Private vs Auction sale: Best method to sell your work

Confused between entering your artwork in an auction or privately selling it off market? 

Here’s what you need to consider: your ultimate focus has to be on maximising your returns, this can be within a set timeframe or with no particular timeline in mind. To facilitate this goal, you need to get the best representation for your work. This can mean hiring an auction house or selling privately through an online art management platform, which one you pick depends on your goal, timeline, type of work and personal preference. 

The most important is understanding both processes so that you can make a sound decision and figure out how to get to your desired outcome in the easiest way possible. 

Selling through an auction house

1. To consign a work of art to auction, you first identify the house and specific sale that best matches your piece e.g. blue-chip works gravitate to marquee evening auctions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s or Phillips, whereas regional houses can outperform on local schools 
2. Once you have chosen the saleroom, you submit photographs, dimensions, medium, date, signature details and provenance through the house’s online “request an estimate” portal; within a few days a specialist responds with a provisional high-low range and a suggested sale category. 
3. If that range meets your expectations, you most likely will have to drop it off at the auction house or arrange delivery for it so that a specialist can inspect the artwork in person (or via an accredited conservator). That check confirms authenticity and condition, refines the estimate and triggers a formal consignment offer.
4. Next comes the consignment or seller agreement, the key contract that locks in the estimate, an undisclosed reserve price (the minimum bidding price - not including the buyer’s premium that you will accept), seller’s commission, marketing and insurance charges and the settlement timetable. 
5. With the paperwork signed, the house organises insured transport to its warehouse or photo studios. Conservators perform an in-depth condition check, high-resolution images are shot, and cataloguing begins. In the weeks that follow, the house markets the lot through viewing days, email campaigns, social media teasers and, for major works, an international tour of previews.
6. On auction day the auctioneer offers the lot live in the room and online; if bidding reaches or exceeds the reserve, the sale is legally binding at the fall of the hammer. The buyer typically has seven to ten days to pay, after which the house deducts all agreed fees including seller’s commission, marketing, shipping and insurance and wires you the net proceeds, usually within 30 to 45 days of the sale.

If the work fails to sell (it is “bought-in”), the house will, during a short after-sale window, try to place it privately at or near the low estimate; alternatively you may re-offer it in a future auction at a reduced estimate range, or withdraw it (often incurring a modest fee).

By following this sequence i.e. selecting the right house, securing a formal estimate, signing the consignment contract, completing cataloguing and marketing, confirming reserve terms, and finally navigating settlement, you align with the standard workflow used by auction houses for the sale of fine art.

How much do you have to spend on this sale? 

When consigning artwork to an auction house, there is a standard seller's commission at 15%, which is negotiable depending on the value and desirability of the artwork. Along with this, other costs that may arise during your sale period are marketing and cataloguing fees, the cost of shipping your work to the auction house, paying for storage before the actual auction as well as a loss, damage and liability insurance, commonly referred to as an LDL. 

Does changing the rules help?

In 2024, Sotheby's standardized the Seller’s Commission to 10% up to $500,000 across all categories in an attempt to encourage growth “by creating transparency, simplicity, and fairness on fees that have always been intimidatingly complex”. While this should have driven sales and positively affected their market, top-tier sellers increasingly turned to private sales for one key reason- flexibility. In the past, these sellers would often lower their fees or commission to ensure a sale, but now, the standardised policies for consignments of all values makes the auction route too rigid and inflexible.

Artscapy advisor, Daniela Bianco at Rosana Antolí's studio during a private tour.

Selling privately through Artscapy

If you opt to sell through Artscapy rather than a traditional auction house, the journey is far more streamlined and digitally led. 

1. First, you upload photographs, dimensions, medium and basic provenance via the “Sell your art” form on Artscapy’s website; the entire submission takes less than two minutes and the more complete the data, the sharper the initial valuation will be. 
2. Within one to three business days an Artscapy advisor issues either a Maximise Returns valuation or a firm Fast Sale offer (the latter is available for works over £10,000 and aims to place the piece within 1-3 days). An in-depth appraisal service is also available, with full reports delivered inside 14 days. Before anything goes live, each work passes a manual due-diligence check: Artscapy staff review documentation (certificate of authenticity, invoices, provenance letters) and high-resolution images; they commit to respond within 72 hours. If you accept a Fast Sale offer, they also arrange an on-site inspection to confirm condition and authenticity before listing or placing the work. 
3. Once approved, Artscapy’s team designs a sales plan i.e. depending on the work and needs of the client: It is either shown privately to a hand-picked group of collectors who have already expressed interest in similar pieces or we list the work on Artsy and Artnet (either with the price visible for a faster sale or as POA for greater discretion, whichever you prefer) or we share the work with our trusted international partner galleries so they can present it to their own clients. From cataloguing and marketing to insured logistics and negotiations, every detail is handled for you with white-glove care.
4. When a buyer commits, the platform escrows the funds, organises insured collection and ships the artwork. You receive settlement within seven days of confirmed delivery, keeping things cash-efficient.

How much are you spending overall? 

The cost structure at Artscapy is seller-friendly. 

0% seller’s fees: The net return listed above is the amount you will receive if the work sells and a buyer typically cover a transparent 5-15 % service fee. This is a massive difference from the 15% charged by auction houses. If the piece doesn’t sell straight away, Artscapy can suggest alternative strategies for a future sale. 

No shipping or insurance costs: These are covered by the buyer. We will handle all logistics, from collection to delivery. At no point will we ask you to deliver your work to us similar to an auction house. 

No storage fees: You may keep the works at home until they sell. Once a sale is confirmed, we’ll secure payment from the buyer, collect the work, ship it, and release your funds once delivery is completed.

In short, Artscapy offers a digital, low-fee route: rapid online intake, quick expert valuation, rigorous due-diligence, concierge marketing, escrow-protected payment and prompt settlement - all without the public exposure, commission ladder or lengthy pay-out cycle that accompanies a mainstream auction.