Online auctions

As chairman of a discussion panel at the annual conference of the Appraisers Association of America in New York, MARK BRIDGE, found that the Internet is not the villain it was painted a year ago. He reports on the current attitudes to on-line valuation in the USA and the views of auctioneers experimenting with online bidding.

“Is the live auction dead?” was the challenging question before a panel discussion at the annual conference of the Appraisers Association of America in New York in which four major regional auction houses took part.

FRANCE: A French judge ruled on November 20 that Yahoo must take steps to prevent French Web-browsers from accessing sales of Nazi memorabilia on their American auction site.

IT WILL simplify sales say Sotheby’s. Within the next month Sotheby’s will be merging their two online ventures, sothebys.com and sothebys.amazon.com under the sothebys.com banner.

US: TANGIBLE Asset Galleries, the Californian art and antiques auctioneers and dealers, have pulled out of the deal to acquire Gavelnet.com, the Internet and interactive TV auction company.

THE French courts have suspended Yahoo’s appeal against a ban on its Web auctions of Nazi memorabilia while technical experts see if there is a way to prevent French Web-users gaining access to them.

A DISPUTE between a leading Web auctioneer and a dealer has highlighted a significant difference between Internet and live sales that could have widespread implications for the trade.

SOTHEBY’S are celebrating setting the top price achieved for an object at auction on the Internet with the $7.4m paid on June 29 for a first printing copy of the American Declaration of Independence.

Gavelnet.com, the San Francisco-based Internet auction specialists, have merged with Tangible Asset Galleries, Inc a California-based retailer, wholesaler and auctioneer of fine art who last year declared sales of over $20 million.

UK: GAVELNET.COM, the San Francisco-based Internet auction specialists have denied claims that they are winding up their UK operation.

FRANCE: A Paris court has told one of the world’s leading Websites to prevent French Web-users from gaining access to auctions featuring Nazi memorabilia.

US: MARK Poltimore has resigned as deputy chairman of Christie’s Manson and Woods Ltd. to take up a position with the Internet startup company eAuctionRoom.com.

UK: This rare Märklin first series handpainted tinplate battleship, HMS Resolution, sold for $40,600 (£26,365) on April 12, having been offered online on sothebys.amazon.com (10 per cent buyer’s premium).

SOTHEBY'S are counting on their brand value and guarantees of quality to help them sell high value art and antiques on the sothebys.com website which went online on January 11.

SOTHEBY'S are counting on being able to woo a whole new generation of young millionaires into buying art and antiques online at sothebys.com, their new Internet auction service. It launched last week with about half the 5000 lots drawn from Sotheby's vendors and half from 400 associate dealers.

CHRISTIE'S International has had a radical rethink of its Internet strategy, disbanding its Internet Auctions division, which it created in May as a separate entity, and shelving plans to sell online.

GERMANY: THE German Society of Auctioneers, Der Bundesverband Deutscher Kunstversteigerer is mounting a legal challenge to prevent Internet auction firms from advertising their sales in Germany as public auctions or sales.

UK & US: A NEW Internet auction house, due to launch simultaneously in the United States and the UK on October 15, aims to woo dealers in high value art and antiques by special incentives and simplifying the process.

GERMANY: ARTLINK have conducted what is being claimed as the first live online art auction. The sale – of International Young Baltic Art – took place on the evening of Saturday, August 7 at Rostock in Germany.

NOT a week goes by without yet another development in the fast-moving world of digital auctions.