Showing posts with label ebay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ebay. Show all posts

Those of you who have used ebay Live often will notice that all listed upcoming auctions are before Jan 1, 2009. Don't be fooled. This is not because the auction houses have slowed down due to holidays, but eBay has officially ended its eBay live auction services and will focus on their traditional auction business in future.

For me, the nice thing about eBay live is not about being able to bid online (certainly you can, but sometimes with some annoying delay which costs you winning plus some auctions charges higher buyer premium for online bidders). But eBay listed all upcoming auctions together so that you can use traditional search engine to search items among all auctions. I have found this is quite powerful. (There is some similar service which charges monthly fees!)

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/ will hosts the online auction service for traditional auction houses. I tend to think their user interface is not well done, but at least you can still browse through catalog without going through each auction house's own website!

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GoAntiques caught my eyes once because of a painting attributed to Gainsborough. I had seen that painting before from some seller on ebay auction and dismissed such a stretch of an attribution. But when it reappeared in GoAntiques, at one time I thought I was wrong. After all, big auction houses have experts and appraisers and have the chance to look items in person. Well, that makes it acceptable to pay the extra buyer's premium.

But a close look at GoAntiques shows it is an "eBay" type of online service within the eBay live auction. They gather information from different sellers around different places and sell them through online-only live auction effort.

Thus the traditional screening of consignment does not apply to this no-brick-no-wall auction house. Worst of all you still have to pay buyer's permium.

You may find that the live auction window show "floor bids", but those are actually online absentee bids.

More can be read through here if you are interested:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=1000330755&tstart=240&mod=1170087605511

Be aware: there are more than one online-only auction houses now. (For example, Universal is another one.) This does not mean that they can not be trusted. But additional caution should be paid to avoid scams or shilling bids.

Check the auction house's website if you are not familiar with the one that you are interested. Another easy way to identify them is to see whether they allow in-house pick up and if you cannot pick up items in person, what are the avaiable local shipping and freight companies who work closely with them.



More reading about GoAntiques? http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m12/i23/s01


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Collecting is about acquiring things valuable, or should I say invaluable? From toy trains to vinyl records, what matters is personal experiences and feelings. It does not surprise me that some vinyl record cost so much that you probably will never listen to them in your lifetime in order to maintain prestine considition.

One example is shown now on eBay (item number 130153471140). It is the first press and it is unplayed. But above all, it is Milstein. An elite fiddler who has been enshrined by intellectuals around the world.

If the first press is the reason to expalin such a frenetic bidding on Milstein's record, then farewell can be linked with another high-priced item sold on eBay related to Milstein. (Item number is 170148163142). This one is even a CD of his last recital. Although apparantly it has been out-of-print for a while, the master tape must be well-represerved since the recital was held in 1987.

If you think $51.48 is too much for something reprintable, an Amazon seller has marked the price tag over 200 dollars.

Of course, one can wait. Unlike art works by deceased artists, CDs are mass-produced. And the chance that he can buy the same program at regular price in the future is not unrealistic at all. One example is the long-waited 6CD set of Michael Rabin. Before EMI reissued the set last year, it was over 250 dollars everywhere. Now you can probably get it below $50.

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eBay Title: STUNNING FOREST VIEW, SENSATIONAL ATTRIBUTION! 1870's

Winning Bid: US $5,900.00
Number of Bids: 25
eBay number: 190134710763

This seller sometimes relists items that have been sold, the amount of which is high enough to wonder what's behind those "unsuccessful" transactions. From my memory, some of the paintings have been relisted more than twice. Each time there will be a few months hiatus period. The current winning bidder is from Denmark (the same as the seller) and has only 7 feedbacks. We will see whether the item will be relisted in the future.

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In the upcoming auction by Barridoff, one of Gastave Courbet's landscape works is estimated between $30,000 to $50,000. Thus another painting offered on ebay which is attributed to him draws my attention.

It does bear a signature, which looks like Courbet. Unfortunately, that's all it appears to share with other Courbet works.

The seller copied the biography information from Wikipedia, yet didn't even tell who attributed the work, which was done by palette knife in an impressionistic manner. Well, if it is by the seller, then why didn't he read his own description that stated that Courbet painted in a realistic style? Plus the back of the canvas shows that the age of the painting that does not appear to show more than 100 years of age. (The seller dated the work in 1870's.)

