Art Auctions

[more mangos please]

Good deals or bad deals?

 

I am skeptic of the 'value' they place on the free premiums they give folks for attending one of these.

 

Let's hear you stories. What have you found to be the case?

[cruiseyguy]

Many previous discussions on this board about the "value" of art auctions. The "Search" function should pull up a few. Bottom line: some love 'em-some hate 'em. Beauty and value are in the eye of the beholder.

[TechKnowBabble]

My experience is with Royal Caribbean, but I am GUESSING that the experience would be similar on the sister company. First auction we went to we got to select a LARGE piece of artwork unframed for FREE (I am approximating it was at least 24x30, i'm not at home to judge it right now) It was a great gift. The second auction we went to was a small notebook paper sized piece of 'art' We were NOT pleased. I can't say whether we will try again this time or not.

[Garrick]

I do know that the Free art they give you for attending the art auctions is like any mass produced art no matter what it's cost.

 

It's only of value if you like it,,, If you like it, have a place to hang it up and it works for you, then it's of value. If not, it's a poster.

 

Garrick

[more mangos please]

What about the art that is sold. Is it a steal or a are people over paying.

[superjerryw]

It's like anything else, you need to know what you are buying. However, when they tell me they will sell me a piece of art for $500 on the ship and that same piece of art would cost $1,500 back on land I think it's nonsense. Afterall, if they could sell the art for a lot more money on land, why are they selling it on the ship at bargain prices.

[TechKnowBabble]

What about the art that is sold. Is it a steal or a are people over paying.

 

I felt alot of the pieces were overpriced, then again I'm not a fine art collector. I only buy art that 'speaks to me' I would say try it once to judge your own opinion.

[Joanandjoe]

Art actions should be forced to hang a big "caveat emptor" sign. Jerry's advice is spot on: if it's really worth $1,500, why are they selling it for $500? You should buy shipboard art only if the amount is petty cash for you, or if you've really done your homework. If something seems like a good bargain during the preview, it's worth some computer time before the auction to find out the real value.

 

We bought two pictures on the Horizon in 2003 for a total of $75, then got another large print thrown in for free. At that price, it was fun. America West won't now accept such low bids, so I doubt we'll bid at art auctions on the Zenith this May (but we will sample the champagne).

[wecruiz]

If you are looking for a "bargain" on the ship, might as well go to the bar. All of these people are in the "profit" business. You will not find an authentic old master any more than you will find a winning lottery ticket in your cabin. (Actually you have abetter chance finding the winning lottery ticket.

If you are interested in art - go to the auction. Decide what you like, then decide what you are willing (or can afford) to spend on that item. Not because of the great deal, but because you like it and have someplace to put it.

Once the bidding starts, do not get caught up in the moment. You will get had. Stop when the price hits your predetermined point.

Remember, the cruise line does not pay the art people, the vendor does. The vendor is not going to foot the bill for these people to go on a cruise just to be nice. They will be compensated for the cost plus a decent profit. (That's your money they are spending.)

Go - Have Fun - Buy if you want.

Going - Going - Sold to the guy with the "I don't believe you just spent that much on that ##$$$% stuff expression"!

[cruisencruise]

Hi,

 

Yes, PLEASE, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! before you bid on any of these pieces.

 

We did one some years back. We successfully bid on a Spiderman animation cel. I remember we got it for $75.00 plus a buyer's fee. They would ship it to us for $25.00. It came unframed which we were aware of. By the time we paid to get it framed, we found the whole thing cost more than if we had bought it on land framed.

 

On all our cruises, I'll look to see what they have available. Almost all the artwork will have a minimum bid so I find a steal doesn't happen. If the minimum starting bid is not met, they'll take it out of the auction process.

 

On the other hand, I have read about people who love their auction buys and feel they got their monies worth. Everyone has their own experiences.

 

Personally, I would never buy a piece at a cruise art auction again. I find that there are other fun thing to do on the ship at that time that won't cost me an additional arm or leg.

[more mangos please]

I read where they do blind bidding every now and then. They cover up a piece and sell it. You bid with no earthly idea what the heck it is. Then they uncover it and if you are the high bidder, you get to take it or say no-thanks.

 

Sounds to be that they are really playing to peoples behaviors. You are invested in it if you 'win' the bidding and that fact, along woth the peer pressure is a powerful force to get you to say "Oh yes--I just love it".

[Ships R Great]

But with the "blind bidding" you don't have to take it if you don't want it and they will let as many as want it take it. We have gotten some good buys on stuff we wanted. If we like it and the price is right we'll buy it. Every now and then they do have very good prices. We do our home work before we go. Then we go to the auctions for fun.

[more mangos please]

I must say, they seem to have a very good customer satisfaction rating as most of the folks who have good things to say about them are buyers of their products.

[Duanerice1]

I almost bought a picture on our last cruise. It was pretty cool and I hadn't seen it elsewhere so I thought, what the heck. I was the only bidder and got it for $325. By the time they added up the buyers premium and the shipping and handling, it was more like $450.

