Anyone had experience selling at auction?

[syl]

Hi everyone. Just wondering if anyone's ever sold things through an auction house. We have some paintings that are pretty valuable and it seems like an auction might be the way to go. Has anyone had good experiences, bad experiences, do's and dont's? Thanks for the help.

[wendy177]

Syl  Yes I have sold through auctions in the past & have several things going to auction come this December. From my experience read your contract well. Make sure that the auction house you use insures your pieces. Also make sure there is a date of payment in the contract to hold the auction houses accountable as to when you get paid after auction.   Depending on  value some auction houses will not except items below a certain lot limit. I would go to the biggest auction house  in the largest city  you can  that allows for the  value of your paintings. Such as Sothbey's I think  (don't quote me)will not except lots valuing less than $5,000.00  Skinner of Boston will take art lots of $500.00. Bigger city buyers tend to pay higher prices from  only my experience than small local towns. Some auction houses will also charge say  an additional $30.00 on each lot sold under say $2,000.00 This is not set in stone & many auction houses will wave some extra fees such as that for  sellers.   Hope this helps

[Tim]

Good points from Wendy.............. .Depends on the auction house and value of your items. I have used Christie's and was very pleased. If your selling high end items you will want a high end auction house. To reap the benefits you will have to put in the time and effort, IE: emails to auction houses with digital photos, provenance, etc. Most can be done on-line now but some will prefer photos and snail mail.

[wendy177]

Thanks Tim and your   right  It will take some time as most e-mailed photos and information can take as much as 4 weeks maybe more to receive a return reply. So send photos  & info. to several auction houses at the same time  and  wait. If one replies  in 4 weeks- does not meet lot limit you have many more already in waiting to hear from instead of then sending out and waiting 4 more weeks. Remember You can always say no thanks to contracts ,fees, and % .

[syl]

Thanks for the advice. I have tried contacting a couple of auction houses and just waiting for a reply. Fortunately we're not in a big hurry. Probably not a good time to sell right now anyway. I think the key is to find the people that collect what you have and auctions are probably the best way to do that. Thanks again.

[KC]

Well given advice!!!

No rushing for this!   

[luxetveritas]

Just adding a little bit regarding particular auction houses, Christie's has by far been the best auction house I have dealt with. They have very quick and polite specialist services, and provide you with a wealth of knowledge on pieces that meat the auction minimum (value I mean). And on that note, the minimum value for a piece is $2,000 and they commonly accept pieces in that price range. So if your paintings are around 3k a piece or for the collection, then you can't go wrong with Christie's. If they are closer to the 2k mark, then you may have better luck with Skinner or Bonham's and Butterfield's.

Lastly, you don't have to physically visit any of these auction houses. Just send them pictures and they will respond to you with their opinions, and tell you what to do from there.

A note regarding sending pics to Sotheby's or Christie's: Contact a specialist from one of the auction houses, don't bother with going through the other procedures. Just click on the tab that says "specialialists" on the front page of either house and go to the correct category your paintings fall under. If you are having any trouble with the latter, as I am very tired and may be typing utter gibberish, send me a message and I'll help. 

Sorry if I am repeating what anyone else said, as I only read Wendy's response

[syl]

Thanks for the advice, Lux. I actually have contacted Christies in London because they have a maritime art specialist and she would like to have our painting in an auction in Nov. but that involves shipping it to London from CA which makes us a little nervous. So I've asked her if it could be put in an auction in the US. Just waiting for a reply. I will let you know the results. Thanks, Syl

[fancypants]

The 'other one' that's commonly overlooked is , of all places , eBay .

I've personally dealt with all of the major auction houses ; in my experience have had the most straight-forward dealings with Sothebys & Christies .

Oddly enough , I've also had some shockingly profitable selling experiences (only with paintings & sculpture) on eBay , with returns 2x-5x greater than would be expected at large auction-houses .

I ALWAY get a little/very nervous when I send an item overseas (Europe) for auction (& I've done it +80x) , so your feelings about O-seas shipping are pretty normal , I think .

[syl]

Thanks for the info Fancy. I'm in the middle of negotiating with Christies about shipping to London. They pretty much take care of everything. What I was wondering about is what price range of items did you sell on ebay for 3-5x what you could get at an auction?
They have given us a price range for our painting in the mid to hi 5 figures. Do you think it would be possible to do better than that on ebay? Did you have good results when you shipped to London? Thanks for your help. Syl

[fancypants]

You're asking simple questions , but most of the answers are complex .

The eBay question - $12k to $9k range .

As far as overseas auctions , I recommend that a person really do their homework on historical prices (both recent & distant history) , trends , demand for specific motifs , subjects/artists , sizes & mat'ls .

The demand for / trends in selling & buying paintings can be a very fickle beast , with some notable exceptions .

I've always 'done well' with overseas auctions , and limit the things I'll send over to stuff in the +$35k range .
I always try to hold off selling until I can 'strike when the iron's hot' , as best as I can predict , anyway .

Most of all for me , besides doing the complex research/forecasting , is always the credo "The deal ($$$)is made in the (original) purchase , not the sale !" .

There are certainly other spots to advertise art items besides eBay , but most o/l sites do require subscription fees & are often scoured by dealers who prefer to buy at wholesale , or below (collectors do use these resources too , though) .


If you have not made a contract with Christies , and if putting up your items on eBay or elsewhere would not jeopardize that deal ....what's the harm in trying (with a reserve price you can live with) ?

All the best to you & your pending profits !

[syl]

I want to update everyone on the sale of our painting. We have signed a contract with Christies in London and the painting has been shipped. The auction is on Nov. 11. I'll let everyone know the results. Wish us luck. Syl

[ironlord1963]

Best of all the luck.  Can't wait to hear the results.

[regularjoe2]

Hope you get a fair price , syl !

[KC]

Best of luck!