Barron’s has a curious article suggesting that new collectors from emerging markets are behaving a bit like louts. But some of the stories — like buyers asking for longer payouts than the published 30 days — don’t seem confined to “emerging markets” collectors but standard practice among the rich.
some of the emerging-market collectors have been known to buy and then walk away, or refuse to pay. Some assume that an auction represents the start of negotiations rather than their conclusion. […] Art-gallery owners are facing the same thing. “One out of every three ‘sales’ we make doesn’t take place,” says Adam Sheffer, an owner of New York’s Cheim & Read contemporary art gallery. That’s because a collector may agree to purchase a specific work but never send the money to pay for it.
Art of the Auction: Lost in Translation? (Barron’s)
