Always, always buy art work that you like and set your budget! It's as easy to get carried away with auction fever at an on line auction as it is at a live one!

You need to be careful as other guide writers have said. There are people on eBay out to deceive but I beleive they are in a minority.  Generally if the art you are after is by a listed but lesser known artist, one that makes low hundreds rather than thousands you could be well on the way to a bargain. There are numerous internet resources available where you can check an artists style, signature and auction record and if someone is offering a picture on ebay claiming it to be by a mega well isted, high auction performing artist exercise extra caution. This particularly applies if the seller claims that the artists work makes tens of thousands of pounds and its on offer for just a few quid on eBay. 

Quite simply if as a seller you suspect your lucky find may be worth a small fortune you would make the effort and put the painting into a London auction house!!

I have had some good luck and some good buys by doing my research, sometimes a peice is very poorly listed or the seller hasn t even known that the artist has been a listed one. I have obtained paintings from ebay that have been through major auction houses but failed to make their bottom end estimate.  These paintings have ended up on ebay where I have bought them for less than their original bottom end estimate. You need to do your research and for investment purposes view it as a medium to long term investment!  It is still possible to find golden nuggets, they are out there!

Modern artists to look out for that in my view have great long term investment potential are Peter Howson a Scottish artist who is highly collectable and genuine peices by him can be very affordable and the Irish artist JP Rooney they are well worth looking out for. As ever make sure you ask all the right questions of the seller and if in any doubt move on, there will always be another gem around the corner!

Finally know the difference between reproduction and fake. There are many sellers selling really attractive peices that are clearly described as 'after' or a 'copy of' many of these are produced in china and they look the part and are worth checking out for their decorative value and the fact that for what they are they tend to be quite inexpensive. Check the location though in case you get hammered with expensive P+P costs! Although very decorative these sorts of peices are unlikely to increase in value unless the painter is known or has a following.

Happy Hunting!  Andy