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Market still buoyant at the top
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After all the talk about the
credit crunch and recession, what is going on? We have have just finished the
spring Harrogate Fine Art & Antique Fair, having on of our best ever fairs at
the North Yorkshire event. We had lots of interest and sales with upper market
items and I am pleased to say it was a good event for us.
Immediately following Harrogate we headed off to London for the LAPADA Fine Art
& Antiques Fair at the Royal Academy's Burlington Gardens at the heart of
Mayfair. This time a disappointment, with a perceived reduction in visitor
numbers of the previous year and consequently less interest all around.
Could this be the "credit crunch" biting? Has recession not moved as far north
as Yorkshire? I think that maybe the answer lies in the venue. Burlington
Gardens is a rather hot "rabbit warren" of a venue, as soon as the temperature
rises above 21° Celsius, the temperature inside the building appears to
rise exponentially, creating hot and flustered visitors and frustrated
exhibitors.
Probably just in time from the fair's point of view we learn that Burlington
Gardens has been sold
by the Royal Academy, consequently LAPADA London will not be held there next
year, however it is on the cards that the event will remain in
Mayfair, possibly held in a marquee in Berkeley Square, just around the corner
from its current location....watch this space!
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Major Auction house commission
rates rise again
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Christie’s are to adjust their buyer’s premium thresholds, with effect from June 2, in line with changes announced by Sotheby’s last week. Previously, buyers at both auction houses paid 25 per cent on the first £10,000 or $20,000, followed by 20 per cent up to £25,000 or $50,000 and 12 per cent above that. Under the new rates, buyers will face a charge of 25 per cent on the first £25,000 or $50,000, followed by 20 per cent up to £500,000 or $1m, and 12 per cent thereafter.
As both Christie’s and Sotheby’s try to focus on higher value pieces, it is the buyers of their ‘middle range’ art and antiques who will face the highest commission charges. So this means when VAT is added the commission for lots under £25,000 will be a smidge under 30%! Nice margin!
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Website blues are over.....hopefully!
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After much consternation and debate; amongst
ourselves and with learned internet aficionados we have finally solve the access problem that some customers were experiencing. Without getting too technical it appears that it appears that some customers were having difficulty accessing our home page but could get into the site through the back door. We eventually tracked down the problem to a piece of code inserted into the homepage to allow Google to track it's usage. This has been removed and this together with the move of our server from the USA to a shiny new one in Gloucester has hopefully solved all our woes....please let me know though if you are still having problems
marcus@millingtonadams.com
The Olympia Summer Fine Art & Antiques Fair
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One of the year's premier events is coming up next week, with the Olympia Summer
Fine Art & Antiques Fair, held between the 5th and 15th June 2008 inclusive.
Preview day is on Thursday 5th, when the fair will also be open till 9pm with a
drinks reception in the evening. We hope you will be able to make it along,
Millington Adams are located on stand 95 in the gallery level. If you have not
received a ticket from us and anticipate coming to the show, please let us know
before hand and we will be happy to leave one on the door for you.
Recent Acquisitions
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Along the left hand side of this newsletter are shown our most recent acquisitions, these have been added to our web site
www.millingtonadams.com since our last newsletter in March. Click on any picture or the text below it to go to our site and view the piece in more detail, with full descriptions, pricing and zoom-able pictures.
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The Bottom Line
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| Funnily enough the
Bottom Line has not yet moved off the ground, perhaps the lighter side of the
antiques trade has past no further on than "Cash in the Attic" or "Flog It".
When I hear of some humorous stories I will be the first to pass them on and of
course if you would like to share your anecdotes with other readers of the MA Newsletter, then we would love to here from you, please e-mail your thoughts to newsletter@millingtonadams.com all notable and worthy submissions will be aired in a future edition of "The Bottom Line". |
This newsletter is produced by Millington Adams Ltd, if you would like to unsubscribe please click the link below, if you require any further information on any of our current stock then please e-mail
sales@millingtonadams.com and we will answer any questions you may have. Visit our web site via any of the links included in this newsletter or all of our most recent acquisitions can be viewed by clicking here.
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