Advantages Of Online Auctions For Fine Art And Antique Dealers
One of the main associations the consumer has of auctioneers is the fine arts and antiques dealer
. This traditional business is long established in the offline world. Interestingly, popularity of buying and selling online has grown with broadband penetration.
Major auction houses such as Bonhams and Sothebys have improved the general perception of the reliability and propriety of online trading. This means consumers with little knowledge of how the industry works can easily locate and purchase goods online.
Greater consumer confidence & security online will help fuel this market. Antiques industry experts anticipate that future years will see the development of more dedicated antiques auction sites where consumers and dealers alike can browse for bargains.
Traditional online auction portals such eBay has helped fuel the online trade of second hand and antique furnishings and fittings. Simple and hassle free. Quickly become repository for raw and first edition books, music albums as well as furniture and vintage clothing.
This has become and interesting market in recent times. Competition has intensified in the restoration sector due to influx of new entrants. This is because TV programmes, recreational classes and workshops on antique furniture restoration have stimulated curiosity in this market.
This has led has led to a growth in furniture restoration as more consumers aim to create a period effect in their homes. A resultant growth in online antiques trading has also boosted the furniture restoration sector as consumers often buy and then realize that the item needs more restoration than they realized.
The opportunity therefore exists for antiques and fine and fine arts dealers to differentiate themselves from the competition by integrating their offline sales and marketing with online trading. We have discussed this in greater detail, but some of the benefits of trading online are:
Greater geographic reach. You can market to an audience on a global scale if you wish. For regional auction houses the ambition may be to target nationally rather than internationally.
Dealers and traders do not need to travel to take part in bidding, therefore it is more convenient and less costly for them. This removes some of the barriers to purchase.
Auctions can run more frequently lot items can be for sale all the time, day or night.
Marketing can be targeted based upon interest displayed by users at previous auctions. Collective intelligence can be used to identify uses buying habits and items of interest. This means you can make more informed decisions about what your customers might like to buy.
Market value can be derived from online bidding. It is not unusual for bidders to slug it out over a sale items until the bitter end. The excitement of online bidding along with over time bidding mechanism can contribute to true market value being derived from a sale.
Makes use of the long tail. Niche items sold at low volume can contribute significant amounts to sales figures.
Online promotion can be targeted, dynamic and a more efficient means of reaching new customers. Cost of entry is relatively lower than setting up offline premises.