More collectors will buy art on the Internet

An increasing number of people now manage their bank accounts, book a holiday, buy books, select clothes, and pick electronic goods online. But then what about art? The UK Financial Times essayist Georgina Adam mentions: “Until now, apart from a few highly publicized sales, the business of high-priced art has remained largely in the ‘real’ world.

“However, many feel it’s just a matter of time before collectors will buy it more vigorously on the Internet. This is not to assume that auction houses and dealers don’t use technology. You can already bid and buy in many online auctions. Dealers now directly sell an increasing amount to clients through their sites.”

Many new initiatives popped up as part of the internet bubble during the mid 1990’s. Market players scrambled to launch start-ups in the art & culture space. Auction houses poured money into websites at the height of the frenzy. But the bubble soon burst. Many online ventures launched in a hurry wound up or only barely survived.

Obviously, the technology was not foolproof, a decade ago. Image resolution was poor. Users were not at ease with the internet. Now a whole new generation of tech-savvy buyers is out there. So will the Internet ultimately take over from real world sales? Will it fundamentally change the way art world deals?

Renowned business publication The Economist notes: “Auction houses and dealers have approached it warily. In 2006 Christie’s launched an online bidding system, whereas Sotheby’s launched BidNow only last year after its two earlier forays into online auctions failed at the beginning of the last decade.”

The Dallas-based Heritage Auctions with $650m worth of annual sales claims that nearly 34 percent are happen online. Christie’s sold roughly $114m worth of art & antiques online, totaling 16% of its lots that represented 3% of total sales. According to the world’s leading fine art auctioneer, online bidding for now is just one of the platforms on offer. Eventually, they will be form a major part of their business once the technology gets more refined and transactions are more secured.