We have relaunched our art buying service and are currently looking to buy work by all artists featured on our website and many others.

We buy prints, oils, watercolours, collage, ceramics and interior design.

What are you options if you are considering selling an artwork ?

Auction Versus Gallery:

Auction

Typically, works sell for much less at an auction than with a gallery - usually 1/3rd of the true value and to add insult to injury the auction house will charge you about 30 - 40% of the hammer price for the privilege of selling it for you . So you end up with a fraction of the value of the item. The truth is that their are many low level art dealers who are termed "runners" who attend all of the auction houses and buy work up at these low values only to sell it to a gallery a few days later for a significant profit. The art business is a strangely secret world where items are bought for a few hundred pounds at auction and can sell the next month in a Mayfair gallery for hundreds of thousands and the people who loose out are those who inherited the goods and consign to auction expecting to get fair value.
So why do solicitors advise clients to sell at auction ? The simple answer is they are just taking the easy route and are no more an expert on art than you are. It is the easy way for them to work, but they are potentially losing you a significant amount of money.

Gallery/Dealer

If you're now leaning towards a gallery, go on-line and find dealers that specialise in the artist, region, or period your collection represents. Look for a gallery that sells similar work to what you have and is successful at doing so. Also pick up the phone and talk to them to get a good idea of how friendly they seem. Go to visit them - any professional dealer or gallerist will be happy to spend time helping you and you should expect to see some genuine interest in the work you are selling. Discuss with them your own research and tell them the price you think they are worth and why you think so. Expect them to be able to justify any valuation they give you.
Consignment Versus Selling it Outright: If you're working with a dealer, you'll likely have the option of either selling the work directly to them or giving it to them on consignment, which means you'll be loaning the work to them without getting any money upfront and then getting a portion of the proceeds if/when the piece sells. If it's consigned the dealer won't have as much pressure to sell it if they didn't pay any money for it already, and it's possible it'll be pushed aside and never sold, so selling it outright typically gets you the better deal.

We would advise you to sell direct to, or through, a reputable art dealer. Contact us and we will help guide you . Our advise is free.

Mark & Melanie - Blondes Fine Art