Winning the lot is the easy part. At the moment the hammer falls, full responsibility for the art object shifts to its new owner, and it’s your core task to make all the necessary arrangements. The main tasks you need to take care of include invoice settlement, checking the storage deadline, requesting an updated condition report, and hiring a professional team responsible for shipping artwork after an auction to your location. Let’s cover every step in detail to give you a practical how-to roadmap.
Invoice Settlement
The starting step of your arrangements for shipping artwork after an auction is payment. No auction house will release the sold lot or start shipping arrangements before the invoice is settled in full. The final payment typically includes the hammer price, the buyer’s premium, and any applicable sales tax or VAT. International wire transfers sometimes take several days to clear, so we recommend making payments promptly to avoid logistics delays.
Free and Paid Storage Deadlines
Free storage is auction-house-dependent and typically lasts for a limited period after the sale. After that, auction house storage facilities start charging daily fees for keeping your artwork on their premises or may offer to move the lot to an offsite warehouse. To avoid paid storage or extra costs for the lot’s retrieval and handling during relocation, you need to inquire about your storage deadline and work backward from it, planning all financial and logistics operations accordingly.
Updated Condition Report
It’s vital to have an updated condition report for insurance and shipper liability purposes. The post-sale condition report will be your assessment baseline for evaluating the artwork after delivery.
Shipping Artwork After an Auction
Now comes the most responsible step – choosing the shipper. You may select one of three options: using the auction house’s in-house shipping department’s services, hiring a recommended third-party specialist, or choosing a fine art shipping company independently. We recommend getting three quotes to compare the cost structure and choose the one you’re comfortable with. Fine Art Shippers is a good option worth considering for comparison, offering museum-grade art shipping services and handling various tasks, from pickup and packing to unpacking, installation, and debris removal.
A couple of pro tips for art owners planning a shipment from an auction house: get an export license early for cross-border shipments, confirm the auction house’s storage deadline to avoid additional fees, and inspect the delivered package for damage.