Art Auctions - Buyers Remorse

[phtktz3]

I met a woman on one cruise who went to an auction who panic over the purchase of a art piece. She was not aware of all the add on charges involved. She did purchase the piece but she said next time she would only drink the champagne.

 

I have purchased many pieces of art on my cruises and I don't know how anyone can not know about the add on costs? The first 20 minutes of the auction are spent explaining every detail of the policies for purchase. I have never been to an art auction on a ship where they didn't discuss their fee as well as the cost of shipping the art. Apraisals are the choice of the buyer, I've had a few of the more expensive pieces with the appraisal but other cheaper ones I didn't. I have won many pieces and have never had an issue collecting them.

As to the people who think it is a waste of money.....I have bought many, many souviners thru my travels and none have lasted as long or gave me more pleasure than these pieces of art ( other than a few pieces of jewelry );)

[kc320]

I go for the free champagne and the little prints they give you at the end of each auction. Some are not so great, but I have a couple pieces I framed & really like...

 

I decided long ago if I ever "won" during their raffle I would just keep quiet and let them go on to the next #... if something is going to cost me $$$ it isn't free and I haven't WON anything... so far I've not had to worry though, my numbers never get drawn...:rolleyes:

[Cruisehappymn]

Where have I been?? I never knew they had free champagne at the art auction. Guess thats where I'll be heading on the next cruise.

[silentbob007]

I can't speak on the remorse part. But on our first cruise they were going to have a special Salvador Dali auction. We went at the time specified and no auction. We tried locating the art folks and no one could get in touch with them. And no one knew anything about it. Bummer. I LOVE Dali. So after that, I figured why bother even trying for the next cruise. Just not worth it.

 

Erika

 

Parkwest have been trying to get rid of that Dali "Inferno" stuff FOREVER ... at least the last 10 years or so.

[yogimax]

To answer the original question, the first rule of the auction is pretty simple to understand... "All sales are final."

[michigan tim]

We too won a $500 print and it cost us $45 to get it shipped home. The same print on Ebay goes for about $35 (so figure $45 after shipping). I find it mostly amusing. I find the auctions mostly entertaining and a bit informative as well.

[klfhngr]

Has anyone ever MADE money on the art that they purchased? Just curious...

[Manny Bagadonuts]

I can't speak on the remorse part. But on our first cruise they were going to have a special Salvador Dali auction. We went at the time specified and no auction. We tried locating the art folks and no one could get in touch with them. And no one knew anything about it. Bummer. I LOVE Dali. So after that, I figured why bother even trying for the next cruise. Just not worth it.

 

Erika

 

Please note I am not an art expert by any standard -- but my understanding is that before his death Dali signed thousands of pieces of blank paper -- and lithos were later printed on those papers. On top of that, since the signing was not controlled, it is very difficult to know the provenance of those prints and it is expected many are counterfeit. I am not saying that the ones you were looking at were fugazy by any means -- they may have been perfectly legit, and I am not accusing RCCL or the gallery onboard of anything; but I do know that Dali is one of those artists you have to be especially careful when purchasing.

 

I looked at my first Dali in 1986 when I was right out of college, and learned about this. I looked at another one last year as a 10th anniversary gift for my wife, and chickened out because of it. Bought her an original drawing by Dr. Seuss instead and we all love it!

 

As an aside, if you love Dali, the Dali mesum in Figueras Spain is not that far from Barcelona buy train, and it is wild!

[pmfan]

Has anyone ever MADE money on the art that they purchased? Just curious...

I never have.:( I no longer buy.

[CharmedOne]

DH will be horrified if I try to get him to the art auction. He hates champagne (gasp) anyway! I'm not a Cook's fan, though, too bad it's not Veuve Cliquot! LOL

 

I would like to go and see what an art auction (ala cruise ship) is like.

 

I've been to a thoroughbred horse auction in Kentucky and it was a riot! They had this little guy holding the horses (reminded me of the cement "lawn jockeys" you see) and another guy scooping the horses**t in the auction ring. (What a job that is!) I saw one broodmare sell for $1.2 million - which was incredible.

 

Amazing, isn't it, what some people will spend their money on? ;)

[sas80]

Bought her an original drawing by Dr. Seuss instead and we all love it!

 

 

OMG WHERE can I get some of that!?

 

some friends of mine bought some original Dr. Suess art but they bought it privately, family to family. (not necessarily Suess family to friends but it was a private family that owned and sold the piece to my friends.)

 

I love the art and would love the opportunity to consider purchasing some more.

 

If you have any info for me, email me at sasproul at gmail dot com and let me know!

[Manny Bagadonuts]

OMG WHERE can I get some of that!?

 

some friends of mine bought some original Dr. Suess art but they bought it privately, family to family. (not necessarily Suess family to friends but it was a private family that owned and sold the piece to my friends.)

 

I love the art and would love the opportunity to consider purchasing some more.

 

If you have any info for me, email me at sasproul at gmail dot com and let me know!

 

Happy to post what I know here in case anyone else is interested also.

 

I bought mine at a walk in gallery in NYC near my office in SoHo. Here is the link to their current original Seuss art.

