Sotheby's presentation of the company and of our visit in the New York downtown office

Résumé du document

The first auction company has been founded by Sam Baker, in the middle of the 18th century, in 1744. The company was at the beginning specialized in books and literature. There were 80 various collections of categories.

At first, Sotheby's chose to develop bookcases sales. The funny story is that amongst all these bookcases were the one of Bonaparte.
The company then extended its sales to prints and currencies. In 1950, Sotheby's grew strongly, thanks to its CEO Peter Wilson. Impressionism and Modern Art was one of the strongest fields of the company. In the late 1950s, the company offered to sale the famous Goldschmidt collection, which included up to seven paintings and frames. This frames were sold in twenty minutes, for £781 000. With this kind of sale, Peter Wilson understood the real meaning of the market and chose to open an office in New York in the middle of the 1950s.

In the late 1960s, new offices opened in Paris, France, Los Angeles and Houston, USA. A few offices were also opened in Melbourne, Australia, Florence, Italy and Toronto, Canada, then in Edimburg, Munich and Zurich. Finally, in the 70s, other offices have been opened in Asia and other American States.

Extraits

[...] The principal strength of the company is how they manage their whole set of services and various businesses. They are better than the competition because of the specific management 20 of the company. We have heard about various sectors such as museum services, financial department, valuation ones etc. Every single request of a customer can be treated within the company; they do not outsource any of their tasks. Thanks to the great quality of the service they offer, and their great experience, the company has a real value added compared to its competitors. [...]

[...] Sotheby's presentation of the company and of our visit in the New York downtown office In the middle of the semester, we have been offered to visit the offices of Sotheby's in New York, the famous international company of auction for pieces of art and luxury products. This auction company is quoted in the NY Stock Exchange and is the oldest one worldwide. The building is public, which means that anyone can come by and visit it, also participate to any auction they want. [...]

[...] He posted active connoisseurs in more than 50 countries. Amongst the pieces of art sold by Sotheby's, customers could find famous painting, furniture approximately sold for $110000. That is why customers of Sotheby's usually are high class collectors, fortunate and passionate people from all over the world, thanks to the great worldwide notoriety of the company. As said before, the offices of the company are located in more than 30 countries all over the world, but the major part of its workforce is in Europe and USA. [...]

[...] This frames were sold in twenty minutes, for £ With this kind of sale, Peter Wilson understood the real meaning of the market and chose to open an office in New York in the middle of the 1950s. In the late 1960s, new offices opened in Paris, France, Los Angeles and Houston, USA. A few offices were also opened in Melbourne, Australia, Florence, Italy and Toronto, Canada, then in Edimburg, Munich and Zurich. Finally, in the 70s, other offices have been opened in Asia and other American States. [...]

[...] Here is the simplified auction system: Consignors _ Sotheby's _ Buyers If the hammer price is less than the one indicated, the buyer pays commissions and expenses. If the price is higher, Sotheby's gives him premium. The revenues of the company are accorded thanks to the commissions made on the products' value, it is usually around 15% for each piece of art. The percentage will be higher if the value is high. I liked visited Sotheby's because I did not know anything about auctions, it taught me a lot. [...]