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As long as you can afford the item, there is nothing easier than sitting down at your computer screen and buying something online, either through an auction or set price.  And artwork is no exception.   As the New York Times reported back in June of 2011, online sales of art ("given up for dead not long ago") are now becoming "an increasingly important part of the future of the \[art business\]" (Kennedy 1).  As Hans Neuendorf, CEO of Artnet.com says, more important than the increase in comfort with online commerce, is the "increase in the last decade in the number of people who spend money on contemporary art as a pastime or as an investment.  They tend to see online art sales as more accessible and transparent than sales in the gallery world" (Kennedy 3).  Michael Moriarity, Chairman of Skate's Art Market research, says that Internet technology "has reached a point \[where the internet art\] business is really gaining traction (Kennedy 3).  The evolution of online art sales was very well described byin a 2007 Harvard Case Study of Saffronart.com, an online auction site for Indian art.   Professor Khaire as quoted by the New York artwork.

Professor Khaire was quoted by the New York Observer:

The Harvard study, she says, shows that the online sales model works in industries where items are resold multiple times, such as automobiles; where research can create transparency; and where the buyer can get a full sense of the object they're contemplating purchasing. "It's unlikely you would buy something online from a Brazilian clothing company because the sizing is unfamiliar," says Ms. Khaire. "But you just might buy a piece of Brazilian art."   

Brady, New York Observer, 6/16/10.

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Artnet and eBay are the most significant companies in the online market for buying and selling art.  On any given day, there are at least 50 pieces or art selling for $1 million or more on eBay.com.  Just last month Artnet.com reported what it says may be the most expensive piece of art ever purchased on the Internet - a Warhol (Flowers) that sold in an online auction for $1.3 million.  Each site spends a considerable amount of time and money developing the art aspect of its ecommerce business – a category that is eBay's fourth largest (Skates 7).  A search I did just this morning reveals that there are approximately one and a half million items classified as "art" being offered for sale on ebay alone.  They categorize their art offerings into three major categories: 1)  Art from Dealers & Resellers (1,262,189 items);  2) Direct from the Artist (176,896 items);  and 3) Wholesale Lots (19,719 items).  While artnet.com does not list the number of works being offered, it does appear to be several thousand.  What it does interestingly list on its site is the most notable sales in each category, for example a "contemporary" work by Louise Bourgeois, Ode à l'Oubli, which sold in 2009 or for $209,000 on its online auction.  Although the recent Skate's report finds that eBay is the best infrastructure for online art sales (Skates 7), I think Artnet's user interface is a lot more straightforward and importantly provides a better breakdown of the different categories of art being auctioned. 

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