Park West Gallery: experience and strategy

[Freida DoWhatYouWant]

https://finerworks.com/info/giclee-vs-lithograph-prints.aspx

 

Note that this is by someone who is trying to sell giclees.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Freida DoWhatYouWant

[JetSet2B]

Ok, the PW seller was trying to sell me a giclee. I remember writing it down because I never heard of it. So I would have been buying a photocopy. I will be so much better informed for my next cruise. I'm hoping to get a legitimate Tarkay serigraph. If not, I'll try to find a Govezensky on land.

[gmasters]

Thats the most important, being happy with what you bought no matter what you paid. Just don't expect you can sell the work when you arrive at home and make money.

 

we have been in a new home for three years, and this isn't a small house. We have a Living room with bare walls and a quest room that has very nice bedroom set with also bare walls.

 

I can tell you its seems nice to walk into a home that has waited so long to be dressed. Make money, no.. smile, hess... spent maybe to much, ya... but I'm pleased. If I worried about money that much I would give up cruising, and tell my husband to sell the motorhome.

 

And work more.... NO

[Laszlo]

So a giclee is a photocopy onto canvas? I thought most of their "giclees" were supposedly hand embellished?

 

Photocopy or not, the ones on canvas look a lot more like real paintings to me than the serigraphs/lithographs.

 

I'm still laughing about the auctioneer's mock surprise/disappointment that nobody jumped at the chance for a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to purchase those dark supposed "original" Rembrandt, Renoir and Picasso etchings for $49,995.

 

Have you ever heard of "Canvas World"?

 

Its a little more than a photo copy. Its a file, usually a Photoshop file which either has been scanned from an original or a digital photo taken from the original. Its then printed to a higher end 5K to 15K Epson or HP Digital printer. I'm a graphic artist and I use an Epson 9890 along with an HP Z6100. The printed dot is so fine most people don't know what they are looking at. Thats what the people selling the "Art" on the ship hope for

 

A true serigraph is hand pulled ink thru either real silk mesh or a polyester mesh. They can be anywhere from 1 to dozens of colors. My fathers are anywhere from 12 to 48 colors. Its extremely time consuming. His normal edition is 50-100 prints

Edited April 2, 2014 by Laszlo

[Bailey & Sophie]

i remember on one cruise that you can go put a tag on anything that you want to be put up and shown in the fake auction.

i went around and put a bunch of tags on dozens & dozens of items.

then i came back later to watch.

the guy started to become irritated because nobody was interested or bidding on anything.

he ended up real pissed off and borderline insulting people for wasting his time.

that was my best experience at the art auctions..

the best ever!!!!

[blackwing]

Putting pre-bid tags on pieces is funny, I never thought about doing that. This might explain why pieces that are tagged come up and nobody bids... I assumed that the people had left the auction, but maybe not.

 

On my cruise, the auctioneer got fake-mad and said something like, "why is nobody bidding. Is it because these pieces are not exclusive enough? OK then, let's bring out the CP lots, since that is apparently what you want." Then he brought out the ones that cost $5,000+. Then says "well, this is what you wanted. This is what you asked for. And it's only going to work if people bid."

 

It was funny to watch the passive-aggressiveness.

[MiniJeffrey]

Does anybody know where we can find the actual verdict in some of the legal cases against Park West? I know they have been sued for several claims that they would sell fake or worthless art, but I would love to see how the judge ruled. It seems very hard to find on the internet but it could be useful to know this.

 

I'm not a big fan of giclee's either, for me it's just a copy on an very expensive printer, but it's not real art for me. On the other hand I do find serigraphs to be art because of the time and effort it takes to create a serigraph. On a serigraph you can also see the ink, while on a giclee it's as you were just looking at a very HD photo.

[jasmin9]

Aside from the actual value of their artwork, I would like to add concerning my recent experience with them in regard to a refund:

 

I purchased art on-board Celebrity in April 2014. When I returned to the US from Spain in May 2014, I decided that I could not afford the purchase due to home remodeling costing more than anticipated. I contacted Park West within the time frame allotted and canceled all but one piece. Per their contract, receipt of the art takes from 6-8 weeks so nothing had been shipped when the order was cancelled and I was charged a 15% penalty which can be redeemed for a future order (also in the contract). I have contacted Park West and Celebrity multiple times by e-mail and phone. I am still waiting for the refund to my credit card. I am now being told that some kind of "technical error" was made and I have to wait for the next batch to go through since refunds are not individually processed. It is over two months now and still no sign of a refund. Other than getting my penalty money applied, I will never use Park West again. On the whole, I have enjoyed Celebrity but they should seriously consider if they want to have their reputation questioned by association.

