eBay Launches Sotheby's Live Auctions Experience
March 17 2015 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Exclusive art and collectibles from Sotheby’s
live auctions in New York becoming available on eBay to 155 million
active buyers
Today, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) jointly
announced the launch of the Sotheby’s live auctions experience on
eBay. Part of eBay’s new live auctions platform, ebay.com/sothebys
is now available for browsing and advance bidding on Sotheby’s
unique items leading up to the launch of Sotheby’s first live
auctions on eBay on April 1. The experience enables art aficionados
and casual collectors alike to participate in Sotheby’s live
auctions anytime, anywhere with the same confidence and access of
those bidding in person in New York.
eBay and Sotheby’s originally announced plans to partner on live
auctions last July, and have since worked together to deliver an
engaging virtual entrance to Sotheby’s unique inventory. Sotheby’s
first live auctions on eBay will be a themed New York sale and a
Photographs sale.
The New York sale is inspired by and celebrates the city through
Prints, Photographs, Paintings, Sculptures, Silver, Books and
Jewelry as well as iconic New York memorabilia such as the
monumental sign atop Yankee Stadium from 1976-2008. The 13 letters,
each 10 feet tall, are being offered from the collection of Yankee
legend Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson. The Photographs sale features
works from the 19th Century to Modernism to Post-War eras by many
masters of the medium, including Paul Strand, Lee Friedlander,
László Moholy-Nagy, and Man Ray. Buyers looking to view the online
catalogue or to participate in these auctions can visit
www.ebay.com/sothebys.
“We’re very excited to bring live Sotheby’s auctions to an
exponentially larger audience of millions more collectors around
the world through this partnership,” said Bruno Vinciguerra,
Sotheby’s Chief Operating Officer. “This experience truly captures
the best of both Sotheby’s and eBay. The rich, smart new design and
bidding technology, coupled with exclusive features like
taste-maker curation, engaging video and articles, and the
knowledge of Sotheby’s experts on a tech-friendly and intuitive
site will offer collectors a unique, welcoming experience.”
Devin Wenig, President of eBay Marketplaces, said, “We’ve had a
great response from our global community of buyers since launching
live auctions last October — including sales of high-ticket items
such as Elvis Presley’s first record, which sold for $300,000.
Granting this kind of unprecedented access to art and collectibles,
using an innovative technology platform, has opened the door for
more people to appreciate and participate in bidding on exceptional
works of art, antiques and collectibles. These items were
previously only available to auction room floor bidders.”
The Sotheby’s live auctions destination features high-resolution
images, hosted video capabilities, and live streaming audio and
video. All participants – regardless of their location – will see
the exact item offered in the Sotheby’s New York salesroom and on
eBay at the same time and have the ability to bid online in real
time. The technology debuting within the Sotheby’s live auctions
experience will be the first use of live streaming audio and video
anywhere on eBay.
eBay’s live auctions platform brings a fresh perspective and new
opportunities for its 155 million active buyers to discover, browse
and acquire authentic, premium art and collectibles offered by
hundreds of auction houses from around the world.
Sotheby’s by the Numbers
- Nearly 25% more buyers online in 2014
compared to previous year
- The Collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon:
Interiors saw 71% of lots attracting online bids and nearly 30% of
buyers were online.
- 75% of the lots in the Picasso Ceramics
sale drew online bids
- John James Audubon’s elephant-folio The
Birds of America sold in April 2014 for $3.5 million — marking a
new record for an online purchase in a live auction at
Sotheby’s
- In 2014, mobile traffic accounted for
25% of total Sotheby’s website traffic
- Ten lots sold for more than $500,000 to
online bidders across categories and salesrooms.
eBay by the Numbers:
- Live auctions is a highly engaging
format. To-date, each eBay live auction buyer has already purchased
an average close to four items from the new platform
- Collectibles accounted for nearly $8
billion of GMV in 2014 with more than 36 million active buyers
- Each day on eBay, more than 3,500
auctions close with a price of >$5,000
- eBay has 155 million global active
buyers in 190 countries
- 50% of eBay Volume is touched by
mobile
- eBay enabled $28 billion in mobile
commerce in 2014
For more multimedia assets, visit here.
Tweet: .@eBay launches @Sothebys Live Auction experience! For
more info visit http://ctt.ec/TBRU2+
#BIDlive #eBayLiveAuctions.
About eBay Marketplaces
eBay is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces,
connecting people with the things they need and love virtually
anytime, anywhere. eBay has 155 million active buyers globally and
more than 800 million live individual and merchant listings at any
given time. With mobile apps available in 190 countries, eBay
delivers a personalized shopping experience and seamless access to
inventory from down the street and around the world. Tailored
shopping experiences customize buying and selling; and eBay
provides variety and choice for sellers by enabling them to offer
goods through online, mobile and local channels to consumers around
the world. For more information, visit www.ebay.com.
About Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of
art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction
house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to
conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973) and France (2001), and the first
international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today,
Sotheby’s presents auctions in eight different salesrooms,
including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris. Sotheby’s offers
collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the
world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as private
sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the
gallery arm of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department, as well as
Sotheby’s Diamonds and Sotheby’s Wine. Sotheby’s has a global
network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company
listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150317005232/en/
eBayKari Ramirez, 408-376-8023press@ebay.comorSotheby’sLauren
Gioia, 212-606-7176Lauren.gioia@sothebys.com
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