Even worse, this is from a dealer who has more than 2700 feedback score and has sold many art works from Denmark. It may be carelessness on the part of the seller, but it would seem suspect that such a name could be added to a listing purely by accident. Like the not so old antique placed in a dusty corner, it looks like this attribution could be here to insure such a work will be “discovered.”

After all it is the name of the attribution which is too "sensational" to miss!

Attributions are, in the nature of the case, only offered for artworks whose authorship is not otherwise already clearly marked or signed. A signed painting is never "attributed", it is either considered genuine, or it is not. The signature itself forms the "attribution". And in the case of an artwork bearing what appears to be the artist's signature, only two judgments are possible: 1) that the signed artwork is genuine and therefore cannot be attributed, or 2) that the signed artwork is a fake and therefore cannot be attributed to the artist whose name it bears.

More can be read at here.

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eBay Title: OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS sign.C.J.B. COROT 1796-1875

Winning Bid: US $1,275.00

Number of Bids: 13

eBay number: 230152653078

For a painting of 12" x 8" with unknown painter, $1,275 is not a bargin.

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The seller withrew the painting at the last moment. It is not known whether it has been sold under agreement.

Really eBay is not a place for selling 5-digit art work. The risk of buying unsatisfying items because of lack of examination and authentication is too high.

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The most useful tip for eBay antique shopping is probably


"Do not believe what the seller says".


eBay painting dealers know what they are selling, so whenever naive words have been used for description, it should be read with caution.


Here is an example:


"Lovely late, at least, 19thC. Oil painting on canvas with signature COROT , of what looks to be a French Chateau beyond a viaduct whilst sun is setting". Well, I would not have blamed the seller if the contrived effort of pretending to be an amateur was not so obvious; after all, there are more fake Corot works in US alone than the total number of authenticated ones available in the world.


The dealer, however, showed that he has an account in artprice and listed Corot's auction record. Artprice is not a cheap place to shop for auction record and he is at least richer and more involved than an amateur. But not accidentally he did not include any picture of the authenticated works, since even an outsider can tell the listed painting cannot be from the same person who painted the famous Souvenir de Mortefontaine in Louvre.


Yet in another place he correctly used the term "continental". No mistake was made here: although continental would be certainly too far away from Barbizon school that Corot leaded, without further differentiation someone will buy it.


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It is rare for one to find paintings by top American artists. Only less than one year ago, “Gross Clinic” by Thomas Eakins was tagged with a label of 68 million dollars, now there is one (possibly) by him on eBay. It would be interesting to see how much money it fetches through the internet. On the other hand, with eBay live more and more quality art works can be found in auction houses which allow internet bidding. If such works do appear on eBay alone, they are usually unsold items from a recent auction house.

The current Eakins is possibly from this case. The painting does bear a label on the back with “NO/15 T.Eakins”. Since the seller stated that the work was only on eBay due to an unsuccessful payment from a recent auction, it is easy to track in which auction house it was sold before. Simply going through ARTFACT.COM gave me the answer.

The seller, unfortunately, might not have told the whole story. It was in Ivey-Selkirk Auction house one month ago, as lot 160. The estimation was $35,000.00 - 45,000.00, but the final price only reached $22,000. Even with 18% buyer premium, it was not sold at this auction for what the seller had claimed as 30 grand. Although it may be the sellers' wish that the final price could match his own estimation of $100,000, judging from the pictures taken by the auction house (not included in the eBay listing), the condition of the painting is poor and a full restoration may be needed.

Thomas Eakins was one of the most undervalued artists of his time. If the painting is authentic, the condition tells that the painting has not been treasured as it should be. The label on the back of the wood panel even shows the original price: $47.50. For a quick comparison, in 1895, Henry Clay Frick paid to William Bouguereau $5,000 for a painting named “A mischievous girl”. Eakins’s price tag here seems meager. Unlike his contemporary John Singer Sargent, a painter of high society, Eakins painted who he knew, not who he knew had deep pockets. And Eakins did not paint idealism as did Bouguereau, instead he painted beautiful minds under the normal flesh. It was such a delight to see his “Concert singer” one year ago in Frick Art & Historic Center: besides the fabulous light and shade on the gawn, Weda Cook’looking is as melancholy as Whitman's song that she is singing. At Butler’s Museum of Art, his painting of Beatrice Fenton who is in deep self-absorbed meditations, like his other works, is almost characteristically narrative under the calm surface. Glamour in style or richness in color is rare for Eakins, behind the darkness of the background is something psychological, a distinctive feature of Eakins, sometimes almost nerve rattling.

