To avoid overpaying, one can find auction results online, even if he or she has never attended an art auction house or an art auction online. Before looking to buy original art or participate in auctions on ebay, one should find some intriguing artists and look up artist prices.

One can research discreetly, without the pressure of people hovering around them, chattering and auctioneers shouting. Before attending an auction, it's good to know what one is looking for - and also what one can expect to pay as a fair price. Just because an artist is famous, doesn't mean that all the works will be worth the same amount, so it's good to know the variances in prices for different time periods of that artist's life.

Why pay over $478,000 for a Dali from 1957, when one can pay $5,000 for a piece that's just as enjoyable, but was painted in 1983? Also, one can track market changes through the years and see what someone paid for a certain painting in 1985, 1995 and 2005. Often times, rare or unknown works can be viewed in auction results as well, making the dig an exciting one!

To look up its prices in an instant, there are several websites of which to be aware. The first, AskArt, is sometimes referred to as "the artists' bluebook worldwide," with a database of over 100,000 artists - with a focus on American artists from the 16th Century to present.

However, as of January 2007, the database was expanded to encompass international artists as well! AskArt's mission statement says, "It is the goal of AskART to facilitate the exchange of it and information pertaining to the subject.

We anticipate that our work will better enable its historians and scholars to define and analyze trends, make heretofore unrecognized connections, and establish reputations for those artists who, for whatever reason, may have eluded fame or fortune in their day." In addition to gaining access to auction results, one can easily look up books, museums, exhibits, auction houses and records, quick facts on a certain artist, magazine ads, image gallery, artist summaries - or participate in a discussion board conversation.

This is perhaps the most user-friendly site one could hope for, with eye-catching topics on the homepage, like "notable sculptors," "highest prices at auctions," or "art for sale by dealers." The curious may research, check the marketplace or browse new popular artists at AskArt with no registration required. It is truly the scholarly collector's best choice for arts resources!

For a more personalized way of tracking art, one can register at ArtPrice to keep track of 25 million auction prices and indices, detailed auction results and 405,000 artists. Find favorite artists in future auctions out of a 2,900 auction house selection, browse 290,000 fine art catalogs, read biographies on emerging artists, check past and present price values for a particular piece and check the marketplace classified ads with over 1,100,000 Artprice members looking to buy and sell fine art.

Members of sites like Christie's or Sotheby's, may want to check their websites for auction results, without registering. The prices and lots will be listed, without the specifics or photographs. Registered guests may check Sotheby's for illustrated result listings, as well as auction going-rates in real-time, as pieces are sold.