New feature streamlines payment processing for auction houses and bidders

Boston, MA, April 2023 – Invaluable today announced the rollout of Invaluable Payments, a new integrated payment service designed to simplify and enhance the post-sale experience for auction houses and buyers. The solution offers a seamless, secure way for winning bidders to complete payment directly through the Invaluable platform, while helping auction houses to reduce administrative time and improve payment completion rates. 

As online bidding continues to grow on a global scale, ease and reliability of payment has become an ever more important part of the auction experience. With Invaluable Payments, participating auction houses can offer buyers options such as credit or debit card payment and ACH (automated bank transfer) directly through their invoice and Invaluable account, all within a single integrated system.  

Auction houses using the new payment solution may benefit from streamlined bookkeeping, reduced time spent chasing payment, and improved payment outcomes. According to Invaluable data, auction houses with a payment processor see lower rates of non-payment and shorter post-sale administrative cycles, enabling staff to focus more on operations and client service. In addition, for U.S. auction houses, Invaluable Payments supports the management of state and local sales tax obligations.  

“Payments are a critical part of the auction experience, but they’ve remained fragmented for too long,” said Adam Kirsch, CEO of Invaluable. “With Invaluable Payments, we’re strengthening the infrastructure behind the marketplace making it easier for auction houses to operate efficiently while giving collectors a simple and reliable way to complete their purchases.” 

Simplifying the Post-Sale Experience 

• Seamless checkout: Buyers can pay directly through the Invaluable platform once they receive an invoice.  

• Multiple payment options: Support for major credit and debit cards, as well as ACH bank transfers on qualifying invoices.  

• Reduced administrative burden: Auction houses can spend less time chasing payment and more time on core operations.  

• Tax compliance support: For U.S. houses, state and local sales tax handling is supported. 

 Integrated Within the Invaluable Platform 

Invaluable Payments is visually identified within the platform so that bidders can easily see whether an auction house supports on-platform payment. Once a bid is won, winning buyers receive an invoice via email with instructions to pay through Invaluable, with payment options visible on the lot’s “Payment” tab. Buyers may choose to pay with the card on file or enter different payment information through their Invaluable account.  

About Invaluable 

Headquartered in Boston, with offices in U.K., France, and Australia, Invaluable is the world’s leading online marketplace for estate, fine and decorative arts, and collectibles auctions. Invaluable enables more than 4 million collectors around the globe to discover and buy the objects they love, with confidence and convenience, from over 5,000 of the world’s premier traditional auction houses.    

Invaluable solutions help auction houses manage and market their auctions online. For more than twenty years, its innovations have addressed the technology, marketing and research needs of some of the most successful brands in the global auction industry, including Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Artcurial and Tajan, to name a few of the thousands of auction houses served.