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Started circa 1995 in Vancouver on the West Coast of Canada - far from the wealthy art enthusiast base in Toronto -- Heffel House was taking an obvious gamble. The Canadian market is not reported to be particularly busy, but Heffel House aimed to find the best and rarest Canadian art (like Emily Carr's Eagle Totem priced at $250,000 and a Haida totem pole carved by a Bill Reid). They also took a smart business detour, by putting their entire collection up online in full color for all to see.

Quickly, their business skyrocketed with Vancouver locals, Pennsylvanians and even Torontonians coming in to snag the "undervalued" original art for sale. Owner Robert Heffel told the National Post, "Our goal was, in the first five years, to have a $1-million auction, and in our first auction, we sold over $1-million just like that... I don't think people realize the power of the internet for this industry."

Heffel.com is the only Canadian house that puts their entire catalogue of Canadian and international art on their website. They hold monthly fine art auctions online and find that clients are eager to purchase pieces, while the prices are still relatively low. Whether buyers are looking for figures, watercolor art, oil paintings of animals or landscapes, Emily Carr or John Geoffery Caruthers, Heffel house continues to grow at a surprising rate.

Australia has a capricious art marketplace, with auction houses frequently splintering off into smaller operations. The competition of elbow bumping art auctioneers includes: Bonham & Goodman, MossGreen, Joel Fine Art, Deutscher-Menzies, Sotheby's and Deutscher & Hackett. Frontrunners Deutscher and Hackett had sales last year that topped $26 million and ran a $7-million auction recently, selling Brett Whiteley's "View From the Sitting Room Window, Lavender Bay" for $1.5 million and Russell Drysdale's "Red Landscape" for just over $1 million.

Art consultant Ian Rogers told Australia's Fairfax Digital / The New Age, "I don't think [the market] is expanding quickly enough to accommodate all of the players." What can collectors expect from one of Deutscher & Hackett's massive fine art auctions? They have Tom Roberts, John Brack, Ian Fairweather, Arthur Boyds, Whiteley, Gascoigne and Dale Hickey, to name a few. Also look out for a wider selection of international art. "I am very excited about taking the opportunity of being so close to Asia," says Deutscher himself.

Europe seems like the logical location for some of the world's most profitable auction houses, with 17% of Europe's high net-worth individuals, according to a Merrill Lynch survey. Smattered amid $141 million mansions held by Indian-born tycoons, the $8 million houses that compromise 65% of the central London real estate market is a plethora of highly regarded auction houses. Christie's, the leader with over $4.6 billion annual profit, has a very bustling London branch.

Christie's Europe attracts international buyers with their diverse sales reps who speak everything from Russian and German to Chinese and English, to accommodate the diversity of their clients. Art enthusiasts can find the best selection in art from Dubai, India and the United Arab Emirates, in one of Christie's 600 auctions. They've recently launched a Live, real-time online bidding service which delivers all the sights and sounds of the auction onto people's PC's, bringing the global community together in unprecedented ways.

One doesn't necessarily have to hop on a plane to find that one special piece of artwork. In fact, it may be more comfortable to browse Heffel.com for selections or participate in one of Christie's online live auctions. Experience all the excitement of the auction houses, without worrying about flying, parking, hotels or hassle.

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