Six Questions Before Consigning an Auction Piece

Selling your belongings can be a daunting task, especially if it is an item like a priced artwork piece. If you have never gone or partaken in an auction, it can be even more daunting. Though the process itself might be intimidating, it doesn’t need to be. The simplest way to know how to go about an auction and to ease any worries is to ask questions.

Here are six questions that should be asked when you are looking to consign a piece to an auction house.

1.   Why Is This Auction House Best Suited to Sell My Work?

There are various auction houses spread across the U.S. However, there are a few of the top major players in the auctioning industry. The best place to get started for answering your questions, is to ask the auction house why they think they are the best? When auction houses compete with one another, the consignor usually wins. It’s worth the extra time to get multiple quotes before consigning your piece. There are various auction houses in Atlanta alone, most of which are highly regarded.

2.   What Is the Likelihood of My Piece Selling?

No matter what your piece is, there is always a slight risk when you put it up for sale. You can ask an auction house how works that are similar to yours have done in the past. You should also factor in that your relationship with an auction house can result into strong economic results for you. You should keep in mind that it’s not a good idea to have an aggressively high estimate, as they more often than not can hurt the cosigners return.

3.   How Will You, The Auction House, Market My Piece?

Once you’ve cosigned your piece over to the auction house, it’s understandable that you’d like to know how hard the auction house team will work to sell your piece. Timing plays an important role in the importance that your piece receives. The earlier your piece is consigned to an auction, the higher chance it has for visibility. The pieces that are cosigned prior to an auction, will be photographed first. Hence, increasing the likelihood that they will be used as the banner image.

4.   What Is the Complete Itemization of The Total Fees That I Will Be Paying?

Though the fees that auction house charges buyers are usually prearranged, the fees that they charge cosigners differ on a piece by piece basis. The strongest time that you should negotiate your fees is before you consign your piece to the auction house. Negotiations should be before you’ve offered commitment to a single auction house.

Fees can include the shipping, insurance, promotional, photos and storage fees along with the commission of the vendor. It’s recommended that you thoroughly read over your contract to avoid any surprises.

5.   What Specific Auction Will My Piece Go Into?

Though the actual auction only takes a few hours, the planning beforehand takes a while. Auction houses require plenty of lead time to get pieces authenticated, photography pieces, print catalogs, and market their sales. So, usually, the deadline for submissions is somewhere between three months to a month and a half. However, this time can depend on the auction house.

6.   What Is the Timeframe of My Piece Being Auctioned Off?

The earlier than you submit your work, the higher the possibility of the auction houses being more open and less selective. If you’re late for the submission deadline for a certain auction, there’s no need to worry as auctions occur every so often. Though, of course, this depends on each auction house.