Park West Gallery
Reviews and Complaints

Purchased artwork on Carnival Celebration, over $6000. Rushed through signing process as appointments were packed in. I asked and was told refunds can be given if items returned. Company states it’s credit to account not refund. Was told on ship refund. In my world refund and crediting are the same. So now I have to pay over $6000 and they have the two artworks. In addition customer service is horrible communicating

I was on a Princess Cruise aboard the Emerald. I had purchased a piece of art in one of the art auctions. I later won a "free" piece of art from a raffle. When I went to claim my prize, i had met with the art director, Craig. He was a very sly salesman, and I had let him talk me into purchasing a couple more art pieces. However, his approach to selling the art pieces were misleading. I was under the impression that these art pieces were originals until i had to ask him specifically whether each piece was an original, in which only then he replied that they were not. At one point, as he was trying to convince me to buy more pieces, he asked me which art i liked, and when i expressed which one i liked as a personal preference, he proceeded to add it to my bill without me actually saying I agreed to purchase it. I caught it later on as I was looking at the final balance. I was also given $3000 in credits to spend on art from them, but when i asked about it, he deliberately tried to explain how the credits would be applied by deducting the prices of other arts, but on the bill, they were all charged the retail price, and only giving a portion of the credit. Moving forward, I had expected that what I had finally agreed to pay would be the last of it, with all shipping included. However, a month later, I was billed another 1200 with no notice or explanation from them. I believe they were trying to slap on some shipping fees when I had not received any items yet. This company is not trustworthy and will sell their soul for a buck.

If you’re thinking about buying anything from Parkwest on a ship. DO NOT DO IT. In October, while on a cruise, I bought a picture. The contract said we will have it before the end of Jan 2023. I called Feb, Mar, Apr. still no picture. Parkwest manager agreed to a refund because it still wasn’t coming. May, June no credit. I finally received the credit but they didn’t refund the shipping and handling cost. I didn’t get a picture to pay shipping and handling. They scammed me out of $200.00! NEVER, NEVER AGAIN. This company is not trustworthy or dependable. The manager said too bad.

We purchased several art works on a cruise in January 2023 which 2 arts were not disclosed as to what they were actually sending and 2 frames damaged.

After several emails and threats new frames were sent with the promise they were checked and we would be reimbursed.

Took frames to be fitted and the frames sent from Park West are not made to fit the art. And we are still waiting any sort of reimbursement. It is now nearly June and we still have dodgy art, frames that are damaged and are too small to fit our art and no money back for these issues.

Park West Gallery purposely deceived my novice knowledge of art. The art dealer not once announced that all sales are final. The art dealer also convinced that I would be crazy to not take the bigger deal and my art would be worth 4x what I am paying because of the onboard credits I was receiving. I specifically asked several times, if I get home and decide that I don’t want the art can I return and he said yes as long as no money has exchanged hands. I did that and yet I am being told that I cannot receive a refund. I have disputed all the charges and refused all the shipments. Yet no refund.

Be aware that Park West will expect you to wait for your "purchased" piece of art as long as they deem necessary. I called and spoke to customer service and they advised me my piece had arrived at their location in Miami and would be shipped and I should expect it in 2 weeks. When I called 2 weeks later, customer service had not received my piece and they had no idea when it might arrive. Of course, I had paid in full months before. When I stated that process was unfair and maybe I should just cancel my order, she stated I could not cancel. When I stated that maybe I should share my bad experience or speak to other passengers on cruise ships about Park West, she told me I could not do that and threatened to have me thrown out of the onboard gallery. Wow! Gotta love art!

Purchased 2 paintings as a set on a Sept 2022 cruise. It wasn’t until 13 weeks after not receiving the 2nd painting they said it was no longer available. I requested a refund as of yet they have not returned the money. They just keep saying it’s been approved but accounting has not returned it. They also know after 60 days the credit card companies won’t take a complaint. Conveniently they tell you 30-90 days for refunds never mentioned in the paperwork you receive. Also when they sold us the 2 pieces the person placing the order said the company shows the one painting as no longer being available then the other person told her to override it because it was available. Park West has now had my money from time of purchase 6 months.