No matter in whose hands the current eBay listing ends, a mystery which will be disclosed within 3 days, with the current starting bid price ($30,000), it will for sure that the painting would be better preserved, possibly through some professional conservator. That would be a happy ending.

eBay number: 120141916511

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eBay Title: $1MILLION HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL THOMAS COLE HUGE STILLIFE
Winning Bid: $1,026.99
Number of Bids: 15
Private Listings


Comments: Pay a pastel painting of fruits at the price of one grand for some UNKNOWN painter, maybe the dealer should look for someone with a name like "Rem*"

eBay number: 220128049132

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Title: 19C OIL 'SHIPS IN STORMY SEAS'- J M W TURNER - NR $$$$
Widding bid: $3910
Number of bids: 17
eBay number: 130131546126

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Item: John Constable BRITISH 1776-1837 LANDSCAPE OIL SIGNED
Start Bid: $1500
Windding Bid: $1884.99
Shipping Cost: $50.00
Number of bids: 5
eBay number: 180136247109

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Thomas Cole or Teresa Cole?

Title: “$1 MILLION HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL THOMAS COLE HUGE STILLIFE”

It could be interesting if a still life painting in exhibit can be found by Thomas Cole.

PRIVATE LISTING

So the seller wants it quiet!

RESERVED PRICE: <$450

Oh, well. At least that’s what you think it is worth of.

I AM FEATURING THIS HUGE STILL LIFE PASTEL PAINTING WITH AN UNBELIEVABLE LOW RESERVE.


What, pastel? Pastel was not used that much in US until the late of the 19th century and mostly for portrait!

ARTISTS WOULD OFTEN USE A BRUSH TO BLEND COLORS. THEREFORE IT IS CONSIDERED A PAINTING.


Does this have anything with to do with the listing?

THE SUBJECT MATTER IS VERY RARE FOR THOMAS COLE TO DEPICT.


Yeah, in fact I wish you could find another one.

THE STILL LIFE IS SIGNED IN THE LOWER RIGHT T. COLE.


Teresa, Tavis or Teddy? Show me the example of his signature and tell me why you conclude a still life painting is from Thomas Cole.
Didn’t the seller notice the visible brush stroke?

THERE ARE IMPRESSIVE EXAMPLES OF AUCTION RECORDS, AND AN IMPRESSIVE BIOGRAPHY BELOW.


That is the tricky part. Before provenance or at least some proof and reasoning is provided, the seller jumps into auction records or biography.


BOUND TO BE WON BY A MUSEUM, GALLERY, OR HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL COLLECTOR AS THE CENTERPIECE OF THAT COLLECTION.


Show a still life pastel as the centerpiece for Hudson River School?

THE STILL LIFE IS SHOWCASED IN IT'S ORIGINAL PERIOD WOOD FRAME. THE FRAME CONSISTS OF A GOLD LIP DARK WOOD. PROTECTED UNDER DOUBLE THICK ANTIQUE GLASS.


Wood frame was not popular in that period.

eBay number: 220128049132

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There are fraudulent or misattributed art works everywhere. On eBay, it is more complicated. Unlike professional galleries and fine art auction houses, everyone can sell items. More than once, I have seen the sellers who are innocent or at least pretend to be innocent for some misidentified works that they are not aware of. Checking feedback helps only in a limited degree because a five-dollar stamp brings the same one-unit score to the feedback as a $5000 painting and if you want to browse exactly what the sellers used to sell, eBay only allows you to check items within 3 months.

Although it is possible that those “Antique Roadshow” junk to riches stories play out on eBay, it is usually better to stick to some sellers who are reputable and experienced on eBay.

But what a task it is! If such species still exist, I wish I could find a few.

Deprived of (or in others’ opinion released from) the direct communication with customers, those art dealers on eBay rely on their description, in which they certainly do not think modesty is a virtue. If you read something like “John Constable BRITISH 1776-1837” (which is actually currently offered) in the title, you will soon find out that it is actually a work from the circle of John Constable, which means it is from the period of the artist and of his influence. However, as you read further, it was dated and signed. Well, it means that if the seller knows it cannot be the work by John Constable, it should be described as “manner of” “school of” or “after”, which is light year away from being a Constable work.

