While
you think you are just bidding on pieces of original artwork, this is what is
really going on around you:
The
first thing to consider is that almost every piece of art for sale at an on
board art auction is not actually original artwork. You are actually bidding on
‘lithographs’ which are labeled as original art by the auctioneer even though
hundreds or thousands of them have been printed off. Usually they come in
limited editions, and sometimes with the artist’s autograph, although there
have been cases in the past where the autographs turned out to be fake.
The
jargon used to describe such categories of art is complicated, but the
important thing to remember is that they are not actual, original pieces of
art. They are basically fancy posters! So
don’t spend thousands on a Salvador Dali being sold on board a ship as you can probably
find the exact same lithograph on the internet for a fraction of the price. (On
a side note, there are a few cruise ships that do auction off original art from
time to time. However, this is definitely not the norm. The only times I have
seen actual original art being auctioned, is when the artist themselves have
been on board as well. Therefore, it is always best to assume that the art for
sale is only a duplicate of the original.)
It is
a fact that the Thomas Kinkade's artwork is one of the world’s most
sought after. The auctioneer
will actually inform you that the artwork you see is actually lithograph, the
originals are kept in a vault and are not for sale.
Nearly
every cruise auction you attend will also display artwork by Peter Max, a pop
art master artist. You will never find a
piece of his artwork at an affordable price, and not one of them is an
original.
Before
the auction begins, the art auctioneer will always explain to the crowd, in
very
complicated
and rapid phrases, that they will be using a tactic known as ‘shilling’.
However, since the auctioneer speaks in such clever and confusing, almost
nobody will understand what is actually taking place. Basically, ‘shilling’
involves having several people (usually other passengers) placed in the
audience by the auctioneer. Their job is to yell out whenever they receive the
signal, and to make a bid on a piece of art. These bids are ‘fake’ and they are
designed to get the bidding started as well as increase the amounts of each
bid.
Many
times, when you are bidding on a piece of art, you think you are bidding
against another
passenger, but you are actually bidding against a ‘fake’ bid. This of course
forces you to keep bidding higher! The passenger who is acting as the ‘fake
bidder’ will usually receive a ‘free’ piece of art in exchange for their
cooperation. However, if you are approached by the auctioneer to do this, think
twice before you agree. It is not uncommon that when the ‘fake- bidder’ gets
home and receives that ‘free’ piece of art as promised them, they also find an
invoice for taxes and other fees totaling several hundred dollars as well.
Passengers
will generally not have an opportunity to view a copy of the sales contract before
the bidding begins. As a result, what you bid on a piece of art will never be
the final price that you will end up paying. And we are not talking about a few
extra dollars being added on to the bill. Instead, you can expect a 10% buyer’s
premium (which is actually nothing but a way to get 10% more out of you),
shipping & handling costs, framing fees, appraisal fees, sales tax on the
total of all the above, and often another vague ‘handling fee’ added on after
that. You can literally end up paying thousands of more dollars than what you
bid. If you then decide that you don’t want to pay all of those extra fees, the
art auctioneer will usually point out that all sales are final (written in the
small print somewhere) and that your credit card will automatically be charged.
Interested
in taking a cruise? Contact us at
Travel, Tours & Cruises to book your dream vacation, and tune in tomorrow
for Part 3 of this exposé.
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