We were invited to participate in an all-expense paid “art auction cruise” which concluded 9/2/2121 by Park West Gallery. During the cruise we purchased four art items totaling over $28,000 which we paid by credit card. We were advised that typical delivery would be twelve weeks except for a bronze that could take up to twelve months (or longer) to ship. After waiting for four months, I contacted Park West and was informed that they did not know when my items would be shipped, so I requested a refund. They stated that all sales are final and there would be no refund. how can a sale be final if the sale was never completed? It took over five months to get the first two items. We contacted our credit card company for assistance and Park West stated that “the charges are valid” and refused to provide credit. At the end of August (8/31/2022) the credit card company advised that they were unable to assist me in resolving this problem. We did not get the third item until we filed a complaint with the State of Michigan and BBB at which forced Park West to promptly ship that item but not the last item because they had stated it could be a year or “longer” to process. Two weeks ago (19 months later) I asked Park West for a time frame when I could expect this item and was informed that do not provide such information. I then asked how orders were in ahead of my order, got the same answer. We have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get what we paid for. It appears that Park West business model is to deliberately delay fulfilling their sales commitments in some kind of weird hopes we will all go away. In short, it borders on corruption. If we want any resolution to this situation, we will be forced to go open another case with the State of Michigan and the BBB or pursue expensive litigation. All we can do at this point is tell everyone we can about this absurd incident and Yell WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH PARK WEST GALLERY, BUYER BE VERY, VERY AWARE!

We are retired and from Australia. email - [protected]@bigpond.com

-We purchased Peter Max art from Park West on various Princess cruises between about May 2016, in 2018 and in 2019.
-We explained to Park West staff that we were considering purchasing art as an appreciating asset and inheritance for our four grandchildren.
-The Park West auctioneer advised it was a very good idea.
-He also advised Peter Max was the best choice and that Max art would appreciate substantially, even in the short term.
-He stated the purchase prices offered to us were exceptional.
-He further stated that buying at sea was far more to our advantage as opposed to land purchases.
-He stated if we were to sell the art we should go to Sotheby’s. We contacted Sotheby’s and they had and have no interest in Max whatsoever.

-In total we paid Park West US$169,000.
-Park West “appraised” the art to a total of US$215,300. WOW. WHAT a bargain!
-As grandparents we believed we had done something very special for our grandchildren. Perhaps you may relate to our paternal feelings of wellbeing and pride?
-By sheer chance and good luck during 2019, we were sledgehammered with the truth. Our world closed down.
-We did our own research and have been continuing to do so for a few years.
-Just recently we again sent communications to an additional 55 US art Galleries.
The bottom line-our art has a value of US$25,000. A value of 14.79% against the original purchase outlay. Fact and Truth.

We purchased one piece, “Blushing Beauty” for US$58,023, from Park West. Shapiro Auctions New York advised on 11/01/23. “ Delighted to include the piece in our upcoming March 18-19th, 2023 Fine Art, Antiques & Design Auction with estimates of $3,000-$5,000, pending first hand inspection”’

Taking the top value of the range ($3,000-$5,000) relates to an 8.6% value of the Park West charge of $58,023. Is this fair, honourable and the normal business practice of a supposedly good corporate citizen that, their practice appears, is supported by law?

Park West initially agreed to refund our money, reneged, and put the matter into the hands of their lawyers. When the issue first arose, we, like old idiots, trusted their explanations.

We communicated in-depth with Park West. All we wanted was our money back and for Park West to take the art back. We advised we would sign a confidentiality agreement. They passed the matter onto their lawyer. Basically, in our view, the lawyer just played us. Good heavens. They offered us that we could exchange the Max art for other of their artist’s work. Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Hindsight? I am now 71 years of age and have never been treated so badly as I have been by this Company. All we seek is a refund for art that does NOT have the value we paid for it. It is that simple, factual and true.

From our research it is apparent Park West are very “aggressive” in having matters dealt with.
It became apparent that Park West pricing has been questioned for many years.
Does anyone understand and accept that the simple fact is that If we had known the truth, we would never have purchased the art. It is akin to being told you are purchasing a high end motor vehicle and over time it turns out to be a Go-Kart. A very cheap Go-Kart at that. Surely the law would recognize that. Why would we willingly pay an extra $144,000 for a product that is worth $25,000. Park West and their lawyer play silly games. The latest is that we have ‘Buyers Remorse”. This was their lawyers statement in a recent article by the New York media concern, “artnet”. artnet’s link to the article is https://news.artnet.com/market/park-west-cruise-seller-new-york-gallery-2246377

The following are the words from Mr Schwiep in the article-

“From time to time, as in any major purchase, people experience buyers’ remorse and they regret their decisions,” Schwiep said when asked about Cream’s complaint. “That occurs and sometimes folks come up with pretextual reasons to try and rescind a purchase. In every case where we’ve engaged those clients and provided them the support for the valuation provided and addressed their concerns, the situations have resolved amiably.”

In that article it was reported that “Park West would, if clients requested fair market value assessments, that the gallery will often arrange it through an outside independent appraiser”.
Interesting in that Mr John Block of Park West also advised me (2019) that Park West would get me additional confirmation in writing of the authenticity and details of our art beyond the Park West Certificate of Authenticity and Appraisals. This never happened. We followed up, to no avail.
They have not discussed the discrepancy in pricing. When I have supplied data on pricing they do not mention/discuss it. All resolved amiably? (in a friendly and peaceable manner) I do not think so.

