Are you looking for some great art pieces to decorate your home or office? Or maybe you want to sell some of your old stuff?
Either way, you should consider using an online auction site. There are plenty of websites out there that offer free listings and auctions for items ranging from artwork to furniture.
The popularity of online auctions has grown tremendously over the years. In fact, they now account for nearly $20 billion in annual sales.
And according to the National Association of Realtors, the number of homeowners who plan to sell their homes via online auction is expected to increase by 50% by 2020.
Online auctions allow buyers to bid on items without having to travel to the seller’s location. This saves time and energy. Plus, you don’t have to worry about finding parking or dealing with traffic.
Online auctions also provide a convenient platform for sellers. They can list their items for sale at any time, even when they aren’t physically present. The convenience of this feature makes it easier for them to get rid of unwanted items.
1. Heritage Auctions
Heritage auctions sell fine art and collectibles. In the United States, Heritage Auctions is an auction house of numismatic comics (coins), fine art, books, and luxury accessories. It was actually founded in the late 1970s and 80s between two rival collectors in a partnership.
Heritage Auctions were started by two college students who became bitter rivals. In 1982, Halpeter left for Dallas and joined Ivy’s Heritage Auctions.
He brought along his friend Marc Emory, who heads what is now Heritage’s European operations. In 1986, Greg Rohan joined the firm and is now president of Heritage Auctions. Halpeter, Rohan, and Emory are the founders of the company.
The company started out as an online coin auction site. Later, it expanded into comic book auctions. Finally, it became a collector’s memorabilia store. In the 2000s, Heritage Auction House held three annual auctions selling celebrity memorabilia.
These auctions were very successful. Many celebrities bought lots of items from these auctions. Rare items from this auction have sold for more than $200,000.
The auction website actually has some upcoming auctions in 2022, the fine & decorative arts showcase auction is taking place from the first week of February!
Some of their most popular auction themes are US-specific coins and memorabilia, comics and animation art, sports memorabilia and rare sports cards, fine art and antiques, jewelry and timeless luxury accessories, and vintage movie posters from across the globe!
This auction house is more towards a vintage and memorabilia style of collecting for the people out there with the ‘finer’ tastes in life. Their online website is fairly easy to navigate through the large expanse of departments and to bid, all you have to do is sign up and register!
Pros
- so much to bid on.
- the company was founded in the 70s and fought for.
- keep an eye for the next one, and you’ll always have a chance to bid.
Cons
- depending on what you consider to be art.
2. Artsy
Artsy is the leading platform for artists to reach a worldwide audience. Artists can request more information about gallery partnerships and explore some of their global markets (e.g., Europe).
Artsy, formerly Artsy Inc, is an online art brokerage. It develops and hosts websites for many galleries, and sells art for them. It uses a search engine and database system to connect artists with collectors and other art dealers. Artsy also provides services such as artist profiles and portfolios.
Carter Cleveland started Artsy while he was still in college. He wanted to create a website where people could share artwork and find out about new artists. He also wanted to promote art to young people who might not know much about it.
Not only that, but he got the funding to support the site from investors.
The company raised $1 million in seed money, and the site launched in December 2010. By June 2011, Artsy had over 1,000 employees. It had more than 20 million unique visitors per month. It won awards including the Yahoo! Rookie Award.
But in 2018, the data for 1,071,000 accounts were stolen. The information included names, emails, locations, IP addresses, and passwords. The passwords were not saved in clear text, however, an email from Artsy urged users to change their passwords after the theft.
Art is a very popular form of entertainment today. People love looking at beautiful paintings and sculptures. There are many kinds of art. Some people enjoy drawing pictures or painting, while others prefer listening to music or watching movies.
Most people who buy art do it because they want to decorate their homes or offices. Artists make these things possible.
In addition to making beautiful things, artists also create stories about our world. These stories tell us how we should act and react. By reading some of these stories, we learn about ourselves and other people. This is what sites like Artsy are designed to do!
Artsy has an average of over 2.3 million visitors each month, and they feature over 1,000,000 artworks by over 100,000 artists worldwide through the site’s partnered galleries.
Artsy has the potential to introduce buyers to a wide range of artworks, all of which are related in some way. Most of these works are unknown or inaccessible to any but the more experienced connoisseur.
Pros
- that has millions of visitors every month.
- trusted company and investors.
- worth the time and effort to enjoy.
Cons
- however, the company is more secure now than ever.
3. Artspace.com
Artspace is the leading non-profit developer of live/work artists housing, artist studios, and art centers in the US. Consulting with them across the country, they design and operate arts properties.
Artspace is a non-for-profit visual-based arts center and is situated in Raleigh. Visit Artspace to view exhibitions featuring national and community artists, there are more than 35 local artists working in their studios, and they’re artists in residence. There are also classes for all ages and abilities offered.
Artspace was founded in 1988. It has grown to be the largest arts organization in the country and offers many kinds of classes and workshops. It has a new building and more room for art.
This treasure trove of fine art is a great place to shop online. You can get great deals on unique items.
The company was voted Best Charter School for their school facilities of learning recovery with the art approach. Their vision as a school is to motivate and prepare students by instilling them directly into critical skills, and they learn to develop respect for themselves as artists.
