Art On EBay

EBay is an interesting subject to tackle. We all know

EBay as a good place to buy used and discounted items.

Used sports equipment, collectables, home decorations,

even laptops can be had for decent prices on EBay. Artwork

on the other hand is not an EBay success story. The whole

mentality behind the thrill of the hunt on EBay pushes

people to a greater extreme with art because it's a very

emotional type of purchase. The more involved people

become, the more the bidding gets hot and heavy... they

start saying, "I must have this work... there is only

one." Chances are, in the long run you're going to wind up

spending more on online than you would have paid for the

same piece at a local gallery.

Another danger with online purchases from unknown

sources is the condition of the piece. Artworks' value is

determined from a pristine condition without any

flaws, whatsoever. If there's a corner just-a-little-bent it

can mean the difference between an artwork worth a great

deal of money and one worth absolutely nothing. A small

tear, the finest hairline scratch and the price value could be

driven into the ground. And you have no way of telling until

the piece is in your hands and then you have no way of

getting a refund.

Here's another way to get ripped-off on EBay...

Say you are purchasing an artwork through EBay and the

seller suggests using an `escrow site', call or contact EBay

to verify this `escrow site' is in fact one they have worked

with in the past and is reputable by their standards. In

recent years "sellers" have been setting up fake escrow

sites, getting you the buyer to send money to the phony

`escrow site' and then disappearing without ever sending out