ebay will work with Sotheby's, a well-known auction house, to develop a network platform

Absrtact: July 15, Wired magazine reported that EBay will work with Sotheby's, a renowned auction house, to develop a web platform through which customers can browse and auction artwork, collectibles and antiques. The platform will be directed to the global live Sotheby's auction

On July 15, Wired magazine said ebay would work with Sotheby's, a renowned auction house, to develop a web platform through which customers could browse and auction art, collectibles and antiques.

The platform will be directed to the global live Sotheby's auction, which will be dedicated to a live section of the ebay site. Ebay officials say the site will provide a new experience for "rare, unique and high-priced artworks and collectors." Using ebay's auction technology and payment system, the platform will also add sales channels for network customers in the future.

This was not the first attempt by ebay and Sotheby's to co-operate, as early as 2002, when co-operation between the two sides failed. At present, ebay's active buyers have reached 145 million, which means Sotheby's can fully exploit the huge ebay customer base.

"This is an exciting online opportunity, the growth trend of the art market, the new generation of technology and our common advantage make it the right time to cooperate," said Bruno Vinciguerra, chief operating officer at Sotheby's Bruno Vencighera. We will work with ebay to let our sales come close to a broad global audience. ”

The global art market is now around 65 billion pounds (about 689.3 billion yuan), but at the beginning of the year, the Maastricht European Art Fair (TEFAF Maastricht) reported that art online sales were far below the average for other luxuries. The report predicts that the online sales of artworks by 20 to 20 will reach $13 billion trillion (about 80.7 billion yuan).

Meanwhile, Christie's, a competitor, has invested 50 million of dollars in its online business, with more online auctions for its registered website, which is scheduled to be launched in October. Sotheby's has been criticized by shareholders for lack of innovation, but two auction houses seem to think it is a good time to move the art auction to the digital world.

The Sotheby's report said mobile traffic doubled between 2012 and 2013, while online purchases increased by 36% in the same period. "We think this is a good opportunity for us to really come close to a large number of collectors through such cooperation," Vencighera said. This is the exciting place. "(Yi Hui)