My first auction experience had nothing to do with art. My brother-in-law asked me to sit in for him at an office equipment liquidation. He was looking for a printer. I found him one...a wide-carriage dot matrix unit, which should give you an idea of how long I've been going to auctions.
What I remember most was the auctioneer's introduction. "Folks," he said, "I am not Circuit City." And then he went on to educate us on the simple, hard, cruel truth in auction buying:
if you're the highest bidder when the man cries, "SOLD!" it's yours...whether you like it or not.
Everyone experiences buyers remorse every now and then. Most home accessories that have overstayed their welcome can be buried in drawers and closets. Ugly or unfashionable furniture can be refinished or reupholstered. Once out of sight, the remorse quickly evaporates. But not with art.
With art, buyers remorse only intensifies. Every time you pass it in the hall or glance up from your desk, there it is, mocking you. Of course you can take it down and put it in the closet too, but then you have that big empty space to contend with and you have to find and frame something else in its place. Few of us want to go to that expense, especially today.
There are several websites that offer tips on intelligent art collecting (I like this list in particular) but I've found that if I want to avoid buyers remorse with art, all I have to do is answer a question and/or heed a feeling. If you do the same you'll never experience buyers remorse again...at least, not where art is concerned.
The Question
"Is this something I want to look at every day for the rest of my life?"
Unless your answer to this one is an overjoyed 'YES!", you're going to experience buyers remorse about that purchase sometime thereafter. Not a reasoned affirmative, not a thoughtful affirmative, not even an enthusiastic affirmative, but a deep, heartfelt, celebratory "YES!"--the kind in which there is absolutely, positively no room for doubt. Answering the Question doesn't mean that you'll never change your mind about the artwork and its place in your home, it just means that you'll never regret acquriing it.
The Wow
You might not even need to ask yourself the Question if you experience the Wow--that true-love-at-first-sight feeling. The operative word here is TRUE-love-at-first-sight; there are many things that can contribute to a false sense of Wow, which we will take up in the next post.
The true sense of Wow means you can't take your eyes off the piece. It stirs something deep within you. It electrifies you. You revisit it at the auction or on the website, just to get one more look. Once it's yours, you're filled with pride of ownership. And you'd never dream of parting with it.
A Question-based purchase will always remain a part of your Collection. A Wow-based purchase will always remain a part of your Life.
That's Garry's sure-fire cure for buyers remorse with art. If you've got buyers remorse about anything else, contact Freecycle.org.
Your thoughts?
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