In US law, a pretext usually describes false reasons that hide the true intentions or motivations for a legal action. I have not, “come up with pretextual reasons”. The value of the art I purchased is not questionable. It is worth 14.79% of the purchase price.
Buyer’s remorse. How does a lawyer justify that statement? We are actually talking about a huge discrepancy in pricing. We purchased a Rolls Royce and got a Go-Kart! That’s the truth of the matter.
In the article it stated, “Today, Park West is presenting itself as a humbled, cleaned-up operation. Executives say they have implemented an “aggressive” compliance department that meticulously reviews videotapes of all its auctions and seminars to make sure sales are conducted properly — and that they no longer make any promises about the purported value of the art as an investment”. Our issue has been going since 2019. Cleaned up their act?

This is interesting, and very old hat. If one spends time reading the many articles on Park West over many years and current articles………nothing has changed. I am only talking since [protected]. During that time their auctioneer, in his office, advised us of the values and that the art was an investment. Never saw a camera in the office. What they state is simply smoke and mirrors and a very “nice” thing to say. Play on words.
We are seeking a refund based on either-
a). The difference between what we paid ($169,000) and actual market value (approx.$25,000)
resulting in a $144,000 refund with us retaining the art.
b). A refund of $169.000 and Park West taking the art back.

I was promised an international cruise for purchasing paintings. I signed up for cruise of the Greek Islands but it was cancelled due to COVID and I have not heard about any future international cruises since I have contacted Park West Gallery by phone and all they can do is contact client service Dept which has not contacted me I have called and emailed John Block the Executive Vice President but he has not responded. I am very frustrated and fear no one will take care of this

We purchased art on a cruise ship from park West in July. It took 2 to 3 months to get to us in Hawaii. When we finally received all of our pieces the framing that we paid for was not included instead was the cheapest frame I've ever seen Not to mention 3 of the other pieces were missing the mounting cables which were also included in the price that we paid. We have emailed called and message on their page Facebook page. We get response of someone will reach out to you. But no one ever does it's now off it's now November. This company is known for horrible customer service. I'm attaching the picture On the left is what we paid for on the right is what we received.

We had 3 defective pieces of art. We arranged a return in March 2022. They agreed to send shipping cartons. These were sent 3x to the incorrect address.They issued FedEx call tickets who failed to show up 2x. They were finally picked up, and 2 were lost. They would not pursue with FedEx and FedEx would not discuss it with us because we were not the shipper. 30+ E-Mails and calls and now they have ghosted us for the past 2+ months!

We have E-mail log with each promise that they would look into it, but never did.

I bought 3 pieces of art on a Celebrity Cruise in Aug 2022. I tried to cancel the next day and was told I would need to call after the cruise so that is what I did. I was not all sales final even though I had been drinking and you should not be held liable when signing a contract while intoxicated. I had also tried to cancel within 3 days. Any company that refuses cancellations obviously has something to hide. What can I do at this point.

I attended an art auction on a recent cruise - 4 days ago. I now wish I had never purchased anything. I see the invoice says All Sales Final. Is there anyway I can cancel the order with them. I have read many reviews now saying the art they sell is way overprices and I am panicking over the amount of money I spent. Any advice? Deny credit card payment?

It's hit or miss with Park West so beware. Their customer service is not empowered to actually do anything. It's been 19 weeks since my purchase and my art work has been "in framing" for 15 weeks. They claimed they didn't have the frame materials so a month ago I offered to let them swap the frame with another one. Still a month has gone by and I don't have my art work. I've asked for a refund but they said they don't offer refunds yet they haven't shipped my art. I liked what I purchased but buyer beware as they don't deliver it.

My husband, and I were invited to a PWG art event in Orlando, November 2021. We purchased several pieces, totaling more than 40K. There was an original we purchased for over 27K. It was a one of a kind original, but it was to include another painting of the original, in the same frame. We did not receive the original until January 2022. we accepted the delivery, but the other print that was suppose to be with it, was not included. I made many calls, to the PWG, but always received an excuse as to why we did not receive it. After weeks of that, I finally made a CC dispute. PWG sent a letter to the CC company that if we won the dispute, we would have to return the artwork, because there was no signed invoice. I made several attempts after that to contact PWG to return the artwork. since then, all they do, is state, ALL SALES ARE FINAL, AND HANG UP. NO ONE THERE WILL RETURN MY CALLS. The CC company says there hands are tied, they keep awarding the charge to the merchant. I have disputed this several times with no help from the CC company, but state they don't blame me for this. I am willing to return the artwork, but they will not respond as to where I can send it to. I will not be paying for it.