I have to ask, what is up with the Art Auctions and Sales?

[Itried4498]

12 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Think of this as Starving Artist sales where nothing is over $75. Its the same thing. They buy this stuff in bulk from low cost countries to display for about $10 a paining. Then they sell it to travelers for over $200 after drinking all day and get a few more in them.

 

No.  Park West Galleries handles the auctions.  Carnival gets a commission.

 

It's been a few years since I've worked with Park West, but generally they provide the art & employees whereas the cruise line provides the space to showcase the art, promotes it & provides room + board for the employees.  Any revenue they collect, is entirely commission based.  

 

Given that the art generally takes up a large chunk of space, yet Park West continues to flourish, one can conclude that those commissions are pretty lucrative.  Park West also handles auctions for most hotels, including luxury brands like the Ritz.  

 

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, RCmommy said:

It is like time-share tactical warfare. 😁

LOL, I was once called by someone selling some meat package. They finally said why would you possibly not buy this; it's such a good deal.

 

My reply was that I was a vegetarian. That stopped their hard sell 😊 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

No.  Park West Galleries handles the auctions.  Carnival gets a commission.

 

It's been a few years since I've worked with Park West, but generally they provide the art & employees whereas the cruise line provides the space to showcase the art, promotes it & provides room + board for the employees.  Any revenue they collect, is entirely commission based.  

 

Given that the art generally takes up a large chunk of space, yet Park West continues to flourish, one can conclude that those commissions are pretty lucrative.  Park West also handles auctions for most hotels, including luxury brands like the Ritz.  

 

Lucky for you these boards are anonymous. Otherwise admitting to working for Park West would put you in the crosshairs of lots of posters. 🤣

[KmomChicago]

17 hours ago, knagl said:

For it to be a constant thing for years on every ship, they must be making a decent profit on it. If it wasn't making money, it wouldn't be there. Same with the Iffy jewelry.

Iffy! It is pretty low quality stuff.

[Itried4498]

29 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Lucky for you these boards are anonymous. Otherwise admitting to working for Park West would put you in the crosshairs of lots of posters. 🤣

 

I didn't work directly for Park West, but rather Park West engaged my then-company to assist with their financials ;).

[RCmommy]

“Sir, we would like to discuss your car’s extended warranty with you”. 

[Moviela]

It's not iffy, it's Effy, as in Effy Hematian who is a very good man. He is the designer for most of his goods. I know little about jewelry, but the stuff he sells is nice looking. Yes, the sales people can be intense, but anytime you are selling nickels for a dollar you need a good salesman. 

 

I did not miss the art shows on Vista class ships, but now they are back. I was rather annoyed on Panorama this month that they took away one of the aft elevators to move their merch into the punchliner. They also "decorated" the halls on two decks with inkjet art. Some is interesting, but most is along the lines of Elvis on velvet. I don't know what else they could sell hanging on the walls?

[crazyank]

1 hour ago, Moviela said:

It's not iffy, it's Effy, as in Effy Hematian who is a very good man. He is the designer for most of his goods. I know little about jewelry, but the stuff he sells is nice looking.

His stuff is very good quality also. We've had several pieces appraised for insurance reasons and each piece was appraised with in a few dollars of what we paid for it.

[KarmaCruisers]

My very FIRST cruise I actually wanted to buy something (I had been wanting to buy a Godard for a while; having visited his studio in the Rio in Vegas)

when I found out how much they wanted for a Godard, I literally laughed in their face and told them “I can get it for a FRACTION of the price, DIRECTLY from his studio in Vegas”..

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

I didn't work directly for Park West, but rather Park West engaged my then-company to assist with their financials ;).

Good, we do not have to disrespect you. 😉

[Amyracecar]

On 1/30/2023 at 5:08 PM, RCmommy said:

I totally have to look up that episode and watch it.

 

It's called "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again" from season 23. There are a couple of pretty accurate jokes/comments about cruising in general in there, whoever wrote it has clearly been on a few! 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by Amyracecar

[IntrepidFromDC]

My daughter's gf is an ex-Carnival casino supervisor.  He says they have multiple prints of the same "special" item being auctioned and let's say the highest three bids on an item shown are $5,000, $3,000 and $1,500.  They take all the money and hand out three "limited" prints.

[Guest BasicSailor]

I've had so many comments deleted over the years about this so-called Art.

That being said, when you see a personality pushing this art have them draw you a picture of a (stick man) 😉 Give them ten bucks and walk away. You have actually bought yourself a piece of genuine ART.🤣

[hard_eight]

New ships, no art gallery. Actually heard a family complaining about no auctions on Celebration.

[RCmommy]

4 hours ago, hard_eight said:

New ships, no art gallery. Actually heard a family complaining about no auctions on Celebration.

I suppose it is a time filler for some.

[momof3cruisers]

I have gone to a couple of art auctions. The first time, it was too hot outside for me on a sea day and the games they had going weren’t for me so I figured why not?  It was very interesting. The guy did a good job educating the crowd about the artists and I felt like I learned a lot.  Got free champagne., Paid the little games to win the door prize tickets, walked away with nothing free and no money spent. Cracked up at the ridiculous starting prices but felt it was worth my time. The second time, it was boring! No info about the artists or their styles etc. Just one over priced “auction” after another BUT I did see several people making purchases.  I figure I don’t need to go to anymore. 

[Itried4498]

5 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

My daughter's gf is an ex-Carnival casino supervisor.  He says they have multiple prints of the same "special" item being auctioned and let's say the highest three bids on an item shown are $5,000, $3,000 and $1,500.  They take all the money and hand out three "limited" prints.

 

But it's not true.  Park West Galleries is a genuine, reputable (yes, they've had their hiccups, but no more than any other major) dealer.  Its sales tactics certainly deserve scrutiny -- e.g. selling to uneducated folks who lack the means (internet, etc.) to do their diligence before bidding, often believing they are paying far less than it's worth.  But I was intimately involved with this company -- while many people aren't getting the "deal" they're lead to believe, nearly all are paying market value or less.  And ultimately, the lion's share are happy with their purchases.  

 

 I find it ironic that forum members have no problem paying $50pp for the steakhouse (when they could eat for free) , $6 for a drink (when they have the drink package), $20 for a picture, $60 for a sweatshirt... but draw the line at getting "ripped off" at the art gallery.  Nobody forces you to spend 1 penny on board the ship - do your diligence and you'll be fine.

[Earthworm Jim]

Look at it this way: The art auctions, much like the casino, are ways that other people are paying money which allows Carnival to sell you your cruise cheaper. If other people are paying for part of my cruise, I can't really gripe too much that they interrupted my jigsaw puzzle. 

[tree.critter]

For a very interesting read try David Brun’s “Ship forBrains”.   It’s his second book about working for Park West and some great behind the scenes info.  His first book details his first year with Carnival and also very interesting. “Cruise Confidential”.