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Beginning on Sunday, anyone who purchases a work of art will
pay 25 percent to the auction house on the first $200,000 of the
hammer price, compared with the earlier threshold of $100,000.
Above $200,000 and up to and including $3 million the rate will
be 20 percent, a rise from the earlier range of $100,000 to $2
million.
For the remainder of the hammer price above $3 million the
charge will be 12 percent, compared with $2 million under the
previous rate structure that has been in place since 2013.
Bill Ruprecht, the chairman and president of Sotheby's, said the
changes were needed to boost the New York-based auction house
financially.
"This will improve Sotheby's revenue, strengthen the company's
profit margins, fund innovation, help us continue to make
interesting and exciting investments in the business, and
support our growing online and traditional engagement with
clients around the world," Ruprecht said in a statement. He
announced last year he would be leaving the company.
Sotheby's main competitor, Christie's, owned by French
luxury-goods magnate Francois Pinault, last raised its rates two
years ago. A spokeswoman said it had no plans to follow the
example of Sotheby's, a publicly traded company.
Privately owned British auction house Bonhams said it also has
no plans to change its premiums.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Eric Kelsey and
Jonathan Oatis)
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