Art Auctions: Contemporary Art
It is truly a wonderful thing when you consider how much we gain from our appreciation of art, what volumes it speaks about our own culture, and among cultures that make up the world besides our own. It is highly fashionable to understand something of what art is, how it tries to reinterpret our own scope of the world on an artistic level, and yet reveals so much of the human nature behind its creation. Today’s artistic minds are no different in the outgrowth of ideas onto a canvas’ surface, and some are possessed with similar qualities that those artworks considered classics have had in the past.
There is particularly unique insight coming from a lot of contemporary art, or so the label seems to include today’s works of art, with certain vagueness stemming from the lack of a dominant school of thought or ideology. Most date contemporary art beginning towards the late 1960s, most artwork could be defined easily by particular details prior to this, and there were trends of these preferences even through to the 1980s. After the Modernistic period of art was confirmed, much of the direction came to be rather disparate during periods of socio-political change, and many of the distinctions within art have been loosened dramatically.
With some critical opinions decrying the current of contemporary art to be devoid of “true beauty”, critic Donald Kuspit was known to say that art had left the studio and found its’ way into the street, and that may not be that much for the worse with the blurring of many lines presently. Today, contemporary art seems to reflect those issues being faced by the world, and the emphasis on politics seems to have intensified of late. The shift drawing away from an ideal of beauty and purity to a complete opposing force of inspiration from socially oriented art, and often crosses the bounds of proper medium.
Though that is where the argument stops and conjecture begins as critics and artists alike clash in opinion over where the line is particularly between the various categories of thought, and it has been pieces of every different art movement being reevaluated in a similar way, in order to find that place that crosses over between art, artist, and audience, and creates a means for all of them to share space in the comprehensive concept to the artwork. Making the gaps in the points between art and life smaller and smaller, and creating new ways in which to comprehend the ways of the things we view around us.
Engaging mass culture with affecting the boundaries of perception through the means of the relevant issues shaping the world as we know it, and today there are many schools and studios of contemporary art that try to help shape the practice of contemporary art that will translate to the future, allowing us introspective glimpses into the artist’s thoughts. Creating interconnectedness that defies and defines what laws and life may continue to restrict, to analyze, and further define itself as multiple entities within one completely distinct from the sum of its’ parts.
When considering all of this information, at may seem overwhelming at first, but art is not impossible to understand if you concentrate on understanding what your tastes happen to be. When not thinking about these things, it is easy to overlook the value of what you are purchasing, and you may not be able to get the most for what you wish to spend. There are few lessons to learn that do not involve somewhat self-explanatory terms, but one must approach what appeals them with a frugal yet open state of mind, it can be much easier to find a good bargain with this mental state at hand.
Timing can sometimes be necessary to make the deal more lucrative for the buyer, and with some art auctions, it may be difficult to find some grounds on which to begin bidding. However, with studious attention to what you wish your end goal to be, and you will have found a way to acquire at least some kind of facsimile to show for your efforts. Depending upon how deeply you would wish to involve yourself in activities such as local viewings of artwork from contemporary artists, and perhaps you would even find a way to see the stirrings of the creativity from within, by becoming friends with local artists and networking.
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A Beginner’s Guide to the Different eBay Auction Types.
Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different auction types, in an effort to give people more options when they buy and sell their things on eBay.
For every seller who doesn’t like the idea that their item might sell for a far lower price than they intend, there’s another who wants to shift hundreds of the same item quickly. eBay tries to cater to all tastes. This email gives you an overview of the different kinds of auctions and their advantages for you.
Normal Auctions.
These are the bread-and-butter of eBay, the auctions everyone knows: buyers bid, others outbid them, they bid again, and the winner gets the item. Simple.
Reserve Auctions.
Reserve auctions are for sellers who don’t want their items to sell for less than a certain price – a concept you’ll know about if you’re familiar with real auctions. They work just like normal auctions on eBay, except that the buyer will be told if their bid does not meet the reserve price you set, and they’ll need to bid again if they want the item. If no-one is willing to meet your price, then the auction is cancelled, and you keep the item.
Fixed Price (‘Buy it Now’) Auctions.
Buy it Now auctions can work in one of two ways. You can add a Buy it Now button to a normal auction, meaning that buyers can choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the asking price and avoid the whole bidding process. Some sellers, though, now cut out the auction process altogether and simply list all their items at fixed price. This lets you avoid all the complications of the auction format and simply list your items for how much you want them to sell for.
Recently, eBay added a twist to fixed price auctions: the ‘best offer’. This means that buyers can contact you to negotiate a price, which could be a good way to get sell some extra stock at a small discount. The only downside to reserve and fixed price auctions is that you pay a small extra fee to use these formats. In general, it is more worth using reserve auctions for higher-priced items and fixed price auctions for lower-priced ones – but remember that you can combine the two formats.
Multiple Item (‘Dutch’) Auctions.
These are auctions where you can sell more than one of a certain item. Dutch auctions can be done by bidding. Buyers bid a price and say how many items they want, and then everyone pays the lowest price that was bid by one of the winning bidders. If you have trouble getting your head around that, then don’t worry – everyone else does too! These auctions are very rare.
What is more common is when a seller has a lot of one item, and lists it using a combination of two auction types: a multiple-item fixed price auction. This just means that you can just say how many of the item you they have, and offer them at a fixed price per unit. Buyers can enter how many they want and then just click Buy it Now to get them.
