Auctioneers tackle the downturn head-on
Auctioneers are well placed to ride out the recession in style, a major industry conference has revealed.
Some 200 delegates from the UK and overseas addressed the key practical issues facing auctioneers at the Prospering in a Downturn conference organised by ATG Media, publishers of Antiques Trade Gazette, the art and antiques weekly newspaper, on April 24.
And they heard how traditional auctioneers have been surprisingly nimble in facing the business challenges of the 21st century – a reassuring note for those gathered just two days after the Budget.
Although they currently face the same problems as the rest of business, auctioneers have been quick to adapt to the opportunities offered by digital cameras, email and the internet. Having played an important role at the heart of their local communities for centuries, many are now offering a greatly enhanced service to vendors and buyers.
“The popular image is of a tweed-suited gent hammering down lots to a few local dealers in the rooms, but things have changed,” said ATG editor-in-chief Mark Bridge, who chaired the conference.
“Live auction services such as the-saleroom.com mean that buyers can view all the lots in a sale from their home or office computer. They can even bid from their keyboard during the sale.
“And live online auctions mean that even remote provincial salerooms find they can attract bidders from more than 20 countries at any one time – wherever you are, you’re global.
“During the dotcom boom there were suggestions that traditional auctioneers could be swept aside by a tidal wave of automated auction alternatives. Now online bidding has a much more human face. Buyers who cannot make it to the saleroom can now log on to hear and often see a local auction in progress. It’s exciting and it’s fun.”
Delegates at the Birmingham conference also heard how technology had brought new business burdens to auctioneers, who now had to take many more photographs and answer many an increasing number of enquiries from potential buyers, but a series of speakers pointed to ways in which they could use the technology to their advantage.
Auctioneers geared up to meet the challenge with sessions on improving their digital images, effective emailing and making the most of traditional marketing.
There were first-hand accounts from auctioneers who had prospered by specialising in niche markets and from others who had maximised their business opportunities by refurbishing established High Street premises or by moving to convenient out-of-town sites.
And there were new challenges thrown down. Nigel Worboys, an antiques dealer from Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, reminded the conference that art and antiques are Green.
He offered a compelling alternative to the perception that they are just expensive, luxury goods. “There is another message we should be emphasising in the current climate,” he said. “The carbon footprint from their original production – i.e. the amount of CO2 emitted in the process – expired a long time ago. Their mere existence has been a testament to a lifecycle of at least ten times an equivalent modern item.
“The public can be confident they are buying a product which is sustainable, re-usable and re-saleable.”
Ends
For further information, please contact Mark Bridge on 020 7420 6610 or 07889 126229 or at markbridge@atgmedia.com
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