Park West

If you're going to do it, you should know fully what you're getting into.

What You Should Know

1. Very few pieces are marked "T/O", meaning "Take Off the ship." Unless you purchase one of these, you will not receive the piece you are bidding on; you will receive something "like it" roughly six to eight weeks later. Ask them
2. The auction is not a real auction. It's simply a show they put on when someone is interested in a picture. Someone will tell you the price you have to pay. Then they bring the piece out and do "auctiony things" and you bid the price they told you to. Ask them.
3. Nothing in the auction is binding. If you don't sign at the appointment following the auction, you are off the hook. Ask them.
4. If you commit to a piece that is not a "T/O", you will pay in full for a piece you will never have seen before and you will pay in full before you are allowed to leave your cruise. You will not be able to "take it back" before you leave the ship, even. Ask them.
5. You will commit to your purchase by signing on the line at a meeting after the auction. Once you have signed, you will have no option to get all of your money back. Their "40-40-40" plan will allow you to get your money back "...less the buyer's premium and excluding any shipping costs if applicable" within 40 days of the "purchase date. Note here that the "buyer's premium" will be substantial (in my case over $300 on a $3,050 purchase) and that your purchased piece will not be delivered within that 40-day time frame. You must request their 40-40-40 refund before you receive your purchase. In other words, you sign – you pay. Period. Ask them.
6. You absolutely CANNOT change your mind once you sign, even an hour later. All sales are truly final. If you tell them you don't want it, they will send it anyway. If you don’t take delivery, they will send lawyers after you. Ask them.
7. They will not resell your piece for you, should you decide to sell it later. This alone should tell you that they're not an auction house. And if they're not an auction house, how can they charge a buyer's premium? Ask them.
8. The sales of Park West, are extremely profitable for your cruise line and that is their incentive to keep them onboard. Well now, you can't really ask them, can you?.
9. Simply put, Park West uses a 1950's type business model with an auction theme – like some sort of kindergarten play.

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Why does Park West need such an elaborate scheme to protect themselves from people changing their minds in the eight weeks before their "artwork" comes? According to their sales pitch, customers should be salivating for their delivery.
2. Where else do you pay in full, in advance, for something that you have never seen and won't see for eight weeks?
3. Where else do lawyers come after you if you don't accept what is sent to you?
4. Where else are you served alcohol during the sales pitch?
5. Why is "art" sold on a cruise ship? What else is sold on a cruise ship that is completely irrelevant to the cruise? Why not cars?

My Advice

1. Pay for very expensive computer time in order to use the ship's computers and Google "Park West Galleries."
2. Get off the ship first. Research Park West online when you get home. Search other sources for the piece you are interested in. You can purchase any of their work after you leave the ship. Ask them.
3. They raffle off some dollar amount towards artwork (on my cruise it was $500). Make sure the auctioneer does not have a ticket in his/her hand when it goes into the bucket. If you are in the raffle and don't win, after the auctioneer has called the winning number, ask to see the ticket. Make sure the number is the same number the auctioneer called.