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Antique dealers on the internet: Strange ducks or precursors?

(ANTWERP, BELGIUM) David Norden is one of the few that masters it. 
Unlike the traditional antique dealers he gets most of his business online. He is the owner of six sites. He knows what he is speaking about when it is about online antiques.

by Rob Michiels March 2007 updated November 2007 (originele versie afrikaanse kunst Antiekhandelaars op internet: buitenbeentjes of voorlopers? )

Didn't the rise of the Internet make the romantic aspect of bargain hunting vanish ?

I found the internet to be an enormous enrichment. It expands your brains with the memory of the whole world !

Through the net, I can discover pieces in Africa without going there .

It is completely different from before. As  a dealer you can find very good pieces through the Net.

It is a huge difference that your clients also can do the same !

To make a difference as a dealer, you still have to put much energy in discovering pieces, perhaps even more so than in the past.

David Norden in his Shop in Antwerpen 
(photo Rob Michiels)

Isn't the Antiques dealing on the net a disadvantage for this sector ?

Yes and no, the market situation completely changed with the new possibilities. 

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“The Internet expands your brain with the memory and knowledge of the world ! ”
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In the librarians' world this brought many problems.  In the past some books where very difficult to get, because you simply couldn't find them. The clients didn't know in bookshop to find the book.

These books where of course very valuable. Now you just have to do an Internet search to know what is and what isn't available. You can even compare prices and find the most interesting proposition.

During pre-Internet times, traditional Antiques and Art dealers did not speak at all about the provenance of pieces.

It was not usual to inform your clients.

When studying I discovered this was changing. Our society evolved towards and information society.

Today, we are prepared to pay to get information. Those having the knowledge can earn a living with it.

This is why I started my first website in 1998. It started as a cheap online catalog for my pieces.But along the way it became an online archive with everything related on African Art.

In total the african antiques site has 1572 pages related on African Art. ( so  I just created www.african-arts.info to add the new pages  )

You are dealing in a very different way from the traditional Antiques dealers. Do you get more clients because people see you are doing your best to inform?

Yes, definitely. Collectors really appreciate this  and most dealers get left behind. They think people have to come and see the pieces for themselves to be sure about quality and authenticity, but today, collectors want more than just the possibility to buy in trust. It really is a complete package. One documents the pieces in an extended way and by giving a guarantee  of its quality they can always return the items or get or a replacement piece if they are not satisfied. You have to adapt to the requests of the market. 

You can best compare the Internet with a big Antiques Fair

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“You can best compare the Internet with a big Antiques Fair”
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Clients don't find it an easy option to  look only at what one dealer offers. It takes time to come, like in my case, especially to Antwerp.

Going to a Fair you can see a huge offer all at once. As an antiques dealer you'll have to go to the people today.

I guess 90 percent of my pieces are sold online. Most of my clients I have never met in person. I usually see them when I participate in a Fair, but it is always pleasing when someone comes to you at a Fair to tell you they are the proud owners of one of your pieces.

Do you buy yourself from the net from time to time ?

Yes, it happens, but my online purchases are only two or three percent of my annual business. For instance, I bought at Skinner's, an American Auction house, through the internet.

I don't buy many pieces on the basis of a picture alone,  but I absolutely don't have any problems with it. Sometimes people want to exchange pieces. They can simply send me pictures but, whenever possible, I still prefer to go see the pieces at people's home.

Is it always possible to spot a fake from a real piece on a picture?

Fake Bamileke beaded statue ( © David Norden )  

Sometime it is very difficult.  In some extreme cases it is nearly impossible. But this is not only the case on the internet. I bought not so long ago a beaded statue from a dealer. I couldn't study the piece, because the Shop wasn't lightened very well. It was only when I came home I saw it was a fake

Genuine Bamileke collected before 1923 Photo Peter Horner © Museum der Kulturen Bazel

One could only determine that it wasn't real, was because the rope that kept the beads together, had not a normal wear of old ropes.

You can't see it easily, even the bottom of the statue was fairly convincing.

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“Ik think a croock can not only trick you at Ebay, but also on his website, or in a shop.”
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There really are specialists among the fakers. Also fake pieces at the Heidelberg Museum where not easy to distinguish from the real pieces, but if you are an expert you'll be able to tell the real from the fake. 

So there are really pieces copied with the intention to sell them as real?

Yes. This happens in all areas of the Antiques dealing world. How many fake Gallé- vases did emerge twenty years ago from Romania? They did not have the refinement of a real Gallé vase, but for someone knowing only the Gallé name they seemed quite attractive. 
There are only very few areas where fakes doesn't exist

Is this a main weakness of Internet business ?

No, because the Internet is just a transcription of the real world. On the net it is just easier to find the things. I think a determined croock can always trick you.

Also, in the mainstream Internet business people often become victims, but this is not only the case in the Antiques business. Naturally, I receive from time to time e-mails from Africa showing fake pieces. Once I even received just a scan of a book asking me if I wanted to buy the piece. But when you see the printout you know you should use your brains. I even recognized the book from which the picture was taken. 

One of the most dangerous threats on the net is spam. The worst aspect of it is that it often works - from fake Viagra pills to Russian woman or fake Rolex watches. But sadly enough, there are still people who gets misled.

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Rob Michiels (+32) 0473713668 is a journalist student at the Artevelde Hogeschool in Gent-Belgium. 

He is researching the Antiques business on the Net. He is a fan of Ebay and sells on the internet through his website  www.antiquetiles.be 

David Norden is an Art lover and specialist of African Art and webmaster from www.african-antiques.com, www.african-arts.info . You can see his pieces at www.buyafricantiques.com  

read also: The Secret Behind the MASK Another interview with David Norden.

Some recent acquisitions from David Norden (click on thumbs to read more) :