Buying art might sound like the reserve of the super-rich, but it can actually be more affordable than you might have thought.

The Affordable Art Fair in London, which runs from 18-21 October, presents thousands of original works every year, priced from just £100 ($131) to a cap of £6,000 ($7,889).

Business Insider spoke to Fair Director Lucinda Costello and Recent Graduates’ Exhibition Curator Cassie Beadle to find out the biggest mistakes people make when buying art.

Scroll down to see what advice they had to offer.

The artist doesn’t have much consistency

The artist doesn

It’s incredibly important to do your homework, Costello says, when choosing the artist whose work you’re buying.

If you’re hoping to buy a piece of art as an investment, then it pays to research the artist’s portfolio beforehand.

If there’s a lack of consistency in their portfolio, it could denote a lack of maturity in their work.

It could be a red flag, “if you’re seeing things that look like they could have been created by different artists,” Costello says.

“If there isn’t much consistency across their portfolio then they may not have defined what they’re doing yet, which can mean they need more time to develop.”

“That’s not to say they won’t go on to become fabulous artists,” she adds, “but, if you’re playing it a bit safer then noticing colour palettes or a certain quality, just something about the overall feel of the work… [will make it] a bit more of a comfortable gamble.” Read more