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read it online: http://www.buyafricanantiques.com/how_to_sell_african_art_online.htm

by David Norden, Antwerp

Dear $email,

It is a long time I didn't email you about with my recent acquisitions. But before doing so I wanted to tell you a little story.

As you know I am selling African Art online already since 1998, and I was one of the first African Art dealers to do this online so, today most of them do and this makes it easier to find genuine objects online.

In the beginning it was not easy since most people where not online and also people where not used to buy from behind a computer. You had to go from town to town and visit little shop to find old objects.

When I first started on the internet I decided to create a website because printing a brochure was very expensive and I couldn't afford it, and doing a little catalog on the internet was much cheaper, even after the costs of buying a computer and the recurring cost to be online. I remember struggling to understand how to insert links and images on my website, and spending days to solve little problems and setting up the first discussion group about African art on the internet. Last time I was in Paris during the "Parcours des Mondes" I returned home with more than 20 catalogs offered to me by dealers. Today 20 years later many dealers are doing catalog sites andmore and more are printing real catalogs since it became  affordable for everyone with printing on demand .

In those 20 years much has changed, and so is the African art business. Today  there is not much more discussions going on the African Antiques group on Yahoo!groups I first started in March 2000, since most African art collectors have a Facebook account  they are discussing with friends and family and most of you already discovered the African Art Facebook fan page I created to discuss: http://www.facebook.com/africanart1

I started dealing with African Art in 1992, and more people took the time to visit me in my Shop in Antwerp than today, which was nice since it allow longer discussions than while being on a Fair or meeting at an auction when everone is in a hurry, but I have to say hat visitors who take the time to come to Antwerp today are more motivated and it enables more in depth conversations.

Today people prefer to buy online, to go to Fairs ( like the one I am doing in May 2012 in New York- contact me if you want to join ) or buy through auctions. Since time became such a precious thing, many people are also ready to buy through e-commerce sites. The only problem I see is that people have a lack of confidence in the authenticity of the proposed merchandise, they don't trust the dealers and they don't even trust the given certificates, that's why I give a 15 days no questions asked guarantee and six month exchange guarantee, and I encourage everyone to send pictures to other experts to get a second opinion before buying more expensive things. Also remember that even Museum documents can be falsificated and I received many emails from people trying to sell me eg. Tikar objects that got faked Museum documents.

Several dealers also joined forces together to create a vetted selling portal with affordable African Art that is guaranteed genuine, proposing new objects every months but I will speak to you about this new project in one of my next emails.

Of course if you have time to come to Antwerp this winter before I travel to New York in May, and if you ready for a longer Chat , ask and I'll open a bottle of wine for you, but let me know in advance since I will take a few little breaks to travel around in Europe to find fine objects for my New York Show.

With the years passing by I am more and more am aware from the importance of buying from reliable sources. It is not for nothing that auction houses focus so much on provenance and old documentation, even if I find that sometimes people become crazy when paying for provenance in a way that is not realistic any more (See the video post on the African Art Club Christies African Art auction results related to the little Songye axe ). Since 1998 price went up more than six fold for the cheaper objects, but more than ten fold for objects in the higher price categories.

The financial crisis of these last years did not affect the African Art market by lowering the prices, but by making the collectors more selective before buying and ending in paying more for the nice objects, leaving everything from medium quality on the side. Also a new breed of African Art collectors appeared on the market who collects also modern and contemporary paintings recognizing the source of inspiration that started with cubism. Those collectors are ready to spend much more money for the African art that inspired the painters, certainly when it could be proven the objects where already collected in those old time.

To sell and buy African Art today I have a few tips for those of you who want to collect and sell through the internet:

So today to sell African Art you need to be able to show a good track record and be helpful.

Last but not least see below some of the objects I recently added on the BuyAfricanAntiques.com site. If interested in one of more pieces let me know an send me an email . I sold hundred of objects to private collectors, other dealers from Brussels, Paris and the States, and Museums like a seldom Vai statue I sold last year to the Yale University Art Gallery or a nail fetish to the maa.missouri.edu, I sold also many interesting objects to the Music Instruments Museum, and many private collectors etc... for more 'see some testimonials') . I would love to give you advice and help you grow your collection and am in the process on doing a book related on dealing with African art that should be ready in a few months..

African Art for sale & recent acquisitions at BuyAfricanAntiques.com

I still always give free delivery worldwide, 15 days of money back guarantee and six months exchange guarantee. You can pay with credit cards like Visa Mastercard or American Express, Paypal, or with a money transfer on my bank account.

See also my other masks , Figures,  objects ,and other from  outside Africa if something interests you, then send me and email to confirm your interest ( please if possible add the URL of the page from the object you like) , after I confirmed your payment by credit card, wire transfer, or paypal I'll ship it to you, securely packaged and with a complete description and you'll get 15 day money back guarantee and six months exchange guarantee (no questions asked ).

Hope you enjoyed this edition,

David Norden

David Norden 
Sint Katelijnevest 27 
B2000 Antwerp - Belgium 
Tel +32 3 227 35 40

http://www.buyafricanantiques.com