LONDON.- As antiques fairs and shops and galleries temporarily close their doors as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, www.antiques.co.uk the world’s leading online antiques platform has launched a pay-as-you-go option where trade and private clients can list the widest array of items to buy and sell, whilst the site is now open to art galleries from around the world.

Traditionally a pay-for-membership site, www.antiques.co.uk founder Iain Brunt has now opened-up the platform enabling antique dealers, galleries, collectors and private buyers to list individual items for £3.75 (USD $5) with no other hidden fees or charges and the item remains live until sold.

There is no time restriction or limit to the number of items you can list.

According to the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report of 2020, global sales of art and antiques reached $64.1 billion in 2019. With economic predictions of the biggest financial crash in 100 years (Nomura), the art and antiques market must adopt digital platforms such as www.antiques.co.uk, or perish.

To support customers engaging on the platform, www.antiques.co.uk also has an online valuation service built-in, allowing individual sellers to get valuations within a few days so knowing the value of their items before listing them on the site.

The valuations pages are easy to use and intuitive.

Valuations can be as swift as 48 hours from as little as £10 (USD $13).

Traditional website sales platforms suffer from fakes and fraud, www.antiques.co.uk is designed to protect the buyer and help the legitimate seller.

Founder of antiques.co.uk, Iain Brunt:
“Having worked in the industry for over 40 years I thought it was time that someone represented all the world’s experienced and specialist dealers on one website.

As we have found over the years dealers throughout the world have been ignored in favour of contemporary art and design, and I hope with the development of www.antiques.co.uk that we can make aware to the rest of the world that we are in existence and are very knowledgeable.

With the present COVID-19 pandemic, the antiques sector faces a game-changing moment – we can either fully adopt to digitalisation and the benefits of technology, or we can continue to plough a lonely furrow which in the present and future economic climate would frankly be suicide.

At this moment I also wanted to open the site to art galleries to provide another route to market for them.

Finally, we ask all our colleagues and friends to keep safe and stay at home at this moment.”