The advantages of interest-free installments are well-known: the goods purchased are not expensive during payment, the financial effort you make is stable and does not put pressure on your wallet, plus you can reduce the number of installments and pay in advance the value of purchases, at no extra cost. The only such art sales system works successfully at Alexandra's Gallery.
“It was an idea coming from a regular of the Gallery. We were looking at a painting together and he said to me: “I would buy it, but I agreed with my wife that we are moving house this summer, and I still have some expenses with the finishes. Can you reserve it for me and pay it to you like this, gradually, until Christmas? ”. I knew that man well, so instead of reserving his painting, it was a real pleasure to see him go home, happy, with his favorite painting. Later, talking to the accountant and the lawyer of the Gallery, I created an official mechanism of this kind ", says Alexandra Bucur, owner & managing director of Alexandra's Gallery.
Since its debut in November 2017, Alexandra's Gallery has sold in installments dozens of paintings and jewelry. Most of them were bought by older customers of the Gallery. “It seemed fair to us to present the Art in Installments program first to the people we knew, who had visited us and bought from us, as a loyalty mechanism. We told them what we thought, they asked us various questions, extremely useful, it was like a focus group, and after these discussions we drafted the current terms and conditions. Now we have an official form that we present to those who visit us, especially at the openings and other events of the Gallery ", explains Ovidiu Obreja, coordinator of the Art in Rates program of Alexandra's Gallery.
What kind of art do Romanians buy in installments?
“Almost 90% of what we sell are works of art, so it is somehow normal for the dominant share of installment sales to be held by paintings. However, I also sold old jewelry and decorative objects ", says Alexandra Bucur. The most recent customer bought two paintings, worth 2,800 euros, for which he pays, monthly, around 230 euros.
What kind of people buy art in installments?
"We can't talk about certain demographics when we talk about our customers. I also sold paintings in installments to people who had just renovated their homes and were running out of savings, but also to people who were able to make sophisticated gifts without emptying their card. The program is very attractive, if you think that you do not have to pay any interest, no commission, in our contracts there are no hidden amounts written in small letters ”, Ovidiu Obreja also explains.
Examples
Conformable Catalog of the Permanent Exhibition, Alexandra's Gallery, a 17th century painting by Pierre Mignard, which costs 4,500 euros, can be bought in 12 monthly installments for just 375 euros. "Bucharest is full of people who spend this amount, monthly, only on what they consume in restaurants or who have similar telephone bills in value, so it is not at all difficult for us to sell such pieces." With the same monthly rate you can buy from Alexandra's Gallery two paintings by Florentin Vesa, three works by Marfred Jurgens, four paintings signed by Eugen Raportoru or even 8-10 works signed by contemporary painters at the beginning of the road.
Why spend so much money on a painting when the shops are full of very cheap canvas prints?
"It's a legitimate question. If you like a painting, you can look for a good reproduction on the net, which you print on canvas, frame it and you will have something very beautiful on the wall, which you did not give at most a thousand lei. There are, however, a thousand lei thrown on the window. At resale, you will get a maximum of 100 lei for that print, because you will compete with the prints available in DIY stores. An authentic painting, however, not only ennobles a home, but is also a financial investment. Since the art trade was regulated, the value of paintings has been steadily increasing, whether it is a crisis, war or inflation. In other words, if you give 1,000 euros for an author's painting with a certificate of authenticity and an invoice, you will be able to take at least 1,001 euros on it at any time ", explains Ovidiu Obreja.
How to buy in installments from Alexandra's Gallery?
No financial-banking intermediaries, no interest. If you want one or more paintings but consider that you have other financial priorities at the moment, find out that you can buy the paintings from Alexandra's Gallery portfolio in installments. The only conditions are:
- to accept the signing of a contract for the possession of the paintings, and you will receive the property deeds on them upon payment of the last installment;
- to purchase paintings worth a maximum of 5,000 euros;
- payment to be made in a maximum of 12 installments, one each month
Details about the Art in Installments program can be obtained by calling 0751144577. If you are interested in the cost of the Gallery's paintings, request a copy of the Permanent Exhibition Catalog by writing an email to office@alexandra-s.com.
