I am not able to travel to the big name auctions. Are there any online?

Many auction houses now have websites available that allow you to bid online. Some even allow you to place a maximum bid if you are not able to be there for the live bidding. This is really common on Ebay with estate auctions. Be careful though. Please make sure and read all the fine print before bidding on any piece of art work. Many people have placed a bid on a piece expecting to receive a one of a kind original by a famous artist only to find out it is a reproduction or print. With some online auctions you will have to pay as soon as bidding is finished and there may be associated fees for the auction house along with taxes. One additional note: remember to think about shipping and handling. Large pieces of art work can be very expensive to ship, even if you are in the continental U.S. and will be much more if being shipped globally.

What should I look for in a painting or piece of art before I bid?

Assuming that you will be bidding in person at an art auction, you need to look for any surface blemishes. This applies to any type of art work. Take careful note of any imperfections. If the painting or art piece is old, you can expect it not to be in perfect condition. There may even be water stains. How well known the artist is or was will also affect how much the art work will go for. You can expect rare art work to go for hundreds of thousands of dollars and higher.

I’ve won a painting but when I received it there was a flaw they did not mention. What should I do?

Did you inspect the piece before you bid? Or was the auction online from someplace such as Ebay? If you inspected the piece and then discovered the flaw at home, you are out of luck. If the seller listed the painting and did not include any descriptions of flaws, you may have an instance where you can return the painting and get your money back. Always read the auction completely before bidding. If the seller had a “no return” policy you could find yourself stuck with a flawed painting and out the money.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 7:03 pm and is filed under Arts, Crafts & Hobbies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.