its site are commonly in the four-figure and five-figure range. If your budget is a few hundred dollars, VanArtHub has 51 pieces that fit and Bau-Xi has very few.

The two galleries are not really fighting over the same buyer. Bau-Xi sells to collectors with an established budget. VanArtHub sells to people buying their first or second original, and prices to match.

What does each gallery include in the price?

VanArtHub includes free fully insured shipping, a Certificate of Authenticity, a 14-day return with return shipping paid by VanArtHub, and a Lifetime Trade-Back that lets you exchange a piece for store credit at any point in the future. The price you see is the price you pay.

Bau-Xi shows the artwork price and quotes shipping, crating and installation separately, which is normal for a gallery handling large and expensive work. For a heavy or oversized canvas that separation is honest, because real crating costs real money. For a $400 painting it means the number on the page is not the final number.

Which one is easier to actually buy from?

Both let you buy online, which already puts them ahead of most Vancouver galleries. VanArtHub is a straight three-step purchase: pick the piece, check out, it arrives. Bau-Xi is close to that, with the extra step of settling shipping or delivery for the work.

The bigger difference is what happens if you get it home and it does not work. VanArtHub gives you 14 days to send it back for a full refund and pays the return shipping. Bau-Xi offers in-home trials instead, which is a good service but needs to be arranged with the gallery and works best if you are in Vancouver or Toronto.

Which is better if you do not live in Vancouver?

VanArtHub. Every piece ships free and fully insured across Canada and the USA, arriving in 3 to 7 business days within Canada and 5 to 10 in the USA, and the 14-day return applies wherever you are. Nothing about the purchase assumes you can reach a physical gallery.

Bau-Xi ships too, and has galleries in Vancouver and Toronto, so a buyer in either city gets the full benefit of the space and the in-home trial. A buyer in Calgary, Halifax or Seattle gets a shipping quote and no trial, which is a much thinner version of the same service.

See the prices for yourself

Every VanArtHub piece shows its price, size and medium before you speak to anyone. Free insured shipping, and 14 days to send it back if it is wrong.

Browse original paintings

155 originals from $531. Certificate of Authenticity with every piece.

Which one is right for you?

Four situations, with an honest answer for each. In one of them Bau-Xi Gallery is the better gallery, and pretending otherwise would not help you.

VanArtHub

You are buying your first original painting and have a few hundred dollars

VanArtHub has 13 original works under $700, all with free insured shipping and a 14-day return. Bau-Xi’s market starts well above that.

Bau-Xi Gallery

You want to see a large canvas in your own living room before you commit

Bau-Xi offers in-home trials and has staff who deliver and install. If you are in Vancouver or Toronto and buying something big, that is genuinely the better experience.

VanArtHub

You live outside Vancouver and Toronto

Free insured shipping across Canada and the USA, and a 14-day return with return postage paid, means distance costs you nothing. Bau-Xi’s best services are tied to its three cities.

Bau-Xi Gallery

You are building a collection with a five-figure budget

Sixty years of trading, 80+ represented artists and a secondary-market presence give Bau-Xi depth at the top of the market that a 155-piece gallery does not have.

Looking for a Bau-Xi Gallery alternative in Vancouver?

If you are looking for a Bau-Xi Gallery alternative, the question is usually budget. Bau-Xi has sixty years of trading behind it and publishes its prices, which most Vancouver galleries do not, but its market sits in the four and five figures. VanArtHub’s 155 originals have a median price of $1,265, and 13 of them cost less than $700.

The other difference is what the number includes. At VanArtHub, shipping is free, fully insured and already inside the listed price, and delivery runs 3 to 7 business days in Canada and 5 to 10 in the USA. Bau-Xi quotes shipping, crating and installation separately, which is fair for large work but means the figure on the page is not the figure you pay.

Bau-Xi’s in-home trial is a genuinely good service if you live in Vancouver or Toronto. VanArtHub’s answer to the same worry works anywhere: 14 days from delivery to send a piece back for a full refund, with return postage paid, plus a Lifetime Trade-Back for store credit later.

See what is available

VanArtHub and Bau-Xi Gallery: common questions

Is VanArtHub a real alternative to Bau-Xi Gallery?

Yes, for one part of the market. VanArtHub is a Vancouver gallery selling 155 original signed paintings and drawings priced from $531 to $5,980, shipped free and insured across Canada and the USA. Bau-Xi is a 1965-founded gallery with three physical locations and a higher average price. If you want an affordable original delivered with a written return policy, VanArtHub competes directly. If you want a large gallery space and a five-figure collection, Bau-Xi does more.

Does Bau-Xi Gallery show prices online?

Yes. Bau-Xi is one of the minority of Vancouver galleries that publishes artwork prices on its website in Canadian dollars and offers an online cart. Most Vancouver galleries, including Kurbatoff, Ian Tan and Jennifer Kostuik, do not.

Which gallery has cheaper original art?

VanArtHub, at the entry level. Of VanArtHub’s 155 original artworks, 13 are priced under $700 and 69 under $1,000, with a median of $1,265. Bau-Xi’s listed works are commonly four and five figures.

Can I return a painting to either gallery?

VanArtHub gives every buyer 14 days to return any piece for a full refund and pays the return shipping. Bau-Xi offers in-home trials arranged through the gallery rather than a published 14-day return window.

Does VanArtHub have a gallery I can visit?

Yes. The VanArtHub gallery is at 1242 Davie Street in Vancouver’s West End, open Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bau-Xi runs a much larger Granville Street space, open Monday to Saturday 10 to 5:30 and Sunday 11 to 5:30, with three locations in total, so it holds far more work at once.

Do both galleries sell only originals?

VanArtHub sells only one-of-a-kind originals, never prints or reproductions. Bau-Xi sells original paintings and sculpture and also handles photography editions, which are produced in numbered runs rather than as unique works.

Facts about Bau-Xi Gallery on this page were taken from its own website on 4 August 2026. Galleries change their sites, so check anything that matters to your purchase directly with them. VanArtHub's own figures come from its live catalogue on the same date.

Compare VanArtHub with other Vancouver galleries

All 13 comparisons are collected on the Vancouver gallery comparison hub.

Useful next reads

Buy an original you can send back

155 signed originals, every price on the page, free insured shipping across Canada and the USA, and 14 days to change your mind at no cost.

Browse the collection

Rated 5.0/5 on Etsy by verified buyers. Certificate of Authenticity with every piece.