HOW GOOD ARE THE ART AUCTIONS FOR INVESTING?

[High Flyer]

" CAVEAT EMPTOR " We have enjoyed many hours attending art sales at sea as well as land based auctions...I may have paid too much for one painting and feel like I've stolen others....But when I evaluate the entertainment factor on board and the lasting enjoyment every piece delivers on a daily basis; I can't complain........We do our homework and have a fair idea of prices for what we like and if we see something we "can afford" we bid...."Deals" you may ask? How about an original Tarkay oil 27"x35" for $2360 back in 1993...We never bought one piece to resell so if you want to know how we made out financially on our collection you will have to ask our heirs.....Tom

[Charles4515]

No wonder you question that, his name is spelled Thomas Kinkade and he is a great artist. The Thomas Kincaid you speak of must be on comic books.

 

LOL. Most of Kinkade's so called art is produced in a factory. There was a documentary on PBS that showed the stuff coming off of printing presses. Then workers add brush strokes on top. The masses who don't know much about art because there is not much art education, get duped.

[Mark_K]

I just got back from a Vision of the Seas cruise and bought several hundred dollars worth of art. The auctioneers from Park West at Sea says that all of the work is much more valuable than it was auctioned at. Has anyone had any luck with this? If so please share your experiences!

Let's just say the Park West Auctioneers love people who take what they say at face value.

[Mark_K]

If you're not expert enough at art appraisal to know whether what Park West is saying is true, I wouldn't think that an onboard auction would be the place to begin your art collecting career.

Only if your purpose is to collect mementos of your cruise.

[chotton]

Besides the premiums that are added on to the cost of the art, if you live in Michigan they will charge you 6% sales tax since Park West's HQ is in Southfield MI and the art is shipped out from there.

[lucky99]

LOL. Most of Kinkade's so called art is produced in a factory. There was a documentary on PBS that showed the stuff coming off of printing presses. Then workers add brush strokes on top. The masses who don't know much about art because there is not much art education, get duped.

 

Thomas Kinkades original art work sells for at the least $500,000.

[skisteamboat]

Whether you buy shipboard at an auction or at your local gallery or over the internet, buy what you like for a price you are willing to pay. If you are looking for an investment, that's down the street at the Brokerage or on a web site that sells no load mutual funds, not at an art gallery or a new condo development.:)

 

Cheers

[Charles4515]

Thomas Kinkades original art work sells for at the least $500,000.

 

The originals are not what is sold at the art auctions. A copy is made of the original and a bunch are run off on a printer. Then someone paints brush strokes on the copies.

[vermonter16]

Thank you. ;) That is almost the same thing we saw, except we didn't even see anyone scratch their nose and it kept going up. We were also sitting behind everyone else so we had the best view of everyone. (That was about 6 young people who were there for the champaign and were not even paying attention to most of it.) I kept looking behind me to see if anyone was there bidding. Nope! Not a sole. :confused: That was my last time at one of those. :rolleyes:

 

 

DH and I used to attend a lot of auctions and at first we thought the auction house was being "shady" by having what is called a "phantom bidder". It is perfectly legal and it must be in the fine print somewhere. Basically all it is is a reserve on the item that they won't sell for less than a certain amount. Some auction houses "fake" the bidding to get it to a point and other more "upscale" auction houses will just say what the reserve is and pass on the item. The auctioneers already know the reserve so the "scratching of the nose" was probably just a coincidence.

 

As far as the art auctions themselves...forget it...DH and I go for the free drinks. I can't believe people still buy stuff. We had people at our table who talked about all the past art they had bought and the bargains they had been getting...sheesh...they bought three more the cruise they were on with us...

[jzerocsk]

Never buy art as an "investment" unless your investment portfolio is already so beefy that it just doesn't matter to you. Otherwise, only buy art that you like in a price range you agree with. I bought 3 or 4 items my first cruise, none over $100. You can cheat on framing - buy a larger off-the-shelf picture frame and have it matted to fit in that frame. I framed a biggie for $50 this way. I don't think I'm making money on these items, but they didn't cost too much and they look nice on the walls.

 

I didn't bother with the art auction on my last cruise...the free champagne is great but it just takes too long.

[Albert Ross]

I got a free picture [about 8"x6"] in my suite by Fanch [sp] enouraging me to go to the art auction.

I put this free picture on eBay and someone paid me $12 for it - so that is a wonderful percentage markup on my 'investment!

[cusyl]

I go only to see what I can win...I don't drink. My husband is an expert framer, so we have a lot of poster/art on our walls as a rememberance of various cruises. We also have original art that we have purchased at various ports.

[logan1_2000]

No wonder you question that, his name is spelled Thomas Kinkade and he is a great artist. The Thomas Kincaid you speak of must be on comic books.

 

oh gosh, that's funny, oh my gosh, my stomach hurts from laughing.....

 

We bought some framed whatevers (lithos? who knows?)at an auction on our first ever cruise, when we went with friends. We had fun at the auction, and we liked the way the prints looked, and they decorate our home. No idea what we spent, but it was an amount that I considered to be the decorating budget, not any form of investment. I assume the pieces have no value to anyone else and that there is no re-sale value. It was fun to go to a champagne auction in a tux. Sort of like the price of entertainment.

 

I developed this approach watching my father buy "investment" art, most of which was crap and all of which was ultimately without worth--after he passed away, and the house was being sold years later by DM, she got an appraiser respected in her upscale county in another state and he just shook his head and said he was very sorry to have to tell her the truth that the "Art" collection was without collectible value. If other have bought on a ship and had appreciation on their investment, congratulations, but I'm happy having viewed it as a fun decorating process.

[Toddcan]

I've never had the desire to attend one of these, but I've read enough posts about this to be leary of their value.

[Puffinater]

You just might get the Dig Up The Oldest Post Award for this week.:D

[hunter2004]

I just got back from a Vision of the Seas cruise and bought several hundred dollars worth of art. The auctioneers from Park West at Sea says that all of the work is much more valuable than it was auctioned at. Has anyone had any luck with this? If so please share your experiences!

Here the adviced I got and belived. Buy it because you like it not for future investments. You will be happy with the piece of art that you bought but if you buy for future investment, you will find yourself disappointment when you can't get the price you are looking for or worthless.

[dougp26364]

You just might get the Dig Up The Oldest Post Award for this week.:D

 

I was thinking the same thing. This thread was started in 2004 and, until now had died in 2007. Maybe this thread can never die but is a Zombie thread that will keep going forever.

 

I wonder, did the art "investors" ever find the value in the several hundred dollars of valuable art they bought from Park West or have they figured out that it's just a bunch of pretty pictures to hang on the wall?

[Garyorient]

But if you are buying it for an investment...................might be better off with something else.

 

Might be better off with ANYTHING else

[Ladylouwho]

You just might get the Dig Up The Oldest Post Award for this week.:D

 

Lol! You are so right. I opened the thread to the first page and started reading and noticed some screen names I had not seen on CC for several years. Now I know why. This thread was started in 2004. Too funny!

 

Colleen

[xpcdoojk]

Yeah, 2004, then resurrected in 2006 then 2007, and our Canadian buddy does it again in 2009. You almost have to try do this, so, ToddCan, why did you? Because Todd can?:D

 

Inquiring minds and all.

 

jc

[Cuizer2]

I just got back from a Vision of the Seas cruise and bought several hundred dollars worth of art. The auctioneers from Park West at Sea says that all of the work is much more valuable than it was auctioned at. Has anyone had any luck with this? If so please share your experiences!

 

I've got a lovely bridge I would like to sell you. I guarantee that the bridge is worth more than the price I am willing to sell it to you for.