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The vast majority of Auctions are public events, which means that the biddingaudience usually sets the Hammer Price. Therefore, the Auctioneer needs to make surethat the bidders know as much as possible about an item to ensure a fair price forthe consignor. In addition to beautifully displaying items in the salesroom andmarketing an upcoming Auction sale, it is important that the Auction Cataloguedescribes and lists the items accurately. Most potential bidders at an AntiquesAuction, pay special attention to the maker or provenance on an item to determineits value so that they can bid accordingly.
Often, many Antiques Auction Houses employ antiques experts or Appraisers toidentify items and to have them properly listed in the Auction Catalogue. However,most Auctions have hundreds of items for sale and this task can be daunting. Also,there is a legal requirement that the descriptions of the items are accurate.Therefore, auctioneers welcome the opportunity to get some help on identifying theiritems since this will ensure higher profits and compliance with the law.
Marks4Antiques.com has developed an easy and quick visual method of identifyingAntiques & Collectibles online, especially when it comes to Ceramics and Silver orJewelry. Antiques marks are divided in Shape Categories that help locate a mark andlearn its identity very quickly by just browsing pages filled with marks that lookalike. Using Marks4Antiques.com has cut down at least 20 hours of pre-salepreparation when it comes to our Auctions, says Kathleen Greenaway, SeniorAppraiser for Cambridge Auctions in Sunnyvale, CA. I am a member of both theAmerican and International Society of Appraisers (ASA and ISA) and have numerousresources and plenty of experience to draw upon. Yet, www.Marks4Antiques.com is avery vital and super-efficient tool that we use daily she continues.
Bidders at auctions also appreciate accurate and correct information on items theywould like to buy. When an Auction catalogue is accurate, it helps them find itemsthey are missing from their own collection and are usually inclined to bid moreduring the sale. In fact, this becomes even more important in cases where an Auctionis also broadcast on the web, as is the trend today. Bidders that cannot physicallybe on location to inspect or preview the items, often have to rely on descriptionsof these items on the Internet version of the Catalogue. Although many such Internetversions are nicely presented with photos and all, many bidders use search features to find items they are interested. So the name of the maker of an item,which is usually the most important aspect to determine its value, is the keyelement that is used to find it and possibly bid during a specific sale.
As a matter of fact, beyond the level of specific Auction Sales that are alsobroadcast on the Internet, many antiques Dealers have Internet storefronts orwebsites that list and display their items for sale. In these cases, identifying anAntique or Collectible accurately is of utmost importance, since this will becomethe main way that an interested buyer searching through Google or other SearchEngine will find it. In technical terms, the maker of an Antique or Collectiblebecomes the keyword that determines whether an item will surface during anInternet search and cause a sale. www.Marks4Antiques.com is the most frequentlyvisited online tool that is used to help in this effort, since the informationavailable to members is constantly updated and vetted. Fakes or forged antiquesmarks are easily identified, which helps avoid costly mistakes and keeps customershappy. In fact, members to Marks4Antiques.com have access to personal expert adviceat no additional charge in order to inquire on marks they may have doubts or need toconfirm.
We are particularly careful in addressing members inquiries accurately and quicklyby our experts, says Lisa Marion of Marks4Antiques.com. We are very aware that ouranswers may have a financial impact on a member s decision, whether they are aSeller or a Buyer of an Antique item. We like to think ourselves as antiquesexperts on retainer to our members. For some Antiques Professionals, this is asimportant as having a good Lawyer or Accountant Lisa added.
About Marks4Antiques.com
Marks4Anti ques.com was created to help Collectors and Dealers to research Antiques &Collectibles. The successful launch of Marks4Ceramics.com in 2004 was quicklyfollowed by Marks4Silver.com in 2006 and then Values4Antiques.com this year. Allwebsites were designed for use online in order to accommodate the growing number ofmobile Antiques and Collectibles Dealers that roam the country to different Auctionsor Shows and those that sell or buy online (eBay etc). Subscribing to any of thewebsites provides easy and fast pictorial methods of identifying and self-appraisingitems. An active member can also contact the experts of each website for personalassistance when a mark is not already in the database at no additional cost. Tofacilitate an unbiased Antiques Research & Evaluation environment, no Trade (buyingor selling) of items is allowed through these sites as they are totally dedicated toResearch. All staff are avid Collectors, Appraisers and professional Dealers. Thecompany is owned and operated in the State of California, USA.
