Charlie
7 years ago
I bought a painting for just over ten thousand dollars from Grogan's. I was told that when it was consigned, nobody could see the signature and so it was cataloged with a very low estimate. When the signature was "discovered", it was actually hard to miss, it was re-cataloged as by an important American painter (I'm leaving out the name). After I bought it, I paid to have it evaluated by the expert on the artist. He provided a letter saying that the article was not genuine which I showed to Michael Grogan, after he requested to see it. To make a long story short, I was unable to get a refund, or even an apology, for the fake painting and I would suggest people be very wary when dealing with Grogan & Co. They may seem like honest, polite folk, but they are neither.
,
Ross
10 years ago
I purchased an antique sterling teapot from this auction house for $1850. Upon receiving the item I noticed two missing pieces of silver to the body with a piece of metal affixed to the reverse so that the pot would mot leak. The lid of the teapot was also repaired.
The said defects were so obvious that even my 10 year old noticed them as soon as he saw the teapot. However, Grogan auction house's description of the item made no mention of the condition of the item. Moreover, the photograph the auction house had put on line was taken from the other side of the teapot that was relatively in better shape; thus, concealing the missing parts and leading anyone to infer that this was the general condition of the item.
Upon notifying the auction house of the mentioned mis-represenations (i.e., in description of the item and in its picture), I was referred to the conditions of sale that has a clause pertaining to all items are sold "as is".
This general blank clause "as is" is used by more reputable auction houses when their description of the item does not omit such a crucial aspect of an item as its condition and it could be resorted to in the event of an oversight in description; and not, in the case that I reported here– the item being defective and the defects so explicit, yet no mention is made of them in the descriptionand the picture of the item taken from the side that does not have holes in it.
The said defects were so obvious that even my 10 year old noticed them as soon as he saw the teapot. However, Grogan auction house's description of the item made no mention of the condition of the item. Moreover, the photograph the auction house had put on line was taken from the other side of the teapot that was relatively in better shape; thus, concealing the missing parts and leading anyone to infer that this was the general condition of the item.
Upon notifying the auction house of the mentioned mis-represenations (i.e., in description of the item and in its picture), I was referred to the conditions of sale that has a clause pertaining to all items are sold "as is".
This general blank clause "as is" is used by more reputable auction houses when their description of the item does not omit such a crucial aspect of an item as its condition and it could be resorted to in the event of an oversight in description; and not, in the case that I reported here– the item being defective and the defects so explicit, yet no mention is made of them in the descriptionand the picture of the item taken from the side that does not have holes in it.
F.S