Art Brokerage
reviews and complaints

It was very wonderful to have a company like Art Brokerage available for me to use to sell my art! I live in AK and it can be difficult to sell art. Helen with Art Brokerage was great to work with and the process was very efficient and went smoothly. My only complaint was needing to post my net take-away 1k below the appraised amount of the artwork. That 1k is "wiggle room" for negotiations (which I understand could be needed). On certain pieces of art listed, due to the 1k negotiation room I had to list my net take-away for a much less than what I paid for it. Besides that, I loved working with them and plan to in the future!

This is in regards to the serigraph I recently purchased from Art Brokerage.com. For me, this purchase was a true investment piece, and being that the transaction was all online, I was a bit hesitant , but I'm so glad I proceeded with the purchase. Working with Art Brokerage couldn't have been an easier. My initial inquiry got an immediate response and all further communications with Helen T regarding the next steps in the process, were friendly, responsive and clear. The whole experience put me at ease and confident that everything would proceed as expected. I now have my treasured serigraph framed and displayed in my home, and I couldn't be happier.
A very satisfied customer,
N.M.

WOW. My first purchase took a little while (ON MY PART) to find just the right piece of art. Along the way, Helen was AMAZING (A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.) with helping me and answering questions. Once I found the proper piece, what a pleasant experience. SMOOTH, EASY, EXCEPTIONAL service. The piece was packaged spectacularly, arrived in PERFECT hanging condition. Helen, followed the shipment from the moment I purchased it to the moment I told her it had arrived in perfect shape and I was very happy (AND SHE EVEN FOLLOWED UP AFTER THAT TOO!)

A spectacular experience I will HIGHLY recommend Art Brokerage, Inc. HIGHLY. SUPERIOR SERVICE AND DESCRIPTIONS! GREAT care is taken with the product and the sale!

I have sold 4 paintings through Art Brokerage, 2 very recently with Helen as my broker. The sales went very smoothly and were very easy on my part. After I had listed the paintings and coordinated pricing with their experts on the site, once the buyer contacted Art Brokerage about an offer, Helen handled all offers and counter-offered, was always helpful and supportive, and made the process very easy for me. I only paid for packaging then dropped the paintings at the places to be shipped. Extremely easy. Check was in my hands with a week or so of shipping. Even though buyer has 3 days to approve, they each approved even quicker and my check was sent promptly thereafter. Highly recommend this brokerage company and Helen as broker, in particular.

I had a great transaction with Robbie! He let me know I had an offer and advised me on how to proceed. With his advice, the art that I had been trying to sell for 5 years finally sold. I was happy with the price I got for the art and the communications with the broker. He advised me on how to package the art and provided a shipping label. I was able to track shipping and got confirmation when it was delivered. With in a day Robbie notified me that the buyer accepted the art and it would be paid out with in 7 days. I received an E-Check and it cleared the bank with no issues.

While I didn't get what I paid for the art, it was a very good transaction and I hope to have the same thing happen with the two other pieces I have listed.

Keep up the good work!

I recently sold my first piece of art through Art Brokerage, working with Helen T as my point-of-contact. I found the entire process to very efficient, from the initial listing of the piece, notification about a potential buyer, presentation of the formal offer, updates that the buyer's funds had been secured, responding to my packaging questions, providing feedback from the happy buyer upon receipt, and prompt payment via an eCheck process. I highly recommend Helen and Art Brokerage. Be aware that patience is needed after your art is listed. It may take many months for the right buyer to come along. Also, be truthful about the condition and description of your piece, as buyer approval of the as-received artwork is required before funds are released to the seller.

I believe my "broker" Helen Tu has scammed me. I was trying to purse a Frank Howell print. Made an offer that included shipping. Received an invoice with shipping. I agreed to pay $50 for insurance. Wired funds to bank as directed in Ketchum, ID. Bank returned funds saying the name provided was not associated with the account. I was charge a fee of $50 for the bank not exceptinng the funds. Notified "Broker" that funds had been transfer-did not hear from "Broker" for a week regarding touble with funds being wired. Broker never called me on phone to discuss. No phone number provided from Art Brokerage Inc. on paperwork. I would think the "seller" would have wanted to know what was happening with the transaction. No effort has been made to continue sale or refund $50.

