Sotheby's will discontinue regular auctions on Sothebys.com in early May. Sotheby's had moved its Web site in June 2002 to a new site that was built and hosted by eBay. At that time, Sotheby's had also adopted eBay's Live Auctions technology to enable real-time online bidding for some of its traditional auctions held in New York and London.
The strategic relationship with eBay did not seem to help Sothebys.com, where items from Sotheby's and its network of dealers and regional auction houses around the world were listed and guaranteed by the seller for both authenticity and condition. It is not clear what Sotheby's will tell its dealer associates once regular online auctions are discontinued, some time in May, but the implication from the announcement is that dealer associates are expected to list on the regular eBay.com Web site.
eBay and Sotheby's said they will place their emphasis on promoting Sotheby's live auctions through eBay's Live Auctions technology and will continue to build eBay's arts and antiques categories. The Sothebys.com Web site will continue, but focus on supporting Sotheby's live auction business.
"As our online auctions offered by our Dealer Associates and Sotheby's have not generated a profit for Sotheby's, we are discontinuing separate online auctions," said Bill Ruprecht, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sotheby's Holdings, Inc. "This action will regrettably lead to redundancies and a one-time restructuring charge in the first quarter of 2003 in the range of $2-3 million, but we anticipate that taking this step will enhance our profitability in 2003."
"The art, antiques and collectibles categories on eBay generated more than $1 billion in sales last year," said Geoff Iddison, Vice President and General Manager of eBay Collectibles. "We are delighted that many of Sotheby's dealer associates have contributed to this growing marketplace and we look forward to starting this new chapter in our relationship with Sotheby's."
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