Paddle8 has turned the auction world on its ear by skipping the rubrics of long-established houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s and instead offering a streamlined, 24-hour online marketplace for buyers and sellers. It’s a 21st-century approach to collecting that, according to cofounder Alexander Gilkes, combines “the ease of Amazon, the quality of brick-and-mortar auction houses, and the elegance of Net-a-Porter.” Last October, a cash infusion of $34 million from major investors—including art-world heavyweight David Zwirner—proved that Gilkes’s formula is indeed giving traditional auction houses a run for their money.
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Paddle8 serves more than 600,000 collectors in 90 countries.
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For sellers, the company’s 8 percent commission—less than half the standard rate of traditional houses—is especially attractive.
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Paddle8’s 2015 auction sales doubled over the previous year.
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Damien Hirst (whose Ethidium Bromide Aqueous Solution is shown above) and other leading contemporary artists have partnered with Paddle8 to sell commissioned pieces.
Paddle8, paddle8.com
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