eBay has launched a new service that allows online buyers to bid on artworks put up for auction by New York art auction house Sotheby's.
Beginning April 1, online bidders can participate in Sotheby's art auctions through the event's livestream platform.
The livestream will be available for all Sotheby's physical auctions except for the major, semi-annual evening sales of contemporary, modern, and Impressionist art held in May and November.
The first online auction will feature a New York theme, with photographs, paintings, and memorabilia from as far back as the 19th century through the post-war era. Bidders can place their bids on a variety of items, the most notable of which is the six-letter blue signage previously on top of the Yankee Stadium from Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson's collection, believed to cost somewhere from $300,000 to $600,000. Also to be auctioned is a geometric abstract painting from Frank Sinatra, which Sotheby's estimates to be up to $15,000.
eBay and Sotheby's first announced the partnership last year. The combination of eBay's experience in online auctions is expected to help bridge the gap between physical art auctions, which are often seen as dull and stuffy, and a younger set of clientele that is also more tech-savvy.
eBay designed the new platform to mimic the experience of participating in a live art auction, placing high-resolution images of each item for auction in a minimalist space that looks and feels like an art gallery. Each item is accompanied by its title, artist, materials used, and estimated price. Interested bidders can also zoom in closely to inspect the item and view an image of the item, if it is a print, photograph, or painting, hung on the wall. If a bidder is interested, he can place his bid through eBay's online listing and will be assigned a representative at the live auction to place his bid on the auction floor on his behalf.
"What this partnership is about is leveraging eBay's audience and ability to target that audience and find clients that have the means to participate in a Sotheby's auction," said Josh Pullan, senior vice president and director of e-commerce at Sotheby's, in a statement to Reuters.
Megan Ford, eBay's director of emerging verticals and live auctions, believes people are becoming more easily comfortable with purchasing high-ticket items via online auctions, including items sold in the bullion and vehicles categories. She says eBay closes around 3,500 auctions priced $5,000 and above every day, and by partnering with Sotheby's, which has access to exclusive items, eBay hopes to increase its high-priced sales.
eBay says it has some 37 million monthly active buyers in the art and collectibles category, and category sales amount to $8 billion in gross merchandise volume. The online art industry, as a whole, grew by 32 percent to 3.3 billion euros, or $3.5 billion, according to a report commissioned by the European Fine Arts Foundation in the Netherlands. That figure represents about 6 percent of all global art sales.
