Buying Art Online: Platforms, Risks and Due Diligence

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The main routes for buying art online

Buying art online now covers several quite different transactions, and the risks differ between them. The first step in any online purchase is to identify which kind of platform is involved, because that determines who is responsible if something goes wrong. Each route also has its own norms for price transparency, returns and documentation.

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Establish who is actually selling

The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report tracks online sales as a distinct channel, and established galleries and auction houses now use it routinely. The risks concentrate where the seller is least known and the documentation thinnest, not in the technology itself.

On a gallery's own site the question of who is selling is usually simple. On marketplaces, it often is not. Some platforms act as the seller, some as an agent for the gallery, and some merely connect buyer and seller and take a fee. The platform's terms state which, and they are worth reading before any payment, not after a problem.

Three questions settle most of it. Who is the seller named on the invoice? Where is the work physically located now? And what happens if the work arrives damaged, differs from its description or turns out to have a title or authenticity problem? If the answers are vague, the purchase should wait until they are not.

Private sellers and unfamiliar dealers warrant more scrutiny. That does not mean avoiding them, but it does mean checking that the business exists, that it has a verifiable address and trading history, and that the person corresponding is who they say they are.

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Judging condition and scale from a screen

Photographs flatter. Screens vary in colour, lighting in images is chosen by the seller, and texture, surface and scale are hard to read. Before buying a significant work unseen, a buyer should ask for more than the listing shows.

A written condition report is the baseline, ideally from a conservator or experienced registrar rather than the seller alone. Detailed photographs of the edges, corners, reverse and any labels or inscriptions are reasonable requests, as are raking-light images for paintings and close details of the surface. A short video, or a photograph of the work in a room beside something of known size, helps with scale.

For higher-value works, arranging for an independent person to view the work before purchase is often worth the cost. Many problems that a condition report describes neutrally look different in the room.

Galleries selling new work online can usually offer more than a static image: a video walk-through, a live call with someone standing beside the work, or a short hold while the buyer arranges to see it. Asking costs nothing, and the response is informative.

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Provenance, authenticity and title

Online sales carry the same provenance and authenticity questions as any other sale, with fewer opportunities to ask them face to face. The buyer should request the provenance in writing, supporting documents such as prior invoices and exhibition or publication history, and any certificate or authentication letter, together with an understanding of who issued it.

For artists with a catalogue raisonné, checking whether the work is included is a basic step. For older works, research resources such as the Getty Provenance Index can help trace earlier ownership. Checking a work against a stolen art database such as the Art Loss Register is prudent for secondary-market purchases, and some sellers will already have done so and can provide the search certificate.

Title matters as much as authenticity. A buyer needs assurance that the seller has the right to sell, that there are no outstanding claims against the work, and that any export or import requirements have been met. Where a work is shipped across borders, those requirements can be significant.

For new work bought from the artist or their gallery, provenance is short and simple, but the invoice and any certificate still matter: they are the first entries in the work's history, and a later buyer will ask for them.

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Payment, fraud and delivery

A common online art fraud involves not a fake work but a fake payment instruction. Criminals intercept or imitate email correspondence and send revised bank details just before payment is due. A buyer should confirm bank details by telephone using a number obtained independently, not one given in the email, and treat any late change to payment instructions with suspicion.

Several signs should stop a purchase until they are resolved.

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Delivery, returns and the invoice

Shipping should be agreed before payment: who arranges it, who pays, who insures the work in transit and when risk passes to the buyer. Returns policies vary widely and many art sales are final, so the buyer should know the position in writing. On arrival, the work should be unpacked and inspected promptly, with photographs taken of any damage before anything else is done.

The invoice should include the seller's full details, a clear description of the work, the price, any taxes and fees, and delivery terms. Consumer protection rules and tax treatment depend on where buyer and seller are located, and questions about either belong with a qualified professional.

Keep the listing itself. Saved copies of the listing, the description, the images and the correspondence are part of the record if a dispute arises, and listings are often removed once a work sells.