“People thought that the art market going online would make things more transparent, and it’s doing completely the opposite,” Clare McAndrew, founder of Dublin-based Arts Economics, told Bloomberg.

One reason for secrecy with online sales could be that auctioneers are protecting the consignor's work from being "burned" or exposed as unsold to future buyers if it fails to sell online. More transparency with prices and provenance might be int he making as online auctions gain momentum.

“The fact that they are not talking about it too much means it’s still at the very early stages,” McAndrew said to Bloomberg. “If they were doing really well, there’s no doubt they would tell you everything.”