Buying Art Online with eBay’s Live Auctions
What a better way to immerse yourself in the art world than by starting your own collection? Premium fine art has never been this accessible thanks to eBay's Live Auctions. Picture by Black Dot Creative
Recently, eBay launched its new live auctions experience, opening the doors of traditional brick and mortar auction houses to the global eBay.com community. With eBay’s live auctions, shoppers can log in and take part of this new, exciting platform while discovering, browsing and buying premium art.
For those of you who may be new to the art world, here are a few tips to help you jumpstart your art collection and navigate the eBay live auctions like a pro:
1. Familiarize yourself with the ABCs: since the art world has expanded itself exponentially in the past ten years or so, it’s understandable that keeping up with it is a major task that can be as a consuming as a full time job. However, to know the basics, starting with what is really considered within a certain historical period: contemporary art, modern art, impressionism, (they are all sequential in history but belong to different times) to what is a screenprint, to why photography is so hot these days, to what is emerging art, etc., will provide the most return on investment. The importance of acquiring basic knowledge is so that informed purchases can be made and the more you know about the underlying characteristics of a piece of art and its place in art history, the easier it is to spot a great opportunity.
2. Be inspired: understand your taste, connect with your background, and look into your own life: art, in any form or medium, tells a story. And that story has to talk to you, triggering reactions or emotions. It could be your background and that of the artist, your favorite things or your national origin; the question is, how are you connected to a particular piece of art?
3. Understand your lifestyle: who are you and what do you enjoy doing? Do you entertain a lot of people with different backgrounds? Do you enjoy debate? How about having a piece that has some political connotation or is provocative to look at? Do you have children? Having good art is an amazing opportunity to teach them the value of living with good things and appreciating the creative process behind the actual work of art.
4. Loving a piece of art sometimes isn’t enough to justify buying it: how many times have we heard the infamous advice “if you love it, buy it.” Yes, you have to love it but watching the market, paying attention to these live auctions and the prices realized in addition to doing some research will lead to informed decisions that are more fulfilling.
To check out eBay’s live auctions, visit: http://www.ebay.com/rpp/collectibles-live-auctions