Sale on consignment

What is sale on consignment?

Sale on consignment is the arrangement whereby a work still belongs to its original owner and the seller (an auction house or gallery) merely offers it to interested parties until a buyer is found. The owner does not hand the work over for good but entrusts it for sale, keeping it until a transaction takes place. It is a kind of quiet partnership between the person who owns the work and the one who knows how to find a buyer.

How does it work?

The seller exhibits or offers the work and receives their fee (a commission) only when it actually sells. Unsold auction lots also often return to the house and continue to be offered on consignment, and galleries sell works from their store in the same way. A work therefore need not disappear from the scene merely because it did not sell first time round.

Why does it matter to a collector or buyer?

For an owner, consignment is convenient in that they need not part with a work before the right offer arrives. For a buyer it means that a number of interesting works are in fact available even when they are not in any current sale. Isn't it pleasant to know that a work can be pursued properly without anyone having to rush?

What should you watch out for?

Until a work sells, it still belongs to its original owner, so it counts as an offer, not a completed transaction. With works that circulate on consignment for a long time, or that return repeatedly after failing to sell, it pays to ask about their history. Patience and a few follow-up questions serve better here than a hasty decision.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club