Recently I posted some queries about how/if museums are using on-line
auction services to buy and/or sell objects, and promised to share the
results with the group.
I received 10 responses, most from smaller museums and history centers.
* Everyone who responded had purchased something over eBay. In one
case, it was strictly a fluke and there are no plans to continue the
practice, but everyone else was enthusiastic about continuing the venture.
One institution has purchased 200 eBay objects in the past year!
* Only one institution had sold a deaccessioned object over eBay.
There was a very clear split among those who hadn't: about half said they
definitely would NOT do it, while the others said they had no particular
problem with it but simply had not had occasion to do so.
* Only one institution had sold excess museum shop merchandise through
eBay. No one took a hard-line position against doing so, however.
* All but one institution deal exclusively with eBay.
* In all but one case, different staff worked with eBay, depending on
the type of object being purchased.
The general comments were, predictably, very enlightening! Among the points
made were:
* It's hard to evaluate objects for authenticity, condition,
provenance, etc., from a website. An ignorant seller can be as dangerous as
a fraudulent one. Buy beware!
* eBay opens a huge market for the purchase of artifacts, especially
for institutions in isolated locations.
* Purchase from dealers with excellent feedback only.
* Deaccessioning should not be as easy as sitting down at your
computer.
* One drawback to online purchases is that decisions must be made in a
relatively short period of time.
* An eBay listing can lead to good contact with a collector who has
more items for sale. One curator even convinced a seller to donate the
object to his museum, rather than sell it!
* Curators shouldn't get caught up in auction frenzy; as with any
purchase, you should be able to fully justify adding the object to the
museum's collection.
* Many people felt that online purchasing would see a dramatic rise in
the near future. One curator mentioned that the city newspaper was doing a
story about them and their online collecting strategies.
Many thanks to those of you who took the time to respond. This is an issue
that many of us will continue to watch with great interest, I think. It
would be fun to revisit the questions in a couple of years.
Marie Via, Curator of Exhibitions
Memorial Art Gallery
500 University Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
716.473.7720, x3012 (fax 473.6266)
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