Price Point Rising for Online Auctions

The NY Times just published a short article on the growing interest in purchasing art online. One important area which backs up the growth of online sales is that Paddle8 is now seeing price points rise, with numerous lot sales breaking through the $100,000 level. It appears this is happening more and more and Paddle8 believes it is the natural progression as more collectors feel comfortable bidding online at reputable sites.

The NY Times reports

It’s still an open question whether high-end art buying on the Internet will take off. But one online auction site, Paddle8, says it is enjoying a bit of a breakthrough. Its highest price points are rising, regularly breaking $100,000, according to Kate Brambilla, a senior director of business development. And as both buyers and consignors become more comfortable with the Web, the site is seeing a rising trend of single-owner sales — those where a single collector is willing to consign a group of works to the auction house for sale at once.

Paddle8 is selling 72 works from the collection of the Swiss-based collector Bibi Gritti, until June 15. It features 10 works valued at more than $100,000.

“Four years in, and this is a natural progression for us,” Ms. Brambilla said.

She said consignors like that a virtual auction can be arranged at relatively short notice: Sellers don’t have to follow the fixed auction timetables of the traditional auction houses.

Ms. Gritti, who said she had previously never bought or sold any art through the web, said the online house was more willing to put its efforts behind selling all her offerings, including those at lower prices, and not just cherry-picking the best ones. “They could also bring the collection to auction in a fraction of the time,” she said.

Paddle8 held a single-owner auction in December — from the collection of the arts patron Christophe de Menil — and has sales coming up from the collection of the gallerist Tim Nye, in July, and from the retail entrepreneur Andy Spade, in the fall.

Source: The NY Times