 

http://shopping.animazing.com/cgi-bin/cart/search?action=Search&category=Animation+Art&subcat1=Dr.+Seuss&subcat2=Original+Drawings

 

 

But there are lots of places online to look. You can start here:

 

http://www.drseussart.com/faq.html

 

and here is a blog outlining some of the fraud involved - you have to be careful.

 

http://garyarseneau.blogspot.com/2007/05/art-of-dr-seuss-coverup.html

 

FYI i was very concerned about this, but the gallery I bought from has been there a while and did have some provenance about my piece and where it came from (it was in response to a fan letter -- and it is a very simple drawing of a non-headlining character). But honestly I can't be 100% sure I wasn't conned either.

 

Here's a gallery with some nice pieces for sale -- can't vouch for them tho

 

http://www.rmichelson.com/Artist_Pages/Seuss/dr_seuss_original_gallery2.htm

 

Hope this is useful and not a threadjack

[ehfl]

Do not buy art as an investment on a cruise. Buy it only if you like the piece, and only pay the price you think it's worth.

[iheartbda]

I'm just wondering if the peope who buy on a cruise would go to galleries on land to purchase any art work. If they wouldn't do on land, why would do it on a ship?

[cv322]

Has anyone ever MADE money on the art that they purchased? Just curious...

 

IF I were to sell it I would make a considerable profit. 3 years ago I bought a signed & numbered Wyland (because I loved it!) which was already matted & framed...for $500. It was shipped at a minimal cost to us. It's currently hanging above the fireplace mantle & looks terrific. I continue to love it...and it's now worth way more:

http://www.wylandgalleries.com/index.cfm?CategoryID=11&ProductID=552&do=newreleases

 

But to answer the OP's question...I have no remorse. We enjoy the art auction, have fun & only buy what we really like, not buying for potential investment purposes.

[cv322]

I'm just wondering if the peope who buy on a cruise would go to galleries on land to purchase any art work. If they wouldn't do on land, why would do it on a ship?

 

We've also purchased twice, on 2 different land vacations, from the Wyland Gallery in Key West. Just love his paintings, lithographs & sculpture. :D

 

The most recent time we were in Key West was this past January & it was a cruise stop this time. We did stop at Wyland but didn't buy...we bought at a different gallery this time...a fantastic fish sculpture...love it love it love it!

 

And my guess is we're not alone. People who purchase while cruising probably do buy on land.

[BILLP1]

One wonders , why do they have Art Auctions on cruise ships? Do the ships just seem to draw people who collect art?

 

I have never been to a resort hotel that has Art Auctions.

[Jade13]

 

As an aside, if you love Dali, the Dali mesum in Figueras Spain is not that far from Barcelona buy train, and it is wild!

 

HAL had an excursion there and it was great!

[Cruising89143]

One wonders , why do they have Art Auctions on cruise ships? Do the ships just seem to draw people who collect art?

 

I have never been to a resort hotel that has Art Auctions.

 

 

One word!!! Money. There are people who actually do go to these things and buy. For me, no way. I don't trust them at all. Reminds me of a used car salesman.

[Carnival Game]

I have a few questions.

 

How is the champagne served? Does a server come around with little cups on a tray every so often? Is it just set out and you drink as much as you want?

 

Also, does the charge go on your sail & sign? If not, how could they "force" you to go through with the purchase if you change your mind?

[cathy59]

I was on my 5th cruise last summer when I attended my first art auction. Why did I go? We were tendered off RCCL's private island and it was a miserable day - raining, cool - therefore was looking for something to do. The free champagne was a drawing card for me. The rest of my family wasn't interested, so I went by myself. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the art beforehand, becoming educated in art auctions and most certainly enjoyed the free champagne (I love champagne!). Glasses of champagne were lined up on the bar and you were free to help yourself at anytime and seemed to me as much as you wanted. I didn't buy anything and thoroughly enjoyed the auction - although I did not stay until the end. My biggest regret.... not attending the art auction for the free champagne on my previous cruises.

[Houndmom]

I think they tend to "over-appraise" the value of some of the items, so caveat emptor there. Ditto on the "buy it 'cause you love it, not 'cause of its appraisal" idea. We have 3 cruise-purchased pieces in our house that we love. We don't bid unless we know exactly where it will go in the house. That helps keep impulse buying to a minimum. :)

[fresnel468]

We go, drink the free champagne, enjoy the "show" and leave when the champagne stops.

[Sea&SkiCruiser]

We “won” a piece of art and paid to have it appraised and shipped. At home, it was about $250. to have it framed and that was at sale price. We love it, so I can only say we don’t regret “winning” it. I also framed the small piece we received at the end of the auction and it looks great. Will I buy art, no. Will I go to more auctions and drink free champagne, you bet I will.

[cv322]

There are people who actually do go to these things and buy. For me, no way. I don't trust them at all. Reminds me of a used car salesman.

 

What an odd thing to say. There's no high pressure, no one is standing over you or forcing you to raise your hand and bid! It's actually a very relaxed & fun atmosphere.

 

And further, what's not to trust? There's nothing underhanded going on at these auctions! All of the terms and conditions are clearly stated at the beginning of the auction. You generally know ahead of time what the opening bid will be for any of the pieces you may be interested in...all you need to do is ask. If it's outside of your financial comfort zone then don't bid!

 

And to answer another question: Yes, the purchase goes on your sail & sign card.