Bid farewell to selling art only one way

Art Business News, Nov, 2004 by Susanne Casgar

Did you know that more than 330 works from self-representing artists, more than 90 vintage posters and more than 263 pieces of sculpture are sold on eBay each day?

I recently had the pleasure of attending an eBay Media Summit for Collectibles in San Jose, CA. In attendance were writers from all over the United States, representing publications dealing with art, antiques, toys, stamps, coins, action figures and several other collectibles.

During a question and answer session at the end of a full and interesting day, I asked Michael Dearing, vice president and general merchandise manager for eBay, what he sees as the "big picture" in the future for art dealers, artists and art publishers using eBay?

"We see eBay as an 'and,' not as an 'or,'" he said. "eBay provides a great alternate sales channel for galleries, and allows self-representing artists to gain exposure through the site's 114 million registered users. Galleries and self-representing artists are no longer limited to customers in their local area, but can reach a much wider, more worldwide customer base. eBay complements what the artists are doing offline and brings original and affordable art to the online users world."

eBay Art-Facts-At-A-Glance are as follows:

* Founded in 1995, eBay is The World's Online Marketplace[TM], and has 114 million registered users who trade in more than 50,000 categories.

* The worldwide gross merchandise volume in the eBay art category totaled $160 million in 2003.

* More than 190,000 works of art are available on eBay on any given day.

* A work of art is sold every 14 seconds on eBay.

* In 2003, more than 330,000 items were listed by self-representing artists.

The eBay Barometer is available to you, as well, by registering for eBay. Published monthly, it tracks top performing categories and high-priced items that can help you identify trends. "The Top 10 Hot Categories in Art for August" were: modern mixed media, botanical prints, natural history prints, self-representing artists, folk art, modern drawings, modern American paintings, antique drawings, modern European paintings, and modern limited edition prints.

What did the buyer search for on eBay in August? The top 10 search terms were: antique, Erte, horse, Peter Max, Dali, art, Picasso, Paris, shag and dog.

What does all of this mean to you and your business? The data that eBay provides cannot be ignored. Still, a sale on eBay will not replace the hands-on, one-on-one relationship that you have established with your client. eBay buyers are not able to see, touch, and "feel" the pieces of art that they are purchasing. They are not able to see the details of the piece, nor can they see the nuances of the color and textures.

Who would have ever guessed 10 years ago that computers and the Internet would play such important roles in our lives, professionally and personally? eBay is another channel to the marketplace--another tool to market your business--giving it the worldwide exposure that it would not have had before.

How many of you have used eBay successfully? We would love for you to contact us with your stories. We want to hear from you.

All the best,

SUSANNE CASGAR

scasgar@pfpublish.com