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- Dec 19, 202490% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Sotheby's Reverses Its 2024 Buyer's-Fee Overhaul
- Sotheby's told clients on 19 December 2024 that it was abandoning the streamlined fee structure it had introduced that February and enacted in May[1][2]
- From 17 February 2025, the buyer's premium reverts to a tiered 27% on lots up to $1 million, 22% between $1 million and $8 million, and 15% above $8 million[1]
- Sellers' commissions revert to individually negotiated "bespoke" terms, replacing the flat 10% rate (capped at $500,000 of hammer price) CEO Charles Stewart had called a "smart disruption" in February[2]
- The reversal followed a weak 2024 for the wider art market and came after S&P had downgraded Sotheby's credit rating[2]
References 290% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%theartnewspaper.com/2024/12/19/sothebys-u-turn-on-new-fees-structuretheartnewspaper.com· Posted Sep 25, 2026· Starts Dec 19, 2024 ✓· 92% of score
ARTnews[2] reported the reversal 'In a letter sent to clients on Thursday' (19 December 2024); The Art Newspaper's account, published the same day, gives the new terms as taking effect '17 February 2025'.
- [2]85%Sotheby's Reverses Course on Fee Structure Announced in February after Challenging 2024artnews.com· Published Dec 19, 2024· 8% of score
Confirms the letter was sent 'on Thursday' (19 December 2024), that the new buyer's premium 'will range from 15 percent to 27 percent of the hammer price', and that sellers revert to 'bespoke' terms after the flat 10% plan CEO Charles Stewart had called a 'smart disruption' in February.[1]
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