While the Internet has made a dent in the way people buy toys, books and music — it’s also revolutionizing the way art mavens buy photographs.
Not too long ago, buying original works of art required pounding the pavement and going door-to-door to photo galleries in order to track down that priceless gem.
But today, photo collectors are heading straight to the web.
“Things come in waves on the web. First it was convenience goods — books, music. Now its luxury items,” said Lisa Allen, an Internet analyst at Forrester Research who studies the business of buying pricey items on the web.
“The more people go online — the more you get sites offering higher-priced goods,” added Allen, who said that there are tons of niche sites — some selling photographs — arising out of the broader luxury goods market that target specific customers.
Artnet.com (rated No. 1 art site by Forbes) is one site that offers collectors a place to buy high-end, original prints on the web. The works in Artnet’s auctions — which last up to three weeks — are all consigned by over 800 professional dealers and galleries.
Susanna Wenniger, senior specialist of photography on the site, says the photo sales have never been better.
“The highest-priced photograph we’ve sold was a $15,000 William Eggleston,” Wenniger said.
While Wenniger said the average price customers drop for a print falls within the $3000 range — “it seems like people are much more confident these days and are spending above that level.”
“People are realizing that we’re for real. That they can get great pieces for a great deal,” Wenniger said.
A new site about to launch in a few weeks — Onview.com — will also sell high-end photographs — but for a fixed price.
“There are alot of auctions out there, but no one has successfully dominated the virtual gallery model,” said a spokeswoman for the company.
Onview has signed up over 150 top-notch galleries and dealers that will sell works from top lensmen.
For those hoping to deck their walls with photographs, but not drain the bank account, the well-known photo gallerist James Danziger is set to launch a site called @rchive (www.atarchive.com) in June that will sell high quality reproductions at an affordable price.