Now that you know about the different types of auctions, you should make sure that the items you plan to sell don’t violate eBay’s listing policies. The next email will let you know what’s allowed and what is a big no-no.
Is the eBay Customer Always Right?
I can answer this question for you right now: the answer is ‘yes’. In fact, the answer is ‘YES!’ – the biggest yes you’ve ever heard. Of the course the customer is always right. If you want to be a successful eBay seller, you should go miles out of your way to make sure every single one of your customers is 100% satisfied, however much time or money it might cost you.
A dissatisfied customer will leave negative feedback, and negative feedback is to be avoided at all costs. That one piece of negative feedback will always cost you more than it would have to deal with the complaint, whatever the value of the items you sell. You should consider any positive feedback percentage under 100% to be an absolute disaster, and a personal failure on your part.
But What If…
But nothing! There is no situation where you, as a seller, should get into any dispute with a buyer. Here are a few common situations and how to handle them.
They say the item never arrived: Politely ask the buyer to wait a few more days to see if it turns up, and then email you again if it still hasn’t arrived. If it still hasn’t arrived, you should assume it was lost in the post somehow and offer to send a replacement if you have one, or give them a full refund otherwise. No, I don’t care what that costs you. Are you serious about selling on eBay or not?
The item has been damaged in the post: You must offer to replace it or take it back for a refund without hesitation.
They say the item doesn’t match the description: Resist the urge to email back with “yes it does, you just didn’t read the description properly”. Take the item back for a refund, and edit your description if you need to, to make any confusing points extra clear.
I’m sure you’re spotting a pattern by now. Offering a refund will make almost any problem go away, and it really will cost you less in the long run. Remember, one piece of negative feedback will stay with you forever, while having a 100% positive rating is like owning a bar of solid gold.
You should always handle customers’ complaints before they complain to eBay – in fact, you should email them pre-emptively to ask if they have any. Going through the dispute process is time consuming, reflects badly on you and is downright unnecessary.
Are you still not convinced? Think this would only work with cheap items? Well, you see, the higher the price of the items you sell, the more your reputation is worth to you. Let’s say you were selling $10,000 worth of items each week, for example, and making a $1,000 profit per week overall. You might think that refunding one customer’s $1,000 purchase would be a tragedy, losing you your whole week’s profit. It’s far better to look at it this way: if you don’t give that refund, then not only will you lose the next week’s profit, but you’ll probably lose a few weeks’ profit after that too. Now which option looks better?
I absolutely can’t emphasise enough the importance of really believing that the customer is always right. But trying to make excuses for complaints isn’t the only thing you need to avoid. There are a lot of pitfalls that you need to avoid if you don’t want to kill your business before it’s even started properly – and I’ll show you in the next email what they are.
EBay Sellers: The Importance of Communication
Are you an eBay seller? If you just recently became an eBay seller, you may still be learning the ins and outs of eBay, particularly how to make a profit. While there are an unlimited number of tips that could help increase your chances of making a profit on eBay, like detailed product descriptions and such, there is one way that is relatively simple; having an open line of communication with all of your eBay buyers. Although you may not necessarily think about it at the time, communication goes a long way when it comes to online business transactions, particularly on eBay.
When it comes to keeping an open line of communication with your customers or potential customers, there are three main situations that you should take advantage of. First, if you are selling a popular item, you may have a number of bids or even a number of questions. If your product description wasn’t very detailed, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you to have messages from other eBay members seeking more information. While some of these questions may be good, valid ones, others may seem a little bit out in left field. In fact, some eBay member questions may leave you wondering if they even looked at your auction listing. Still, it is advised that you answer all user questions in a polite and timely matter. Doing so will increase the chances of your item or items being sold.
Once an eBay buyer has agreed to buy an item from you, whether it be through a traditional auction listing or a “Buy It Now,” sale, you will want to send your customer an invoice, showing the total amount of money that they owe you. After you have received payment, there is a good chance that you will box up the items sold and head to the post office. A great way to make a good impression is to send your customers an update email; an email that can let them know that their items were just shipped. Many eBay buyers like this because it gives them an estimated arrival time frame. Should you have purchased a package tracking number, you will want supply your customers with that information.
It is also advised that you follow through, within a few days or a week, to see if your customers received their items. You may also want to send a personal note asking them how they liked the items and such. One thing that you definitely want to include in a follow-up message is a thank you note. You will want to thank each of your eBay customers for doing business with you. You should also state that you hope to do business with them again. In today’s society, many consumers are not thanked for their business anymore, although many wish that they still were. Sending a thank you follow-up note will only take a few minutes of your time, but it is something that your customers will likely remember for sometime to come.
As it was stated above, having an open line of communication may increase your eBay profits. Why you may ask? Well, you need to think of it from a consumer standpoint. If you could shop at two different retail stores, which both had the same products available for the same prices, which store would you choose? If you are like most consumers, you would respond with the store with the best customer service. eBay is no different. With competition increasing each day, you need to be able to set yourself apart from other eBay sellers. The best way to do this is to go the extra mile for your customers.
Keeping an open line of communication before, during, and after each sale will help give you a good, positive reputation among many eBay buyers. It will also likely result in return customers; customers who can help to increase your eBay profits.
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