As more and more ordinary Chinese collectors complain that auction commissions are getting higher and higher, many top collectors seem to be getting "dividends" from now on. Recently, the famous collector Liu Yiqian said in his WeChat that "the first time I was invited by Christie's Hong Kong to go to Basel, Switzerland to participate in the Western Art Exhibition."
If the calendar is turned over half a century ago, it will be found that Chinese collectors are almost unacceptable in the Western auction market. The famous collector Zhang Zongxian once remembered his first entry into the London auction in 1968. When the Western auctioneers saw the oriental face, they could not imagine that half a century later, Chinese collectors were global. The influence of the art market.
Today, not only top collectors like Liu Yiqian are invited to visit the world's most important art exhibitions, but also enjoy a variety of value-added services. As more and more new faces from China appear in the Western auction market, many institutions have “sniffed” the business opportunities. Even if they hold the cards during the auction, the information of these collectors will be immediately noticed. And then passed to its local office for further service.
According to media reports, Sotheby’s has launched a “priority plan” for those high-priced bidders, offering them free access to 150 museums around the world, as well as tickets for hard-to-find performances. Christie's also has a similar “top customer” ranking, and any customer who spends more than $10,000 will receive follow-up calls from the bank.
In addition to the “care” before the auction, more and more auction houses arrange Chinese-speaking employees to personally receive or receive orders from Chinese collectors. At the same time, some auction houses have also opened a private room, so that top collectors can not only know the real-time situation of the auction through the monitor, but also enjoy the food and other excellent services.
Of course, the auction house will not make a loss-making business. Behind the huge contribution, in addition to attracting high-quality collectors, it can also increase the bargaining chip between itself and the seller. In recent years, the auction house has been increasing its commissions. For the payment of related expenses. Many auction houses are quietly changing their previous positions. They are no longer satisfied with the income of the commission, but also enter the fields of galleries and art fairs through their own brand marketing. The private purchase model and the gallery space of the auction house are just right. Can explain this. As an auction house, they are not only interested in artists who have already created a high price, but also in cultivating high-priced artists through their own buyer groups.
For the auction house, let the top collectors go to the top art fairs like Basel, in addition to understanding the art, it is more important to build a social platform. As one industry insider said, many art market deals were made at a dinner party, not in crowds and bargains. For top collectors, their understanding of art may change subtly through mutual exchanges, which may be more effective than the “bittering” of the auction house business manager.
No matter how the “ecosphere” of the art market changes, for the auction house, the core competitiveness lies in launching the best works and attracting the most powerful collectors, which will not change.
[Article source: Tencent·Dalong.com, Beichuang Exhibition]
