I have long been curious to find out what the most popular items are that people search for online when it comes to art, antiques and collectables auctions. Now, one of the world’s largest specialist search engines for this sort of thing, Barnebys, has revealed all in its latest annual report, which is being published in the next few weeks.
Looking at the registered search terms for auction alerts – when users set up automatic emails to let them know them that something they are particularly interested in is coming up for auction – it transpires that the most quoted brand name is Rolex. No surprise there, I suppose, nor that leading brand names for watches dominate searches in general, even though most people can’t afford them.
If so, why are so many seeking them out at online auctions? Is it just aspirational? Do they just want to inspect these watches close up and in detail? Or are they hoping to get a bargain? Who can say?
Whatever those reasons are, they must be the same for explaining the other most commonly used brand names in auction alert searches: Picasso, Banksy, Ferrari, Cartier and Tiffany.
All I can say is that I am just as aspirational as these would-be buyers. If I could fill my auctions with all of the above I would be a happy man indeed!