Hello Art Brokerage, I have never sold artwork and I did not know where to start. Then, I found Art Brokerage. I was concerned about listing a valuable piece of artwork but quickly found that your technology and customer service made the process seamless. I was very relieved and now felt comfortable selling this piece of art which had been in our family for several generations. It took some time but then, when we had a buyer, you expertly managed the sale, purchase, escrow, shipping and delivery process for us. You stayed in close communication and set realistic time frames for the entire process we knew what to expect. I received my echeck yesterday and deposited it at Bank of America and that was that as they say. Really well done thank you you are a real professional. Art Brokerage

This was my first purchase through Art Brokerage and it couldn't have been better. Helen was helpful every step of the way. She was way more responsive and helpful than I would've ever expected. There were some delays in the shipping, which I expected given the size of the painting, as well as the ongoing hiring and supply chain issues, and Helen contacted the shipping company on my behalf and was able to provide me with updates that weren't available through the tracking website. Given that Art Brokerage isn't the shipping company and shouldn't be responsible for this since the seller is the one arranging the shipping, I was amazed at this level of service. The artwork that was delivered was exactly what I expected. In addition, I contacted an art dealer about some original Sam Park pieces he used to own and he told me that he's retired, and he recommended I try Art Brokerage.

"I first encountered Jaline Pol's work at the Hanson Gallery of Fine Art in Sausalito, CA when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. I stumbled upon her work again at Atlas Gallery in Chicago when I moved there for a few years. One of her pieces was the inspiration for a poem I wrote for a poetry class I took at the University of Chicago.

Art Brokerage made it possible for me to acquire one of Jaline Pol's pieces, "Nous Aurons D'efrangés Fleurs Sur Nos Efageres" (translated "we will have fringed flowers on our shelves") at a price only possible in a pandemic. This was a dream come true. It was a breeze working with Helen T who was highly communicative, professional, and supportive throughout the transaction from the time I expressed interest in the piece to my acquisition of it. I highly recommend Art Brokerage, and look forward to using their services again to expand my personal art collection."

The good folks at Art Brokerage did a spectacular job! I first saw a real interesting sculpture in a gallery on West Broadway NYC in 1991 - a long time ago. For some reason I thought about it again a few years ago and was able to use this thing that they did not have back in 1991 to find it called Google. It lead me to Art Brokerage where I tried to buy the piece for around two years. We finally were able to complete the purchase with the great help from Art Brokerage. They were competent, knowledgeable, pleasant and responsive. Frankly, I was a little reluctant making payment over the net to a group I did not really know, but that worked out fine. Among other things, they did a superb job packing the object, that could easily have been damaged in transit. It took me an hour to unpack it! After all these years this beautiful piece is now prominently displayed in my living room and I LOVE IT! Thank you to Art Brokerage for doing a superb job from start to finish!

Selling your art work to someone you will never personally see can be a stressful process. You work with your art broker to agree on a price then you take your art to a shipping service and pay out of pocket the costs to professionally and securely prepare the art work for shipping. Then your art work is gone on a truck. You have nothing but hope that the artwork will be delivered safely, that it will be accepted by the buyer, and that agreed upon funds for the sale will be received.
To make this great leap of faith you will need the utmost trust with your art broker and that is exactly what I found with Helen Smith. Her timely communications were key in my recently successful selling of some artwork. She let me know what to expect during the entire process, answered all of my questions in a very timely manner, provided me tracking information to stay on top of the progress of the shipment and even arranged for me to receive my full payment quicker than expected.

As I said, Trust is KEY and Helen Smith made sure that a potentially stressful transaction was carried out smoothly. I fully endorse Helen Smith and Art Brokerage for all of your artwork selling needs.

I was advised by a gallery if I wanted to sell the art I'd accumulated over the years- with COAs mind you- this was the place to go. They denied my postings and did not state as to why. They went on to claim the art was not valued at what I'd previously purchased it for.

