acheter à l'oreille

English translation: buy with their ears

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:acheter à l'oreille
English translation:buy with their ears
Entered by: Claire Nolan

17:29 Jun 10, 2018
French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
French term or phrase: acheter à l'oreille
Le texte parle d'investisseurs-spéculateurs qui achètent des oeuvres d'art avec des motivations uniquement mercantiles
judithr
Local time: 16:12
buy with their ears
Explanation:
3. Buy with your eyes and ears. The old chestnut of “buy what you love” is generally terrible advice for new collectors. They do not know enough yet to know what they really love, so they can waste a lot of money on infatuation. If the amount of money a collector is thinking about spending on a work of art is not meaningful to him, and if it fell dramatically in value, he would not be fussed, then he should go ahead and buy based on presumptive love. But before buying something that is financially meaningful, he should seek input from those with more knowledge and experience. Input can come from many different places: a local museum curator, other collectors he has gotten to know, an art advisor. He needs to listen carefully to what is both said and implied, because most people are reluctant to “call a baby ugly.” Ears are sometimes more important than eyes when buying art.

https://dougwoodham.com/blog/2017/10/23/wisdom-from-seasoned...

One of the main takeaways of the night? Buy with your eyes, not with your ears. This is something many of the seasoned collectors adhere to. Newer art buyers tend to look at who’s hot in art and think of investing in big names on the scene. This a serious mistake, according to a number of collectors.

“Now, they don’t even look at what they’re buying, they just buy for the name,” says Paulino Que, who’s been in the game since the ‘70s.

https://www.townandcountry.ph/out-about/arts-culture/art-fai...



Use Your Eyes, Not Your Ears
Having a plan is helpful in a market where everyone is urging you to buy. “It’s very hard as a new collector—and even for a savvy, experienced collector—to stave off the temptation to shop with your ears, especially when you enter this market knowing nothing,” said Moskowitz. At an art fair, every gallery is going to have a pitch. Every dealer will claim to be selling you “The Next Big Thing.” Don’t be bewitched by the words if you’re not in love with the work itself. “You have to shut out the noise and focus on what you’re looking at,” said Nussbaum.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-discover-taste...
Selected response from:

Claire Nolan
Local time: 10:12
Grading comment
Thanks again!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +1buying by word of mouth
Ben Gaia
3 +1buy with their ears
Claire Nolan
3to buy from hearsay
Odette Grille (X)
2to buy intuitively
Lorraine Dubuc


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
acheter à l\'oreille
to buy from hearsay


Explanation:
I suppose. Never heard the expression in French in this context before but it makes sense in the context of wanting to make a profit

Odette Grille (X)
Canada
Local time: 10:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: French
PRO pts in category: 8
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39 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
acheter à l\'oreille
buying by word of mouth


Explanation:
Like the previous answer but more current usage, buyers have not necessarily any great knowledge of art but they have heard that such and such an artist is "collectable".


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 42 mins (2018-06-10 18:11:48 GMT)
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"on a verbal recommendation"

Ben Gaia
New Zealand
Local time: 02:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Odette Grille (X): "De bouche à oreille" would translate this, it means the same but "à l'oreille" seems a new way or wording it.
3 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
acheter à l\'oreille
buy with their ears


Explanation:
3. Buy with your eyes and ears. The old chestnut of “buy what you love” is generally terrible advice for new collectors. They do not know enough yet to know what they really love, so they can waste a lot of money on infatuation. If the amount of money a collector is thinking about spending on a work of art is not meaningful to him, and if it fell dramatically in value, he would not be fussed, then he should go ahead and buy based on presumptive love. But before buying something that is financially meaningful, he should seek input from those with more knowledge and experience. Input can come from many different places: a local museum curator, other collectors he has gotten to know, an art advisor. He needs to listen carefully to what is both said and implied, because most people are reluctant to “call a baby ugly.” Ears are sometimes more important than eyes when buying art.

https://dougwoodham.com/blog/2017/10/23/wisdom-from-seasoned...

One of the main takeaways of the night? Buy with your eyes, not with your ears. This is something many of the seasoned collectors adhere to. Newer art buyers tend to look at who’s hot in art and think of investing in big names on the scene. This a serious mistake, according to a number of collectors.

“Now, they don’t even look at what they’re buying, they just buy for the name,” says Paulino Que, who’s been in the game since the ‘70s.

https://www.townandcountry.ph/out-about/arts-culture/art-fai...



Use Your Eyes, Not Your Ears
Having a plan is helpful in a market where everyone is urging you to buy. “It’s very hard as a new collector—and even for a savvy, experienced collector—to stave off the temptation to shop with your ears, especially when you enter this market knowing nothing,” said Moskowitz. At an art fair, every gallery is going to have a pitch. Every dealer will claim to be selling you “The Next Big Thing.” Don’t be bewitched by the words if you’re not in love with the work itself. “You have to shut out the noise and focus on what you’re looking at,” said Nussbaum.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-discover-taste...

Claire Nolan
Local time: 10:12
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Thanks again!
Notes to answerer
Asker: A great answer indeed. I couldn’t give any more context without breaching confidentiality. The phrase was actually a bit out of context, so your contextual explanations helped.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Odette Grille (X): Good research !
2 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
acheter à l\'oreille
to buy intuitively


Explanation:
By instinct, this is what 'à l'oreille' means. The buyer buys the object because he feels this could be a good move. Plays it by feeling, intuitively.

Lorraine Dubuc
Canada
Local time: 10:12
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Odette Grille (X): On the contrary, it is not intuition but may be "fake glory" due to propaganda
2 hrs
  -> Intuition that this could represent a potential gain on the long term...
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