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 The two plan to stream selected auctions with live bidding in
real time late this year or early in 2015 from Sotheby's New
York headquarters.
The deal will connect the 270-year-old Sotheby's, with its
extensive inventory of fine art, antiques, books, jewels,
watches and furniture, with eBay's 145 million active buyers
around the world.
"We are joining with eBay to make our sales more accessible to
the broadest possible audience around the world," Bruno
Vinciguerra, Sotheby's chief operating officer, said in a
statement.
Traditional evening auctions, where contemporary or
Impressionist works of art can sell for $50 million and more,
will not be included on eBay. Auctions from other locations such
as London, Hong Kong, Paris or Geneva could follow in the
future.
Auction houses, including Sotheby's and rival Christie's, have
conducted online sales for years. But the deal gives Sotheby's
the advantage of eBay's digital technology and online marketing
skills, and potentially more bidders and higher prices and
sales.
“Combining our expertise, our ability to source material and
authenticate it, and the quality of what Sotheby's offers with
eBay's technology platform and reach it makes for a very
compelling combination," Andrew Gully, worldwide director of
communications at Sotheby's, told Reuters.
"The audience is so large I don't think at this point we can
predict specifically what impact it will have. But with more
bidders it is logical to assume prices can go higher in an
auction," he added.
Auctions of jewelry, watches, prints, wine, photographs and some
fine art are expected to be streamed online with prices in the
range of $5,000 to $100,000. Themed auctions, such as Sotheby's
recent roll and rock memorabilia sale, may also be streamed
online.
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The venture comes as the prices of individual works of art at
auction have escalated to record highs. Francis Bacon's triptych
painting "Three Studies of Lucian Freud" sold for $142.4 million
last November in New York, the highest price ever for an item
sold at auction.
Total sales in the global art and antiques market rose 8 percent to
$65.9 billion last year, the highest level since 2007, with Asian
buyers playing an increasingly important role, according to the
European Fine Art Foundation's annual report.
Online sales could grow at a rate of at least 25 percent per year
after accounting for around 5 percent of sales in 2013, the
foundation said.
Sotheby's said online bidders competed for 17 percent of the total
lots it offered in 2013 while the number of lots purchased online
jumped 36 percent compared to 2012.
John James Audubon's book "The Birds of America," which fetched $3.5
million, set the record for an online purchase in a live auction at
Sotheby's in April.
For eBay, the deal with Sotheby's is a chance to expand into the
live auction market.
"When we combine its inventory with eBay's technology platform and
global reach, we can give people access to the world's finest, most
inspiring items - anytime, anywhere and from any device," said Devin
Wenig, the president of eBay Marketplaces.
Shares of Sotheby's closed up 1 percent, or 40 cents, at $40.09 on
Monday. Shares of eBay finished down 0.7 percent, or 34 cents, at
$51.16.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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