Tracking the auction evolution online

British Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum's in-on-paper billboard will go on sale at the Christie's online auction next month. Courtesy Christie's Images.

When Christian Treschow typed his surname into the search engine on www.barnebys.se, he wasn't expecting to unearth an old family heirloom. "I'm very interested in antiquities, particularly photo art, contemporary and classical art, and furniture," says the 41-year-old Stockholm resident.A few months earlier, a friend had recommended Barnebys, an online auction search service that brings together thousands of lots on one easy-to-use platform, and Treschow had been visiting the site ever since. "One day, just for fun, I typed in my name. I just wanted to see what, if anything, it would bring up. And it came up with a bust of my great-great-great-great-grandfather."A businessman, landowner and counsellor to the king, Frederik Wilhelm Treschow had been a prominent figure in Copenhagen in the first half of the 19th century - and in the early 1820s, a white marble bust had been crafted in his honour. Remarkably, Treschow's impromptu search coincided with the bust being put up for sale by a Danish auction house. "A couple of weeks later, I bought it," Treschow says, "and it now lives in my childhood home in southern Sweden."Before Barnebys came into being, it is unlikely that Treschow would have made such a find - at least not without scouring the sites of countless individual auction houses, typinghis name into countless search engines and trawling through countless catalogues. It would have taken time and dedication, with no guarantee of success.

It was this gap in the market that Pontus Silfverstolpe, the founder of Barnebys, identified and aimed to address with the launch of the site. Barnebys was originally launched in Sweden in 2011, with a UK version, www.barnebys.co.uk, following in June 2013. The site lists between 80,000 and 100,000 auction lots each day; whether you're looking for a Pablo Picasso pitcher, one of Arne Jacobsen's iconic Swan chairs or a Buffalo Horn Hat by Vivienne Westwood, you'll find it here.

There’s everything from vintage fashion, 20th-century furniture, jewellery and art to toys, musical instruments and collectables - including a set of eight paintbrushes belonging to the artist Francis Bacon, worth an estimated £25,000 (Dh142,800).

“Barnebys is an online search service for fine art and antiques - a Google for auction houses, so to speak. You have all types of auction houses represented, from the high-end ones like Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams to smaller, more specialised houses,” explains Lotta Lindquist-Brosjo, managing director of Barnebys UK.

There is the option to browse through the site’s 20-plus subcategories or to carry out customised keyword searches - handy if you are on the hunt for a rare piece by a little-known designer or artist, or have a niche interest in something like Victorian silverware (of which, incidentally, there is a fair amount).

“You can also set up an auction alert, so if you are looking for something specific, we’ll send you an email when a lot comes in,” says Lindquist-Brosjo.

The aim is to make the auction process easy and transparent, for both seasoned and first-time buyers. Breadth is key; Barnebys users have access to hundreds of auctions across the globe and can find items in every price bracket - Edvard Munch’s The Scream, which sold for US$120 million (over Dh440 million), was the most expensive item to ever feature on the site, but there are also plenty of pieces for as little as $40 (Dh147).

The success of the site, which has so far delivered over 10 million individual searches, is reflective of a wider trend in the auction industry. Where the auction process used to be very physical - potential buyers would visit an auction house, interact with the lots and then partake in a face-to-face bidding process - this is changing rapidly, an evolution that is being driven by a new breed of buyer, often based overseas, that is comfortable bidding online and, crucially, happy to buy items without seeing them beforehand.

“A couple of years back you used to get people buying things unseen but for smaller amounts, up to £10,000 [Dh57,000]. Now you are getting people spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on things they haven’t seen - and buying more than one item at a time,” notes Lindquist-Brosjo.

The recent Hiscox Online Art Trade Report examines the buying habits of art collectors in an increasingly digitalised world and highlights how buyers are increasingly comfortable making their purchases online. Over 70 per cent of the art collectors surveyed had bought artwork without seeing it in person first, making their purchasing decisions based purely on a jpeg image. A quarter of established collectors admitted to spending £50,000 (close to Dh300,000) or more buying art this way.

The online purchasing process is also allowing art galleries to access new market segments, with 71 per cent of the galleries questioned in the survey saying that their online sales were to new collectors.

Recognising this trend, Christie’s launched Christie’s Live, a real-time online bidding service, in 2007 and online-only auctions in 2011, with some 740 buyers from over 40 different countries having now registered to use the Live service.

“This April, our fourth-highest selling lot was bought in this way by a collector transacting with Christie’s for the first time,” says Michael Jeha, managing director of Christie’s Middle East.

Not only are online sales allowing auction companies to attract first-time buyers, they are also allowing them to engage with a younger and more international demographic, with the Middle East and Asia emerging as important new markets.

“We see a younger generation being attracted to take part in auctions and it is a global phenomenon - on average over 40 countries participate in the online-only sales, while regular auction sales have around 25 countries participating,” Jeha explains.

In October, Christie’s will hold its first-ever online-only sale of Middle Eastern art in Dubai, to complement its physical sale of modern and contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art.

Part I physical and online sales will take place on October 29 and will feature pieces priced at $50,000 (Dh183,650) and above, while Part II sales, which will offer paintings and photo-art at a lower price point, will take place on October 30. The Part III online-only sale will feature around 50 lots, with estimates ranging from $2,000 to $50,000 (Dh7,346 to almost Dh200,000), and will run from October 24 to November 11. Standout pieces from the online-only sale include Over My Dead Body by British Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum, which shows the artist in profile with a toy soldier scaling the bridge of her nose. It is expected to fetch up to $45,000 (Dh165,285).

“It is important to know that all property auctioned online is treated with the same high-touch dedicated cataloguing, inspection and review as any property offered by Christie’s,” says Jeha. “The online auctions last up to two weeks, with incremental bidding and staggered end times for different lots. Potential winning bidders are shown an estimate of their all-in price, which includes buyer’s premium, taxes and shipping costs. Once registered, bidders receive instant updates by email or phone when other bids exceed their own. All payment is by credit card, and bidding registration is open to all clients.”

With any online auction, it is essential that you know exactly what you are bidding for, says Lindquist-Brosjo. “It’s very important to read the information properly and to understand what condition the item is in. If you don’t think you can see it properly, contact the auction house directly and ask them to send more photos and provide more details. Also check charges; some companies will charge extra for internet bidding, so it might be better to just pick up the phone.”

And finally, Lindquist-Brosjo’s fail-safe tip for a successful online bid: wait until exactly 90 seconds before bidding closes to place your final offer ... and that Victorian silverware should be all yours.