I have UV protection glass in the frames and the frames were a custom job. So the frames themselves were upwards of $200/frame per piece. Each piece was about a grand from where I'd purchased it from.

They even admitted that it's a difference of opinion and "sorry" this didn't work out.

Far as I can tell they not only don't know what they're talking about, but they're undervaluing the works.

I even went ahead and checked other similar listings on their site and they were listed at close to $2000. Yet my postings for $1200 weren't approved? Similar product, more well known artist, and artists signatures as well all on my pieces. Very weird they'd approve unknown artists works and value it higher than that of well known artists- with the pieces even signed by the artists and COA provided.

Overall, I can only deduce this to being a form of discriminatory practice on their part.

I wouldn't trust this company and plan on steering clear. I can sell the pieces for what they're valued at without their help. It'll take more legwork on my end, but I guess that's what I have to do. Nothing in life is easy, I suppose.

Bought painting from Art Brokerage. No shipping damages. Item professionally repaired discovered later at appraisal. Art Brokerage does not authenticate et James Warren original painting 1978 "The Wise Man" I assumed, my error, Art Brokerage had expertise in the world of art. They do not. They are no more than a platform, just a middleman selling cars, trinkets etc. They should make it crystal clear to the buyer: They do not authenticate, They do not inspect work in any way, It could be a photo, It could be a fake etc. They have NO expertise in the Art world. Buyer should understand clearly up front he must pay to have the work professionally authenticated and inspected for all possible problems immediately. Art Brokerage does nothing. Trying to find someone in charge to communicate with is next to impossible.

Art damaged during shipping or by the buyer and it is being sent back to me damaged without any insurance payment. I sold an art print using this brokerage. Per their policy, I shipped the art in a professionally packaged art box. I have the receipt and I can get a written account of the staff helping me. I was there for a while. I wanted to ensure the art was packaged safely. Before I shipped the art, the brokerage told me the art is covered by insurance. They buyer pays the shipping and insurance. It is also clearly stated in their policy that the buyer pays for insurance. I also have a note from the broker reminding me to ship professionally or insurance may not cover any damage. I fulfilled my obligation and shipped the art in good condition and in a professional art shipping box. At some point the art was damaged. The brokerage now wants to return the art to me - damaged - and no insurance payment. This is a $2000 piece of art that is now damaged and likely can't be resold. I have contacted the brokerage many times. I've left voice mail messages. They have not responded other than to tell me they are shipping the art back to me. They never provided me with insurance coverage. I would like the insurance policy and the payment to cover the damaged piece of art. Again, Artbrokerage will not respond other than to say, we're shipping it back. I have all this documented. I am hopeful we can resolve this with insurance. If not, it is a much bigger issue as it's a $2000 piece of art. Please contact me if you need an additional information. Thank you

Poor representation, price gouging company that only cares about the money. Reminds me of other unethical businesses and practices. To whom it may concern, I am filing a complaint against Art Brokerage Inc. located in Henderson, NV. This complaint is for their complete failure to provide service, selling my art piece without my consent, and engaging in clear price gouging. The company has a 20% markup that they refused to negotiate on, even after months of no progress. As a result, my piece was sold at a price that was 30% higher than the artist's brand new price. Despite my repeated attempts to explain that the listed price ($4860) was significantly above the new gallery price, making it unattractive to potential buyers, the business refused to adjust the listing price and left it unchanged. Furthermore, the company does not allow customers to sell their piece elsewhere while it is in their possession, essentially holding my artwork hostage. I am seeking fair compensation for the six months of no service that I received. Below are some of the correspondences that clearly demonstrate the price gouging and the company's lack of effort in selling my piece:

"Robbie *** [protected]:56am PDT
Hello ***,
Your art is listed at $3,600 net to the seller. We mark up the art by 20% for our profit and quote 10% over that to allow for negotiation. The quoted price is $4,680, with the understanding that the buyer may make a reasonable offer. If you wish to sell this artwork, you must lower the price to the range of $2,000 - $2,500. We cannot help you recoup the full retail price you paid long ago. The secondary resale art market does not work that way.
Warmest regards,
Robbie"

"*** [protected]:08pm PDT
You are starting off at $4,680? That could be considered fraudulent. The piece is brand new and costs about $4,000 with tax and shipping. You need to work with me on the markup because we can either sell it or not, and if we don't, you get $0. I will not accept anything less than $3,400 net, and I request that we start with a quote of $4,000. That's a 10-15% profit, which is better than nothing. Please be reasonable."