If it is understandable that the seller, who has 0 feedback, may not be familiar with the terminology (which I doubt), then such tricks from art dealers should cause special attention.

Simply put: there is rarely a bargain from eBay art dealers. They sell hundreds of paintings; they know what they are doing. Big names that can bring five or six digits of income would certainly not be presented in eBay since to fetch such a number by selling them online is dubious and too risky compared to consigning with auction houses. Or in other words, if such names do appear on eBay from them, it is certainly the case that they know that to get the approval that the work is by certain artist from the a reputable auction house is unlikely.

In other words, the values of most of the paintings on eBay fall below $1000, which is an embarrassing number because an auction house consignment would not bring much profit after consignment fee and yet the chance of not being sold there looms. In such cases, eBay, where millions of people may watch everyday, guarantees a low-risk investment.

If one follows the rule of only buy works that you like, there is really nothing to lose from eBay as long a purchaser bears in mind mediocre valuation is what often summarizes eBay art works. However, the market value of such works does not necessarily reflect their artistic values. Therefore for those who hate decorating walls with pictures from IKEA and want an investment at least keeps the value, eBay is a great option.

There are different types of art dealers on eBay. I will introduce three of them for comparison, whose names will not be disclosed in the article.

The first one is from Vienna, Austria. As with all other boastful art dealers, the titles are composed by words like “top”, “magnificent” or “wow” as if crying in front of a Tiffany store window. Even worse, there is really nothing to wow for those listed works. And the title, unfortunately, betrays their antiquity in the end by including the inventory number. They are brand new and painted from China. An inventory number is used to locate the same work from the painting mills.

There is nothing wrong with art works MANURACTURING, and one should not feel ashamed if a beautiful oil painting, still wet, hangs above his living-room fireplace. It is a shame if guests only see the bank account digits without noticing its beauty. But what really bothers me is how the seller sells them cheap by exaggeration and less than straight-forward practices. All works are listed as original works from the 19th century and marked with an estimated value of five digits. The originals were from the 19th Century, but these copies aren’t.

The seller lists all art work as private so that the final sale prices cannot be extracted easily. I am sure that buyers are aware of the real condition of paintings. But they are usually irritated by extended shipping times since the seller did not mention they are shipped from China.

The second one is from Demark. In recent years, Demark art dealers have been very active on eBay. This one, in particular, sells more paintings labeled with 18th or 19th century works. Like the first one, most of the titles start with an adjective such as enchanting, lovely, superb, sober or brilliant. Because of the subject matter, words like “moving”, “mysterious”, “mythological” or “master” are seller’s favorites.

To make the listings more professional, the seller used to have authentication reference. (Note: The current listings do not have authentication by so called experts any more) The authentication experts have background in museum (yet detailed job is not disclosed).

But what an authentication processes they are! Once a copy of “The flute concert” by Adolph Von Menzel was not recognized (or not willing to be recognized) by the expert in German Art of the 19-20th century. In another case, the painting is not only signed and dated but also has a label on the back describing the painter, yet it was not mentioned by the expert who once worked at Portrait Gallery in Tuzla, Slovenia. It would be unbelievable if one found out that the so-called expert never used the black light to check the signature!

The seller may not be expert in recognizing copies or attributing works, but certainly he has great skills in PhotoShop. More than once the painting images have been lightened, and saturated through image processing. Sadly, buyers regret that the vivid color is only available online.

The seller boasts about his express shipping service, yet be prepared to spend another couple hundred dollars to fix the frame damage caused during the shipping.

The third one from UK, unlike the previous two, specializes in 19th century British (and Scottish) art. He even posted a useful guide on eBay for reference. He usually only sells listed artists, mainly R.A., R.S.A., R.S.W etc. (British landscape paintings, compared to Hudson River School paintings, are much more affordable in general.) He has done some research on each listing so that the biography and example works strengthen his assert of market value.

A lot of works on eBay by listed artists come from auction house brought items. Some eBay art dealers take the unsold items on eBay. Some of the items are sold at a price lower than their estimation in auction house, but it is better to realize some gains quickly. More importantly, there are some reasons for such items unable to sell at auction: poor examples of the artists work, reserved prices too high or simply not the right day with the right people. This seller obtains some of works through such channels, which are usually more reliable than opinions of some “experts” if you can trace at what auction house the item was before. (AskArt.com shows all auction records including unsold one.)

