Selling and Purchasing
Selling and Purchasing Through collectohioart.com
Selling
Are you thinking about selling fine art but aren’t sure about the best way to achieve top dollar? You have options to consider in order to make the best possible decision. Many sellers decide to place their art with an auction house or a traditional gallery. This might benefit you in terms of a quick sale but may not afford you the opportunity to realize the best return on your art. Auction houses are considered wholesale markets and often find dealers acquiring works they typically mark up 100 percent or more once offered for sale to their clients.
You should also consider the cost to consign art with most reputable auction firms. They typically charge a base rate of 20 to 35 percent or more in commissions to the consignor and in many cases add on additional costs
for shipping, photography, and cataloging that can drive up the cost to you by an additional 5 to 10 percent. If a reserve is placed on the work and it does not sell, you may still be charged a fee for the auction house’s service as well as a shipping fee to return the work to you. They are forced to charge you in this manner due to substantial overhead. Even those that might offer a reduced commission typically do not give you the level of service that we do. Many traditional galleries are in the same position as they also have overhead they must cover and it typically comes from both the buyer and seller.
We do not operate a “bricks and mortar” business; therefore, our expenses are lower and you are the beneficiary of the savings. We also have the same reach as they do. The internet provides a global connection to sellers around the world. They have art experts who authenticate the works offered for sale. So do we. It all comes down to whether you want to maximize the value of your consignment or simply turn it over to someone else who in the end will charge you far more than we will.
There is no cost to consult with us to determine your best option. If we believe there is a better opportunity for you elsewhere, we will tell you. Our goal is to serve every client, whether a seller or buyer, with the highest level of professional service.
We strive to make the experience of purchasing and selling art through us as straightforward as possible. We know that you may not feel entirely comfortable with the process of conducting business through the internet.
Understanding this concern, we can provide references from buyers and sellers who have worked with us previously and have had an exceptional experience. Let us know if this is of interest to you.
It’s easy to consign works of art with us! Here are the steps involved to successfully achieve the results you are looking for:
- Contact us through our e-mail address and attach good digital photos of the work of art including the front (recto) and back (verso) of the painting and a close up of the signature or maker’s mark.
- You must include the dimensions of the work (height and width not including the frame) or height, width and depth if a sculpture.
- Please include a condition report that describes any damage or age-related issues such as crackling, paint losses, stretcher marks or other issues. Include additional photos of these areas if they are not readily visible in your other photos.
- We will work with you to establish a fair market valuation of your art and allow you to make the decision of whether to offer it to the market.
- If you choose to proceed, we will send you a consignment agreement that spells out the terms and conditions for us to offer your work(s) for sale to the public.
- Before preparing your listing and placing it on our website, you will be required to remit to us by check PayPal or money order a listing fee of $125. This is typically sent to us with your signed consignment agreement.
- Once the art has been sold, we will deduct our commission of 20% and send you a check for the amount of your net proceeds within 45 days. We allow buyers to inspect their purchase and provide them with a two-week window to challenge us if they believe the work is not by the hand of the artist included in our description. They can only return the work if they include a letter from the recognized art expert for this artist clearly stating that it is not authentic.
- If the work has not been sold during the six-month consignment window, you have the opportunity to extend it for another six months with remittance of an additional $125.
- We may require that you ship the work of art to us so that it is available for inspection by potential buyers. This will be discussed with you prior to signing a consignment agreement. We are located in Central Ohio and sell many of our consigned works to Ohio collectors. Any work of yours in our possession is insured based on its valuation.
Purchasing
Once you have found that perfect work of art on collectohioart.com, we make the sale and acquisition process simple for you! Contact us via e-mail or call us with any questions you may have and your offer for purchase.
Once we receive your shipping address, (we will only ship to street addresses, not P.O. boxes) we will e-mail you an invoice for payment which includes Ohio sales tax, shipping with insurance and instructions for payment by check (business or personal) or bank wire transfer.
If you choose to pay by bank wire, let us know and we will email the wire instructions to you. Note: All purchases will include Ohio sales tax unless you have a sales tax exemption document on file with us. We do not offer in-house packing and shipping but work with local third-party shippers. Payment in full must be received before your purchase is released for shipment.