One of Australia’s top auctioneers is pushing forward on the web:

One year after it pushed into Sydney’s busy commercial art galleries sector with the launch of The New Albion Gallery, the team behind Deutscher and Hackett have set up what they hope will be the largest fine art e-commerce website in Australia, D+H Gallery, focusing on works by emerging and mid-career Australian artists.

It is hoped that the auction house’s strong brand and a constant supply of work, ranging in price from around $4000 to well over $100,000, will attract buyers who might otherwise be intimidated by the auction process, says Sydney executive director, Damian Hackett. […]

A buyer’s premium of 20 per cent (compared with 22 per cent for the auctions) and GST is included in D+H Gallery prices. Hackett says online costs are lower than auctions but the gallery will be paying the same amount of attention to an artwork’s provenance and condition, and it still picks up a tab for insurance, storage and specialist staff.

 Fine Art Auctioneer Turns to Web Sales (Sydney Morning Post)