However, he takes too liberally the use of “provenance”. Provenance cannot be simply a gallery label. In essence, provenance should be traced back to people who at certain period owned the work and such ownership is recorded. An old label does not speak out although it usually bears strong indication of its authenticity.

In other cases, he has quietly removed “attributed to” from the description of the auction house. One of the works by “James Webb” was listed as attributed in the auction house, yet in his hand, somehow it became an authenticated work in his authoritative description. At another instance he claimed the work that he listed was the best he has ever seen on the market for Horatio Mcculloch. I am certain that he knows that in April of 2006, Sotheby auctioned one of his biggest works. However, an exact work named “A lowland river” exists and even an engraving by William Forrest is quite popular. The painting listed on eBay has bluer sky which usually does not appear in Mccolluch’s works. In a book “Painting Past and Present 1620 – 1908” by James Jaw published in 1908, it reports that Mcculloch was quite popular in his later years and the demands were so huge that he not infrequently signed his names with a few touch-ups on the works by the assistants. With the seller’s knowledge in 19th century British art, it is unlikely that he was not aware of the same painting in Glasgow Museum of Art. But we all know there is a light-year difference between “attributed to” and “by” and to list a work in the manner of Mcculloch is not that profitable. Oh well, it will only embarrass the buyer if someone points out in future that the claimed work is actually displayed in the museum.

All art dealers strive for profit, and a few if necessary do tricks. eBay dealers, being almost anonymous, maybe less concerned about ethic integrity. The only way to counter such fraud is to equip yourself with knowledge. Do research, dig deep and when necessary, confront them with the facts.


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It is known to all that J. M. W. Turner bequeathed his finished works to Britain in his will and it was 22 years later after he died that a law was established to allow his works lent outside of Britain. Met houses almost a room of Rembrandt, yet has only two works by Turner. So when such a name appears on eBay, it would bring attention and suspicion. It is not a question of whether , but a question of why? Why should the seller put the work on eBay if he could fetch a huge sum of money from auction houses?

Here is the description:

BEAUTIFUL OIL 'SHIPPING IN STORMY SEAS' - JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER 1775 - 1851 - NO RESERVE.

Description: Wonderful oil painting which is fully signed lower left for this much celebrated and collected British marine artist. The quality of this painting is truly superb, one of the best you’ll ever see! A great opportunity to buy a quality oil with no reserve! Wouldn't it be fabulous to buy a Turner at a fantastic price? Indeed it would.

Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775-1851. Probably the greatest maritime painter of all time. The painting is fully signed but as we have no provenance this painting is sold as attributed. Please be sure to bid with this in mind.
Medium: Oil on canvas.

Size: Measures 19" x 11.5" and 23" x 16" framed.

Condition: The painting is in good condition for its age. The paint has cracked over the years but this has been stabilized by the lining which was carried out at least 100 years ago. Some of the cracks have been in-painted. The frame could do with an overhaul which would involve replacing the few missing bits of molding and re-gilding. This I can do at cost price. Inquire for a price if this is required. Estimate: Auction estimate $$$$$$$$$. This painting did not come my way cheaply so I am taking a risk but I'm sure it will find its own level!

As always I only sell quality paintings and have 100% feedback. Feel free to ask any questions. Buyer to pay shipping at cost.


There are several things that should alert potential buyers:

1. Buyer ID private
This is simply the worst eBay policy which only encourages the rampant frauds and shilling bids. If the item is highly confidential such as special adult underwears or adult magazines, it is reasonable to hide the buyers’ identity. But such a policy prevents buyers from communication and makes shilling bids almost undetectable.

2. “The painting did not come my way cheaply”, how expensive is “not cheaply” so that the seller is not willing to give an estimate. At the same time, the seller is willing to let it go without a reserved price.

3. So we have a signature. The painting does bear Turner’s preference of yellowish color scheme and marine subject. But Turner’s paintings usually purport a sense of light so illuminating that can be described as dazzling. Here the light is not convincing, it is diffused in a way certainly in a manner favored by John Constable.

4. Shipping to worldwide while no specific shipping cost to outside U.K. is disclosed.

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