Buying art onboard

[erniebernie]

Hi just wondering if we buy some "Art" while onboard  (thinking a bronze) are we able to take it with us when we leave the ship? We bought some last time we were onboard but they shipped them to us and the freight and customs worked out to be dearer than the item!! Thanx

[majortom10]

I am led to believe what we were told last week on QM2 is that anything purchased is delivered and none can be "carried off".

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, erniebernie said:

Hi just wondering if we buy some "Art" while onboard  (thinking a bronze) are we able to take it with us when we leave the ship? We bought some last time we were onboard but they shipped them to us and the freight and customs worked out to be dearer than the item!! Thanx

“Shipping and handling” - frequently a profit source for retailers.  Think of all the “free offers” you see -  all you are asked to pay is “shipping and handling”.

[Lakesregion]

The item you purchased on board is but a sample and they will ship you one of their inventory of the same item from their warehouse. None are one of items. Do not have much knowledge of the sculpture items as to value but the prints are excessively overprices.However, if you like it and do not plan on selling it later on for more than 20 cents on the dollar have at it.

 

Provenance for this comment - over 25 years buying and selling fine art, prints and decorative objects.

[erniebernie]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  Lakesregion  we dont plan on selling the pieces we get  we buy then because we like them and they will eventually be left for our grand kids  so the more Grand kids we have the more cruises we have to take:)

[DaddyWarbucks]

The art dealer is owned by the cruise line.  Moreover, you will note that they do not sell their wares when within 12 miles of land.  That makes it difficult to sue them when they are on the high seas.  Caveat emptor.

[BklynBoy8]

My wife purchased a piece of Art at the Art Auction on the HAL Rotterdam quite a while ago and it was delivered to our home. No carry off.

 

The art gallery was a firm located in Florida.

 

It was very well packed when it was delivered.

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by BklynBoy8

[Lakesregion]

2 hours ago, DaddyWarbucks said:

The art dealer is owned by the cruise line.  Moreover, you will note that they do not sell their wares when within 12 miles of land.  That makes it difficult to sue them when they are on the high seas.  Caveat emptor.

well stated. The art you buy on board is not the actual item you receive at home. The on-board item is but a "showroom" sample. Even the sculpture is not one of but somewhat mass produced. As to value that is in the eye of the purchaser. If you like it and do not plan to sell it, hang it, place it and enjoy it. With most of the art, the frame is usually worth more that the painting or print in the after market. This from a long time dealer.

[Victoria2]

3 hours ago, DaddyWarbucks said:

The art dealer is owned by the cruise line.  Moreover, you will note that they do not sell their wares when within 12 miles of land.  That makes it difficult to sue them when they are on the high seas.  Caveat emptor.

I'm not sure which company you're referring to, but Clarendon Fine Art, aboard the Cunard ships,  and as this is the Cunard board I assume you might be alluding to them,  is a London Mayfair based gallery, with  galleries around the country. They are well known and in fact, the company as a whole, is probably the biggest art dealer in the country. They have a first class reputation and to imply otherwise is a bit unfair.

[Trevor33]

On 11/23/2019 at 2:49 AM, erniebernie said:

Thanks everyone for your replies.  Lakesregion  we dont plan on selling the pieces we get  we buy then because we like them and they will eventually be left for our grand kids  so the more Grand kids we have the more cruises we have to take:)

We purchased a painting in the on board gallery whilst on a Cunard cruise a year of so ago. On board we were advised that it would be sent to our home on our return from their Gallery ashore. When we got home we looked at the Gallery website purely to look at what we had bought onboard.  The picture we had agreed to purchase on the ship was on the website at a price much below what we had paid on the ship. The salesperson on the ship advised that we could buy duty free and it was cheaper to buy at sea - However this proved not to be reality. After much correspondence and angst the ship/gallery honoured the gallery price and refunded the additional money we had paid. Each to their own but we wont be doing that again. I hope you were luckier but perhaps you didnt look at the shore price.

[si_boy]

Referring to Cunard, the art gallery is owned/run by Clarendon Fine Art who also have over 40 galleries across the UK going under the Whitewall Galleries trading name.
You can buy direct from them and arrange shipping.

[Trevor33]

Yes that is correct. When we purchased on board we were told that the price was cheaper if we bought on the ship which is what we did and accepted the sales person's word on the price. I think shipping and delivery meant we would get painting a week or two after we were home from cruise. When back we were keen to look at our purchase online at their Gallery in Manchester(Whitewall Gallery) and found out that they were selling the same art work for a far lower price involved. Naturally we then raised the issue and after some protracted correspondence we landed up paying the lower price. That is why I said that if we were on ship and saw some art work we liked then we would wait and buy on shore assuming it was not an original that we wanted

[resistk]

I have done cash and carry on ships and maybe even with Clarendon's predecessor.  But Clarendon is a gallery not an auction, so they are pretty stitched up.  Some of their wares are fairly tawdry too along the lines of Prince Charlie amateur watercolors, Dali enhanced miscellania, and Necheata.