[MiniJeffrey]

Aside from the actual value of their artwork, I would like to add concerning my recent experience with them in regard to a refund:

 

I purchased art on-board Celebrity in April 2014. When I returned to the US from Spain in May 2014, I decided that I could not afford the purchase due to home remodeling costing more than anticipated. I contacted Park West within the time frame allotted and canceled all but one piece. Per their contract, receipt of the art takes from 6-8 weeks so nothing had been shipped when the order was cancelled and I was charged a 15% penalty which can be redeemed for a future order (also in the contract). I have contacted Park West and Celebrity multiple times by e-mail and phone. I am still waiting for the refund to my credit card. I am now being told that some kind of "technical error" was made and I have to wait for the next batch to go through since refunds are not individually processed. It is over two months now and still no sign of a refund. Other than getting my penalty money applied, I will never use Park West again. On the whole, I have enjoyed Celebrity but they should seriously consider if they want to have their reputation questioned by association.

 

This is not the first time I hear that they are experiencing 'technical problems' with refunds. What technical errors? Making a payment order at a bank has nothing to do with technical stuff. This is just wrong, keeping your money for an excessive amount of time.

 

I'm seriously thinking about going to their art auction at the epic in november and spoil their party by opening pandora's box about how they work during the bidding. Don't get me wrong: as you have read in my opening post I did buy some art and I still love it. But they should stop the acting and theater during their on board auctions.

[EyeSeaEwe]

Just three words...

 

RUN

AWAY

FAST

[Upper Deck]

Which ships have the flowing champagne? Been to many auctions and only ever got one glass!!

[TheCruisingBrewers]

Best advice is the second poster. Do not go!

 

I got suckered into it once... it was a nightmare to get sent back and taken off my credit card. I did not do my research and I got taken.

 

It was worth half what I paid for it,it was a lousy seriograph, according the gallery I took it be appraised at and arrived unframed in a shipping tube.

 

I look at the items, I may even drink champagne there,but will never purchase from anything from PWG again.

 

I now have the real painting and paid only a bit more for it.

[Truluv]

Searched for "Park West" and resurrected an old thread, just to report on a recent experience. I purchased a Peter Max on a 8/21 RCL cruise as a gift for one of my adult-kids who had liked it on a prior family trip. When it arrived at my home, it wasn't in the frame or mat that I had ordered onboard. The kid was ok with the frame so I didn't complain. However, I still haven't received the appraisal. I did receive multiple emails from fedex about deliveries to Titusville in Fl though, which were found to be a Park West glitch.

 

I contacted Park West about the appraisal on 10/23. I mentioned the problem with the frame, just so they'd know about the problem. After all, this piece probably cost more than the cruise. Customer Service told me that they'd replace the frame if I wished. I'm not taking advantage of that offer. They also promised that I'd receive the appraisal in 7-10 days. I still haven't received the appraisal.

 

I've cruised 20+ times since the early 90's, and have bought a lot of artwork (not as an investment - just because I liked it, or my kids wanted a piece). My experiences wth Park West have been ok up to now. I don't know what's going on with them, but there's a problem of some kind that has made me frustrated with dealing with them. Be cautious.

[Truluv]

I followed up with Park West again, since I still hadn't received the appraisal after being told it was being resent out and I'd get it in 7-10 days. This tme I called, in addition to sending an email. I haven't received a response to the email. On the phone, the customer service representative told me this time that a request for a new appraisal was submitted on 10/29, and that it takes 6-8 weeks. (I could hear his eyes rolling on the phone, if you know what I mean by that -- about as phony as "I am sorry about your experience with Park West but we're doing everything we can to satisfy you." as you could get.)

 

This is unacceptable from a 8/21 cruise. Buyer beware. Poor customer service.

[juangmejia]

They tell you lots of lies to sell you things. They make you think you "won" raffless and then they tell you you have to pay for the shipping. Do not fall for anything they tell you!

 

Appalling customer service. I purchased some items on 25 May at a cruise ship and have called and emailed many times since then to make changes to my order. Their systems are not updated and they don't know what's happened with my order. I then got charged to my credit card without me authorizing it. They really have no clue of what they're doing.