As such, their knowledge of the artistic quality of what they sell is liable to be limited and that in itself will probably make whatever it is a poor investment. But dealers will often give you their informed opinion as to whether the item in question is the sort of thing that tends to appreciate or not. There are very few hard and fast rules, but one might be that the best tends to do best. For those who are buying art as an investment, we recommend 5 to 10 year minimum holds. Our philosophy is that art is an investment that pays two dividends, a financial one and an emotional one.
Bargains occur when buyer and seller have drastically different ideas of the value of an item.
The identical scenario also produces disastrous purchases. Beware of people you have never met before offering you bargains. Beware of any situation in which your idea of the value of the object is far greater than the seller's. You may know something he does not. On the other hand, he's lived with it and is liable to know something you don't.