With the increasing presence of the internet it is hardly surprising to see a number of 'online only' auctioneers emerging, who, with much lower overheads, seem to offer a better deal for buyer and seller alike, but is this really the case?

It is true that the internet has helped auction houses; the ATG recently reported a 41% increase in the number of lots bought via online bidding between March 2012-13, however this doesn’t take into account the number of people who viewed the auction in person prior to bidding online. 

It is undeniable that a good premises can be costly however it gives the auction house a sense of permanence and is in many ways reassuring for potential buyers who (like me) likes to be able to stroll in and talk to a specialist without the secret squirrel routine of buzzers, intercoms and appointments as expected with the 'online only' option. In fact, as I scroll through the 'About Us' page of one online auction now, it doesn’t even say who the specialists are.

Another way which the online auctions keep overheads down is by not producing expensive catalogues. Indeed, this is a topic of debate which anyone who has worked in the art trade is familiar with; auction/stock catalogues can indeed be pricey (especially when the majority of auctions can be viewed online), but again, i do not feel we are ready to depart entirely from this practice. I worked for five years as a cataloguer in an auction house specialising in fine art and a vast proportion of our clients did not (and had no intention of) sitting behind a computer screen scrolling through online auctions. Knowing this, if we decided not to produce an illustrated catalogue, would we have been taking the necessary due diligence to ensure the lots made their best returns to the seller?

It is true that these shortcuts enable more competitive buyer and seller premiums (as little as 10% buyers premium in some instances), but does this reflect the quality of service provided? Would simply uploading a digital catalogue to a website from an obscure office address really have the same lasting effect on the potential buyer as viewing an auction and having a catalogue kicking round their house for a week or two?

This subject is obviously too broad to discuss in a few paragraphs, but will no doubt be an important topic of debate in the years to follow.