Artspace took home this award because they were able to take part in a virtual history day. In addition, they won an award for Best of Show. This year was the seventh time Artspace participated in the event.
The school with the auction site was established in 2001, and as of today over 400 students enroll every year with 17 extracurricular programs and clubs available, and the service is free by public education.
Pros
- to support and mentor young artists.
- trusted and secure art auction site.
- for their services.
Cons
- but that’s what you’d expect within art auctions.
4. Lauritz.com
Lauritz.com is the largest auction site in Scandinavia, with over 30 local auction houses in 6 different countries. Their vision is to make art and antiques available to everyone, as well as inspire consumers to sell and buy specifically through online auction sites.
They have over 4 million online guests and visitors each month from a plethora of countries across the globe.
Lauritz.com is maintaining its position as the leading game-changer in the online auction industry by providing a platform for users to sell items online. Lauritz.com provides a service to consolidate and expose local products by using a single platform. Their goal is to increase sales via auctions.
Lauritz Christensen Auctions was founded in 1885. From their former headquarters, the house evolved over the years to become a small, respectable traditional auction house.
In 1996 the family-owned business was purchased by Bengt Sundstrom who had the idea to move auctions from the domain physical auction house to the internet.
In 1999 Lauritz Christensen was rebranded Lauritz.com. The first online auction started on December 9th and ended 14 days later, as offspring 2000. All auctions have taken place exclusively on the www.Lauritz.com site since then.
The traditional qualities of an auction house, such as objective appraising and viewings, were transferred to the new online auction site. Customers still have the opportunity to view the lots they’re interested in before placing their bids.
All bidding takes place online where all lots are presented with descriptions, photographs, and appraisal value.
Pros
- features the work of incredibly talented artists.
- selling and raising worldwide.
- they thrive on inspiring others to appreciate and love the art world.
Cons
- so lacks that in-person quality.
Buying Art on Auction Sites – A Buyers Guide
There are many reasons why people choose to use online auctions as opposed to traditional methods such as yard sales or flea markets. Here are just a few:
You can reach more potential customers. With online auctions, you can easily advertise your item to thousands of people across the globe.
It’s easy to set up an online auction. All you need is a computer and internet connection. After setting up your listing, you simply wait for interested bidders to place bids.
You can make money selling your items. If you decide to go through an online auction website, you will be able to receive a payment within 24 hours after the end of the auction.
You can save time and effort. Instead of driving around town searching for potential buyers, you can sit back and relax while waiting for bids to come in.
You won’t have to pay taxes. When you sell your items at an offline auction, you may have to pay income tax on the profits you earn. However, if you sell your items online, you won’t have this problem.
You can avoid scams. Many unscrupulous individuals try to take advantage of unsuspecting sellers by offering fake deals. But since most online auction sites require users to register before bidding begins, you know exactly who you’re dealing with.
1. Authenticity
Many online art auctions lack authenticity when it comes to the privilege of the art auction world. A successful art auction house should inspire others to collect and appreciate all forms of art and expressionism, not just the most staple forms of art known today.
Many houses only care about making money from their company, which is a valid thing. But that authenticity to care about the final home for some phenomenal pieces of art is vital to the overall success.
Make sure that the art auction house that you are interested in looking through, takes care of their collections and handles them with delicate measures to get the most out of that piece of art.
2. Scams and Fraud
In the art world, fraud and scams are easily put together, and the buyers fall victim to them. Any good art auction website should have the full details for their art pieces, and the full history of authenticity behind the history of the pieces.
If not, then possibly consider bidding on another site. Fraud comes easy these days, and it takes an incredibly good eye to spot when someone is being scammed, don’t let yourself become the next victim to art fraudsters.
We hope that you’ve been able to find the best art auction site for your own preferences in the art world, if not, then perhaps consider trialing one of our suggestions to discover a new bidding site!
The best websites for finding art and timeless pieces are the ones that have excellent customer service available. Make sure you ask as many questions as possible before making a final sale, and you’ll be just fine!
Buying on Art Auction Sites – FAQ
How Do Online Auction Sites Make Money?
Online auction sites make money by charging insertion fees, final value fee, and buyer’s premium. The buyer’s premiums are a price above the winning bid. Sites like eBay tend to charge fees such as value fees, insertion fees, and upgrading to listings fees.
What Are the Most Popular Online Auction Sites?
Online auction sites are very common. They’re used by people who want to buy or sell items. People register with them and then bid on items. Many times, people win auctions and pay for them with cashier’s checks.
How Can You Tell If an Online Auction Site Is Legit?
Auction sites are legitimate places to buy and sell items. However, it is vital to check out the reputation of any auction site before using it. Look for reviews on social media sites, such as Reddit or Meta.
Legit auction sites offer privacy, safety, and dispute resolution. Sellers should also consider looking at the reviews of other sellers who use the same platform.
What Measures Do Auction Sites Take to Protect Buyers and Sellers?
When buying online, you should use the website’s internal communication system. That way, if there is a problem, the company can see the exchange between yourself and the other party. You should never take communication or payments offline to avoid fees.