Sotheby's teams with eBay to stream sales

Convinced that consumers are ready to shop online for Picassos and choice Persian rugs in addition to car parts and Pez dispensers, Sotheby's, the blue-chip auction house, and eBay, the Internet shopping giant, have formed a partnership to stream Sotheby's sales.

Starting this fall, most of Sotheby's New York auctions will be broadcast live on a new section of eBay's website. Eventually the auction house expects to extend the partnership, adding online-only sales and streamed auctions taking place anywhere from Hong Kong to Paris. The pairing gives eBay's 145 million customers instant bidding access to a vast array of what Sotheby's sells, from fine wines to watercolors by Cézanne.

This isn't the first time the two companies have teamed up; a 2002 collaboration fizzled after only a year. But officials say the market has matured in recent years, making the moment right for a new collaboration.

New York Times