 

That is a 25% increase. Now I was aware of the buyers premium and was Ok with it, but an additional 90 some dollars jus to get it to me. Not worth it. My $325 painting was now $450 just for the pleasure of buying it on the ship. I told them no thanks.

 

I guess if you pay $1,000 or more for a painting and spend $90 shipping that's not that big of a deal.

 

But, it was fun. We almost always go just to enjoy the paintings.

Duane

[more mangos please]

Here's a link that I found.

[more mangos please]

Here is another one.

 

Ofcourse, who know if these folks just didn't know when to stop bidding.

[Garrick]

57k spent on cruise ship "art" some people have more money than sense.

 

probably a large portion of it Kinkaid prints, which are carried darn near everywhere.

[tangerinebunny]

[probably a large portion of it Kinkaid prints]

 

thanks. That saved me a trip to the auction.

 

I had an art professor who once said that Kincaid will probably turn out to be one of the wealthiest artists of all time. Note that she did not say, best artists.

[Nitemare]

If you know what you're doing, you can get some nice stuff for less on board than you can on land. Why? Because they don't have to pay rent for a gallery in a trendy area.

 

They tell you right off the bat about the buyer's premium and shipping costs. If you're surprised by them, well, then you don't know what you're doing, and when that happens, you can get taken advantage of. Just like with anything else you buy anywhere.

 

The free stuff is barely worth it. Most of the art on board are lithographs that are numbered up to 350 or so (or less). The free stuff is usually in print sizes up to 750 or more. We've won quite a few freebies, actually taken only 2 of them, and they're still in the shipping tubes.

 

On Princess last year, someone bought a large original Nechita (the "modern Picasso") for $75,000. Plus buyer's premium and shipping. Check it out, you'll see that's a reasonable price. And for an original, if you really like it, there isn't another one like that back home.

[Karynanne]

It's like anything else, you need to know what you are buying. However, when they tell me they will sell me a piece of art for $500 on the ship and that same piece of art would cost $1,500 back on land I think it's nonsense. Afterall, if they could sell the art for a lot more money on land, why are they selling it on the ship at bargain prices.

 

On our last cruise, we attended the Art Auction, and asked why the prices were 1/3 of the land prices. We were told that by holding auctions at sea, it involved no over-head (showroom, etc.). There were people in attendance that only purchased their art from auctions at sea. If you follow certain artists, and plan on acquiring a collection, then there are some good values to be had.

 

Karyn

[Lsimon]

What I think is something is the wine auctions. I've always wanted to go just to see who would bid for wine that is a brand they've never heard of ("never before offered in the U.S." or some such nonsense) and which they were not allowed to taste beforehand. But I guess I haven't wanted to go badly enough to actually get there. Maybe on our upcoming cruise with 8 sea days.

 

Personally, I don't think much of the art auction - but at least you get to see what you're buying there - and some might actually be familiar with the values ahead of time.

[cruiseyguy]

Always remember that for you, the buyer, the art is only worth what you can sell it for, NOT what you paid for it.

[chrismch]

I've gone to several auctions at sea, but have yet to buy anything. It's fun to look at the different art and learn a little history. However, I have friends and family who have bought many pieces. Again as others have said, art is in the eye of the beholder. The big thing on my last cruise was Thomas Kincades which they were selling for $220, I just checked them out on the Thomas Kincade website and his new pieces start at $795. So if you like a particular artist, check out prices online or at a local gallery and then check out the prices on the ship - making sure you take into consideration all the fees. :p

[tawcat]

a few cruises ago we went to an auction. we had just got through repainting our living room and were really looking for new art. we never owned real art so we gave it a shot. we came home with about $500 worth of art. we love all of it. one artist in particular, marcus glenn, we fell in love with. this last cruise they had an original of his. rather pricey, they offered it at auction with a starting bid of $3700. ouch!!! one evening we were strolling through the gallery admiring some of the marcus glenn pieces, the auctioneer asked if we had seen the original. we told him yes, but just could not afford the price. he sat down with us, did some magic, and we ended up buying the piece for i think $3300. is it worth it? all i can say is "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." we love it and feel we got this original at a very good price. we are done buying art, no more walls!!!!! so the bottom line here is if you love it, it's worth it. on the other hand, we don't understand what everyone sees in kinkaid!

[WeBeCruisin']

First auction we went to we got to select a LARGE piece of artwork unframed for FREE (I am approximating it was at least 24x30, i'm not at home to judge it right now) It was a great gift. The second auction we went to was a small notebook paper sized piece of 'art' We were NOT pleased. I can't say whether we will try again this time or not.

 

It's really not fair to judge the quality of art based upon its size. If you visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, you'll see Dali's masterpiece "The Persistence of Memory" is about the size of a piece of notebook paper.

 

And there are those who would argue whether a "Spiderman" cel was indeed art.

 

Allen