FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Q
Should the work of the living artists be auctioned ?
A
Yes the work of living artists may be auctioned, and there is not any reason, moral or legal, not to do it.

Q
When the work of a living artist is available at the quoted price to the public then what is the logic behind the auctioning of his or her work ? Is not the poaching of art ?
A (Pierre's opinion)
Being sold at auction means for an artist that people are interested with his / her art outside his / her private circle.
The price at auction is registered, and the value of an artist artwork at auction can be analyzed by new potential buyers.
The price of an artwork at private sale is only an operation between buyer and seller, and cannot be used to assess the value of this artist on the art market, because other people have not any visibility on the discounts.
Some of them say that the price of an artwork is sometimes influenced by the auction houses. This may be true only in the million dollar range, which is not the subject of this group.

Q
I already have an experience with selling at auctions, but it was always for charity. I think it's the same way of selling...
A
Yes there is no basic difference between charity and commercial or judicial sales.

Q
I find most artist websites that promise u that my art will sell or they say we sell your artwork for commission, it is a waste of time.
A
You have to know that in auction sales for newcomer artists more than half of the art goes unsold. Probably you will not get a better price at auction than through your usual sale operations. But if you feel that it is exciting to be in an exhibition and a catalog with some of your art and a short bio of you, then let us go forward together.

Q
People love to bid, hence the success of Ebay.
A (Pierre's opinion)
My purpose is to discuss Live auction, not eBay. I feel eBay is not so good for you because there is no possible exhibition before sale, and people are reluctant to buy some art if they did not see it before.

Q
How do we market the work for potential buyers?
A
Marketing for potential buyers is the job of the auctioneer, and justifies the fees he requires to sellers and to buyers. The seller has nothing to do excepted selecting the best auctioneer for his purpose and negotiating with him the reserve price (i.e. the lowest hammer price under which the artwork shall remain unsold) and the seller charge.
Of course if the seller knows the potential buyers, there is no real need for an auctioneer !

Q
i'm interested in selling my work as long theres no big commission involved
A
The typical commission that is required by auctioneers to sellers is around or below 20 % of the hammer price.
It can go down to lower figures, depending on negotiation. It is another very good reason to co-operate between us.
However if the catalog is glossy and the ad effort important, do not expect less than 20 %.
The trend for the major auction houses is to require more fees to the buyer than to the seller. The logics behind it is simple : auctioneers cannot do their business if sellers go to their competitors.

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Pierre