HOW TO SELL FINE ART: STRATEGY, RISKS & BROKERAGE SERVICES

IS SELLING FINE ART COMPLICATED AND COSTLY?

Selling art is complicated, difficult, time-consuming, lengthy, and costly. Even for experienced investors and collectors, selling remains problematic in terms of achieving an excellent price and minimizing the many ancillary expenses, taxes, and fees.

WHAT ARE THE 3 CRITICAL DECISIONS WHEN SELLING FINE ART?

The three decisions you must make are:

• Where to sell
• When to sell
• How to sell

These decisions will define how much you will be left with when everything is done.

HOW DO LOCATION AND TIMING AFFECT ART SALES?

Depending on the nature of the artwork, "where" can refer to the country or to a region or city. "When" can be as precise as a particular week that is the best in the year to sell a particular type of artwork.

WHAT IS THE MOST PROFITABLE WAY TO SELL FINE ART PRIVATELY?

"How to sell" depends on the nature and value of the artwork, on your contacts and resources, on your experience, and your knowledge of the selling process. If you are well acquainted with collectors, museums, institutions, corporate art collection curators, and other potential buyers, selling privately is the most profitable option.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU SELL ART THROUGH INTERMEDIARIES OR DIY PLATFORMS?

If you don’t know any buyers, you must sell through an intermediary or a do-it-yourself platform. The consequences are that your selling expenses go up and that you lose control of many factors affecting sales. This loss of control often results in a lower selling price.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS AND COSTS OF SELLING ART AT AUCTION?

If you sell through an intermediary such as an auctioneer, the results and the cost vary widely. You should be very experienced selling through them to decide who to work with. You must also be sufficiently knowledgeable about auction sales to know what will help your artwork sell for more. The many expenses and fees must be carefully examined and negotiated to keep them at a viable level.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF CONSIGNING ART TO A GALLERY?

If you decide to sell through an art gallery, keep in mind that gallery turnover is remarkably high and long-term stability is rare. It could be a major loss to have consigned art to a gallery that has gone out of business.

WHY DO DO-IT-YOURSELF ONLINE ART SALES OFTEN UNDERPERFORM?

If you sell online yourself, the results are a mixed bag. The do-it-yourself online results show that most sales are mediocre. Part of it is the result of poor salesmanship. The other part is that these do-it-yourself selling platforms are viewed as bargain outlets. Buyers feel that the quality and authenticity of the artworks offered on these platforms are questionable. The result is that buyers are reluctant to pay much.

WHY SHOULD YOU HIRE AN ART MARKET PROFESSIONAL TO SELL YOUR ARTWORK?

If you are not a well-experienced seller of art or cannot spend hours or days dealing with all the aspects of selling, your best option is to engage an art market professional. Instead of having to do everything, you won’t have to do anything.

Most importantly, it will probably not cost you anything because the art will sell for more, or the expenses will be far less, or because the buyer will pay us a buyer’s premium.

Call us at +1 (212) 658-0466 or submit a confidential inquiry using the contact form below.