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Edutainment > Articles on Art > Collecting Art > Buying Art Prints II - Where to Buy?Real World AuctionsAuctions have a reputation of being a source for good bargains, of providing excellent descriptions and guaranteeing the authenticity of an art print. This is only half-true. There are many auction houses where the owners and the staff have the necessary knowledge to assess the consigned art prints and prepare the catalogs with excellent descriptions. These are usually the smaller auction houses specializing on certain categories with only a few auctions per year. Then there are the "all art objects" auction houses - usually with more frequent auctions. Their staff often does not and simply cannot have the necessary expertise for all categories. So often the catalog descriptions are either taken as specified by the consignor or they are of the kind "Landscape with a horse and the moon". Also the reserve prices can be pretty "off" - in both directions. Most people think that auction houses get their consignments exclusively from private persons. Wrong - a large part is consigned by dealers. For art dealers an auction house is an opportunity to get rid of junk or of art prints that have been too long in the dealer's stock. Galleries and DealersBuying from an established dealer, who is in the market for some time and belongs to a trade or antique association, reduces the risk of buying a fake print. But it is no bullet-proof protection - neither against paying too much nor against acquiring an object with a doubtful authenticity. There are basically two species of art dealers: those who have a gallery and those who do not. The latter save the overheads of a monthly gallery rent and can offer for more aggressive prices. Art FairsArt and antiquity fairs have the advantage of concentrating many art dealers on one place at the same time. Fairs are attended by gallery owners and dealers without a permanent showroom. For dealers without a gallery, attending fairs is often their main income source. Small fairs are a better source for making a good bargain than high-end fancy fairs - unless you want to buy an art object in the upper class region. The fees that a dealer has to pay for participating in a classy fair can easily reach US$10,000 and more for one week. Buying Art on the Internet![]() The Internet has made art print sales more accessible for everyone. There are numerous galleries, malls, auctions, classifieds and artist sites. By its very nature, the Internet should make the art print market more transparent and reduce the influence of middlemen. Online auctions have become very popular. There are two rather different art auction forms. Places like Ebay, where the web site owner does only provide a technical platform on which buyer and seller can come together. Payment, shipping, insurance and authenticity of an art print - it is all a matter to be handled directly by the buyer and seller. The web site provider does not take any guarantees or they are very limited. Then there are the Internet auctions where the auctioneer inspects the real thing, makes descriptions, handles payment and shipping and offers in most cases a return policy. The consignments of these auction sites usually come from dealers. Numerous art galleries offer online art prints on the Internet for sale. Many galleries display the art prints without prices - hoping to get more easily into an e-mail contact with their visitors. No matter whether you buy from a gallery or auction site or directly from an artist's site, you should should check the following points:
Ebay and Similar Internet AuctionsEbay has an established community of art collectors and professional dealers with good knowledge. They watch the ongoing auctions closely and take part both as buyers and sellers. So do not expect to fetch an original Utamaro print for a few bucks. Dealers - also renowned dealers with good names - use Ebay to attract traffic to their web sites by placing interesting offers on Ebay. On the other hand, the risk of buying a fake art print in an auction of Ebay type should not be neglected. Buying Directly from Contemporary ArtistsIf you know exactly what you want, it can be a way to avoid paying a premium for a mediator and getting a refreshing experience with an artist. Many artists can now be contacted directly on the Internet either by means of their own homepages or on web sites that host artist communities.
Back to Buying Art Prints part I. Search for art printsYou can buy art on this site in our ongoing art auction, or direct. See also our upcoming auctions and our art products. If you have any questions, please contact us. The images on this web site are the property of the artist(s) and or the artelino GmbH and/or a third company/institution. Reproduction, public display and any commercial use of these images, in whole or in part, require the expressed written consent of the artist(s) and/or the artelino GmbH. . |
Collecting ArtBuying Art Prints I |