Auction Buy Ins and Post Sale Activity

Daniel Grant writing for the Huffington Post has a good article on auction post sales and buy ins.  Many collectors and connoisseurs look at auctions and also at what does not sell.  Many are not aware of the post sale activities.

Grant does a good job in explaining the nuances of buy ins and post sale transactions. Grant mentions the auction world likes to talk about and of course promote the special item or the record breaking item. But there is also much additional activity and negotiations after the sale. He reports the Phillips auction claims the nearly 50% of the bought in lots are sold post sale.

Grant reports

The days after a major sale are often quite busy ones for auctioneers, making sure that sold lots are shipped to the new owners and that the consignors are promptly paid, as well as looking ahead to the next sale. However, during this period, they also are making calls to consignors of pieces that didn't sell (explaining what happened during the auction and what steps to take next) and fielding calls from dealers and collectors who are expressing interest in the buy-ins. "We usually take a week or so to let all the offers come in," said Jennifer Wright, specialist for Old Master drawings at Christie's. The result is "a dozen or more after-sales. I think that's true for all departments here."

At Phillips de Pury, post-sale activity generally results in half of the buy-ins being sold, said Aileen Agopian, the London-based auctioneer's director of contemporary art in New York. "It can turn a so-so sale into a very successful one."

Dealers form a significant pool of post-sale buyers, according to New York City dealer and former Sotheby's department head, David Nash. "You see dealers scurrying around, looking for leftovers," he said. "I've done some of that myself." Some dealers regularly call auction houses for a buy-in list, so they know what's available. Another Manhattan gallery owner, Nick Acquavella, noted that "buy-ins present an opportunity to buy, and I've done it lots of times." At times, he has been an underbidder at auctions, "letting it buy in and seeing if I can get it after the sale." At other times, he may sense from the catalogue pre-sale estimates that certain lots won't sell, because "the prices look ridiculous. So, I'll wait until something buys in and make an offer, or just ask 'What will the guy take for it?'"

 To read the full article, click HERE.