Electronic commerce also known as E-commerce has become present in all spheres of our lives. You can buy or sell any type of product and service over the Internet. This trend became especially popular during the coronavirus pandemic when many people could not leave their homes due to the lockdown, so they bought everything online, even basic things, such as food. And another thing that is increasingly being bought over the Internet is art.
And when we say that, we do not mean home decoration and similar things that can be classified as art, but also buying of very expensive art. Until recently, the trade of expensive art was done exclusively in galleries and auctions in auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Online buying of art is now available, and since buying art is one of the best and safest investments, you are probably wondering if you should embark on such an investment online. In this article, we will tell you the pros and cons of buying expensive art online, so that you can decide what is the best option for you.
Pros
Although it seems to us that we live in the era of the Internet and therefore e-commerce, we are probably just at the beginning of that era, which will last a very long time and will spread to absolutely every sphere of our lives. So of course buying expensive art online has more pros than cons, and we will now mention some of the major pros.
1. Huge selection
Even if you have enough money and opportunity to visit Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, China Guardian or some other auction house of that reputation, the offer will always be limited. They offer many different pieces of art, but every brick and mortar auction house and gallery is limited by space, among other things, and cannot offer millions of different works of art at one time.
But every website where you look for art will have millions of paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures and many other things. This is definitely the biggest advantage of buying art online. When you visit www.meisterdrucke.us for example, you will 100% understand what we are talking about in this paragraph. There you can find countless high-quality art prints, and imagine how many expensive works of art you can find online. The choice is so great that it is up to you to choose what you like and you will surely find the right style, price, size and other features.
2. Price
We know that price is not the primary thing for those who buy expensive art, but the difference in price is not negligible and that is why we mention it as one of the cons of e-commerce. Since the seller does not have to pay for brick and mortar premises, and also has a smaller number of employees, all this affects the price of the piece of art you are interested in. So take advantage of that fact and save money.
3. Comparison
When you are at an auction, even though you have done your homework before the auction and you know a lot about art, it is still not possible to compare prices at a given moment, as well as some other important things. Also, gallerists will provide you with important information, but if they have an interest in you buying a painting, then they may omit something that is important. And when you shop online, everything is at your fingertips. If you are hesitant between two paintings, for example, you can compare painters, the value of paintings, how much they are valued in art circles and everything else. That way you will know 100% whether you are making the right decision when shopping or need to look for something else.
4. Learn all about the artist
If you are buying a painting painted by Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Johannes Vermeer, Picasso or Rembrandt, then you can skip this paragraph, because everyone in the world knows at least something about these artists.
But it’s not just works of art created from the world’s most famous names that are expensive and sought after on the market. You will often come across a work of art made by a seemingly unknown artist and you will be surprised by the high price. Then the internet offers you the opportunity to learn all about the artist very quickly and decide whether it pays to invest money in a purchase or it is overpriced and you should give up.
Cons
Everything in the world, no matter how good, has certain cons. So we will tell you the most common downsides and thus help you avoid falling into the trap.
5. Wrongly portrayed
It is not the same when you see a painting or a sculpture with your own eyes and when photography is available to you on the Internet as the only source of knowledge. It may happen that it is intentionally or accidentally wrongly portrayed. Maybe the colors will look different or the dimensions will be incorrect. So it can happen that once the art you bought arrives, you will be very disappointed and, for example, it will not fit into your interior at all. So before you buy, do detailed research and ask the company for scanned painting and the use of professional colorimetric equipment, as well as very detailed measured dimensions.
6. Fraud
It is always possible to run into fraudsters. This often happens in the real world, and even more often in the online world because everyone can present themselves as a respectable art dealer, but in fact, the situation is completely different. So be sure to check out the reviews as well as get in touch with someone who has already purchased pieces of art on a particular website. If there are a lot of negative reviews or on the other hand there are no reviews at all, it is a major red flag.
Conclusion
If you are buying expensive art online it is likely that you will profit greatly for many reasons. But you also need to be very careful because it is a significant investment and you will pay dearly for the mistake.
