The auction industry is currently one of the most decentralized, and least
transparent industries in the world. Historically, auctions relied upon disparate
levels of knowledge on the condition, provenance, and desirability of a piece.
Wild speculation on the values of fine art, automobiles, and real estate was the
norm.
However, due to the influence of the internet, many modern-day consumers
will not buy at auction unless they feel the value of a piece is well documented.
While people trust the price estimates of big-name auction houses like Sotheby’s
and Christie’s, the credibility of smaller auction houses fluctuates through
different circles and over time.
To keep up with consumers’ changing preferences, auction houses need
the provenance, condition, and market value of the pieces they sell to be readily
available to customers. As transparency increases and auction houses’ potential
profit margins decrease, introducing technology to cut costs and increase
revenue will become incredibly important. Since the overwhelming majority of
auction houses are small-time operations, facing these challenges on an
individual basis is often not economically viable.
This whitepaper outlines the issues facing the auction industry today, and
how the Essence Project will implement cutting-edge organizational structures
and introduce open-source technologies to address these challenges. The
Essence Project will act as an alliance for art galleries and auctions that
individually control less than 1% of the total market. Together, these art galleries
and auctions compose over 90% of the market.
Check out the rest of the whitepaper here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a8e4d4bcf81e07f00f83d53/t/5ab9720c8a922d75cecfc754/1522102837443/Essence+Whitepaper