Antiques Auction Houses tap into online tools to increase revenues Identifying Antiques & Collectibles quickly and accurately has become a key for Auctioneers in becoming efficient and bringing good
financial results for their consignors.
News-Antique.com - Jan 12,2008 - San Francisco, California - January 12, 2007 - Antiques Auction Houses and Auctioneers make money by selling Antiques & Collectibles to the general public. Most items sold at Auction are consigned to the auctioneer by individuals, dealers or collectors. At the end of an Auction sale, the Auctioneer receives a fee from the consignors. Since usually this fee is a percentage of the Hammer Price, it is in the interest of the Auctioneer to sell the items at a good price.
The vast majority of Auctions are public events, which means that the bidding audience usually sets the Hammer Price. Therefore, the Auctioneer needs to make sure that the bidders know as much as possible about an item to ensure a fair price for the consignor. In addition to beautifully displaying items in the salesroom and marketing an upcoming Auction sale, it is important that the Auction Catalogue describes and lists the items accurately. Most potential bidders at an Antiques Auction, pay special attention to the maker or provenance on an item to etermine its value so that they can bid accordingly.
Often, many Antiques Auction Houses employ antiques experts or Appraisers to identify items and to have them properly listed in the Auction Catalogue. However, most Auctions have hundreds of items for sale and this task can be daunting. Also, there is a legal requirement that the descriptions of the items are accurate. Therefore, auctioneers welcome the opportunity to get some help on identifying their items since this will ensure higher profits
and compliance with the law.
Marks4Antiques.com has developed an easy and quick visual method of identifying Antiques & Collectibles online, especially when it comes to Ceramics and Silver or Jewelry. Antiques marks are divided in Shape Categories that help locate a mark and learn its identity very quickly by just browsing pages filled with marks that look alike. “Using Marks4Antiques.com has cut down at least 20 hours of pre-sale preparation when it comes to our Auctions,” says Kathleen Greenaway, Senior Appraiser for Cambridge Auctions in Sunnyvale, CA. “I am a member of both the
American and International Society of Appraisers (ASA and ISA) and have numerous resources and plenty of experience to draw upon. Yet, www.Marks4Antiques.com is a very vital and super-efficient tool that we use daily” she continues.
Bidders at auctions also appreciate accurate and correct information on items they would like to buy. When an Auction catalogue is accurate, it helps them find items they are missing from their own collection and are usually inclined to bid more during the sale. In fact, this becomes even more important in cases where an Auction is also broadcast on the web, as is the trend today. Bidders that cannot physically be on location to inspect or “preview” the items, often have to rely on descriptions of these items on
the Internet version of the Catalogue. Although many such Internet versions are nicely presented with photos and all, many bidders use “search” features to find items they are
