It’s the end of the year again. That means Champions League for all the art shippers in the world, because Art Basel Miami Beach is once again inviting you to the logistics ballet. The ABMB has come up with something new and created the MERIDIAN. This is to be the counterpart to Unlimited in Basel. The upper floor of the Convention Hall was prepared for this purpose so that the galleries could exhibit their oversized sculptures. Unfortunately, hardly any sculptures came from Germany.

In any case, there was a slight decline in German participants. We ask ourselves why? Are the galleries turning their attention back to their own four walls? If you only sell 1/10 of what you sell at the fair through the contacts you have made, you have probably made just as much profit without having invested so much in stand rental, transportation and personnel. Then there is the political situation in some countries. Due to the political riots and their consequences in Hong Kong, there are fears that collectors will not come to Art Basel Hong Kong. They are trying to entice everyone involved with little goodies. It would be a disaster for the galleries if the big collectors didn’t come. We will be there and will be flying there with our own people. We will keep you up to date!

In the USA, some German galleries had to deal with a short-term penalty duty on photographs under the age of 20. This had a huge impact on the shipping lists of some photo galleries. The stand had already been planned and now had to be rearranged at short notice. Otherwise they or the buyers would have had to pay 25% on the sales value. The galleries would have been asked to pay on import.

We reacted immediately to the news from the USA and informed all our customers about this and checked all their lists again before they went on their journey. Knowledge is good, control is better.

Basically, the trade fair was successful for everyone involved. Some big players made a huge profit, others got their money’s worth. We had no damage, everything arrived on time. Our art handlers could have been booked a little more during the fair, to mention something that could have been improved. Other than that, we also chalk up Miami as a success story this year.

We are looking forward to next year!
Your Artseco Team

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