Georgina Adam uses her Financial Times column to look at the standard discount level being offered to collectors in these straitened times:
On the whole, recent auctions and fairs have demonstrated that buyers are looking for known names and that pricing is crucial. The satellite fairs around The Armory Show in New York in March did surprisingly well with very low-priced works. Recent auction results have shown that works will sell, but at deep discounts. With the slow-down in sales, dealers are also cutting prices, in some cases even making losses in order to keep their cash flow up. While 10 per cent to 15 per cent discounts used to be the norm, they are now having to go to 25 per cent, in some cases, to clinch deals. The problem, they say, is how to wean collectors off these higher discounts when the good times return.
The Art Market: The Biggest Fairs Around the World (Financial Times)