"Robbie *** [protected]:58pm PDT
***,
You have been perpetually unhappy, and now you are accusing us of "fraud" for our 20% markup, which is necessary for our business to survive. We cannot work with sellers who believe they can dictate our terms and make false accusations. We are removing your listing and suggest you find another platform for selling your art. Perhaps you should try *** or an auction website. We wish you the best of luck with your sale.
Warmest regards,
Robbie"

Art Brokerage continuing sale of *** Original Painting "***" after I purchased and paid their seller for the item before shipment. Painting Original *** by *** was bid on Ebay May 14th and auction ended May 19th with myself the winner and payment made. When contacting the seller for pick up the seller said he had listed on Artbrokerage and decided to sell the item through their brokerage after learning I it was already sold. The seller said he would try to get the painting back but had just mailed it out for delivery on May 27th by 9PM EST. I explained the painting had sold and was paid for and should be ready for my pick up two days ago. He said he didnt know what to do and was advised by Artbrokerage that he could ignore the fact the painting had already been sold and to continue with the brokering through Artbrokerage. I agreed to help their seller with the painting i purchased three days prior and sent the *** invoice the seller received and the Certificate of Authenticity. So far Artbrokerage has not responsed to my email last 22nd Friday to them stating i was the owner and I did not want to sell and that their seller was not the owner of the painting as of May 19th. I will see and keep updated the community that follows the practice of brokers selling others property with out proof of ownership. I made a claim to Artbrokerage.com about the piece and the questionable ownership with my proof of purchase from their seller with receipt of payment. I am very active in the community and will be public and transparent about my attempt to prevent my property from being sold without consent. I purchased the item for 1300 USD and artbrokerage sold it for 2500 netting the seller much more than he sold to me.I have attached the receipt with the date and the screen shots of the auction. I am still claiming ownership with payment made to their seller before the sale of the item listed. I have purchased items and sold through Artbrokerage and the process has been the same several times over. This item is continuing to be brokered through Artbrokerage.com and their CFO Helen was notified on Friday 22nd and my initial inquiry was May 19th about my *** Painting *** being brokered with their seller having sold to me already. The buyer of Artbrokerage has no idea the ownership or question of ownership claim has been raised on the item Artbrokerage is representing is not the property of the seller. Most businesses would research when the ownership is in question of an item they are brokering has been claimed to be one other than the seller they are working with. Its a bad business practice to continue the sale of an item until only to learn the item did not have clear title after the fact. I want others to know that Artbrokerage.com does not confirm the ownership of the items Sellers offer for sale. If you suspect Artbrokerage.com of brokering your artwork from someone who has listed it with them. You will need to contact the authorities and file a complaint with Artbrokerage listed as brokering the artwork without proof of ownership by the seller. Artbrokerage.com will not address or halt the sale of an item they are brokering even with proof of ownership sent to their CFO and consultants. You will need to file a complaint and have local authorities investigate your claim. I have attached my purchase the Certificate of Authenticity and auction of the item clearly showing the item was not the sellers. I will be starting a website for sellers and buyers who have listed artwork with Artbrokerage.com to share their stories and experiences to educated other consumers of the business practice and ethics of the industry and Artbrokerage adherence to them. All brokerage houses would halt the sale of an item in question they are brokering to determine in fact the claim of ownership. Its just good business Artbrokerage.com. Please look online for the site to be up soon and together we can share experiences and help others who are seeking or selling artwork with Artbrokerage.com and encourage customers alike to report to ComplaintsBoard.com these situations.