While they might have quality items to auction off, they align themselves with liveauctioneers who charge enormous fees. Like 28% buyers premium, my favorite "internet fee" which was $38, and after you pay comes another favorite "shipping charges" I bought a 12 x 10 painting and shipping was $135 - insane. I bought a 24 x 30 painting from EBTH and it was $48 which was reasonable. Stay away or pay. read more

DO NOT SHOP HERE. They are dishonest, misleading and deceptive. I bought what was advertised as a solid gold bracelet and it was goldfilled. They claim that they don't warrant the items they sell, but that's not how warranties work. They can't describe something incorrectly and then say it's not their issue. They use this incompetent lawyer to act like a mean bully when issues arise. read more

BUYER BEWARE: Consignors and buyers should stay avoid this auction house like th plague. Read all the negative reviews. They are very real. I've participated in many auctions and these guys are the bottom of the barrel by a long shot. Not all auction houses in NOLA are the same. Neal Auction Company and New Orleans Auction Galleries are top notch and will do anything possible to make sure that their clients, buyers and consignors, are happy with the experience. In contrast, Crescent City Auction Gallery avoids responsibility and hides in the fine print in their contracts, even after admitting that they have made an "egregious catalog error,." see email below. I truly question whether my experience was an error or intentional. Look, mistakes happen and items can be incorrectly listed or the defects not identified. My experiences with the other 2 auction houses has been superlative and they bend over backwards to make things right when there has been an error. Not so with Crescent City Auction Gallery. The 2.8 star overall review score is generous and probably propped up by some shill reviews, and it is much lower than the other 2 referenced auction houses. I do not know why anyone would consign with these guys versus other options. They have a terrible reputation, which impacts hammer price. If you do business with them, it is only a matter of time before you are burned. Specifics: I purchased a Captain Fantastic pinball machine and requested a condition report. The report, see below, listed the item as "excellent" and "well=pre3served," and omitted any mention of the unpainted bondo repair or a 6 inch gaping hole in the base of the cabinet. When I notified Crescent City Auction Gallery, they hid behind fine print in their contract saying that they were not responsible if 30 days had passed after the auction, even when an "egregious" error was made, see email below. Why had 30 days passed? Well, they listed the item as being technician inspected and offered on site servicing of the machine prior to transportation. However, when I contacted the technician, he was upset about how badly he had been treated by the auction house and had not yet been paid. He really did not want to have anything to do with Crescent City Auction Gallery. Instead, he wanted the machine transported to his shop, which took time to arrange. I am sure they would have hid behind other fine print had the 30 days clause not been invoked. Anyway, there are other options, much better ones. These guys run a terribly shady business and you will eventually regret not heeding these warnings. And why would you want to do business with a company that stiffs and abuses its subs? Avoid... read more

Crescent City Auction Gallery - Condition report with egregious omissions - Art Galleries Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Place seemed dingy, everyone was incredibly unprofessional, and the manager was a complete jerk. Avoid this place at all costs, go to any other gallery in the city. read more

We auctioned off several items from an estate of a loved one. We were very pleased with the auction and the results of the auction. But, sadly, their accounting practices negated anything positive about the business. The contract stated that we were to be paid within 30 days. After being told repeatedly "the check is in the mail", we actually went to the gallery (a 1.5 hour drive one way) to pick up our check ... 60 days after the auction. They also charged us commission and insurance on an item they broke. This was a very disappointing and frustrating experience. We expected to get paid timely and fairly without it being a hassle. read more

I cannot implore you enough not to use this company. They are highly unprofessional and in desperate need of adult supervision. We brought over 11 lots for consignment. They describe and estimate on the fly upon check in without due consideration and will not give you a consigner's statement at a later date. Several of the items were misidentified and when I pointed it out they told me that if I didn't like it I could pick my stuff up. Their estimates and reserves were very low. This wasn't really my issue. The issue is the description. The owner was rude to my wife when she delivered the material. He actually walked away from her in the middle of a sentence because he was bored apparently. I pressed them a bit in several emails to adjust or discuss the descriptions and finally they had a lawyer write me and tell me I had 2 days to pick up all of my material or storage fees would be assessed. Not only isn't an email demand legal but this demand is not spelled out in their contract and was additionally illegal. It cost us $500 to pick up the material and deliver it elsewhere. The owner at no time replied to a single one of my requests to discuss the consignment and descriptions. He refused to work this out. You can't work with people who aren't reasonable. They act like they are doing you a favor and I don't think you should give them your business. read more

Sleazy, scamming people. Pieces are often misrepresented in a number of ways. Item description, age, and condition are often questionable. A really sad excuse for what calls itself a top quality auction house. read more

The auction house asks me to disclose my credit card information as a requirement to participate in their sales on Liveauctioneers, despite that fact that I have been approved in 600+ sales in the past 4 years with perfect buying records. I do not think they have a right to do so! read more

It is telling when a business has ONLY 1 star reviews. I have had a prior bad experience with crescent house auctions so I had stopped buying from them, but I saw an interesting item that I decided to take a chance on, partly because it did not look fragile so I thought the chances of them giving me a broken item were very low. Clearly I was wrong. I asked for a detailed condition report and pictures before bidding on the item, which they sent. The trouble is they lied. The item was broken in pieces- and it is a heavy item and difficult to break. They loaded it onto the shippers truck completely broken, they told the shipper that I knew that it was broken (which was a complete lie) and then they refused to get in contact with me. This auction house is dishonest and their behavior is straight out fraudulent. Terrible experience overall. It was definitely a mistake for me to give this auction house another chance. Never again. read more

We all make mistakes and hopefully have the wherewithal to apologize and do better. Unfortunately Crescent City is not up to speed in that department. I suggest anyone who has been a "victim" of their 150.00 storage fee that goes into affect too soon after the auction contact Live Auctioneers. They will help. Crescent City even filed a dispute that Live Auctioneers found in my favor (Crescent City at fault) and subsequently closed by reading our email correspondence and noting I had not only complied, I have a perfect record with all my auctions. Crescent City allows 10 days to pick up auction winnings before a mandatory storage fee of 150.00 is assessed. While that seems doable, it requires information from both the Auction house and various shippers and there is a flurry activity after an auction with hundreds of lots, three or four shippers need to assess and give quotes for - and as a buyer it is difficult to accomplish remotely if one does not receive timely responses. I am across the country in California and had trouble getting through to their recommended shipper, LA Kid gloves. After calling and emailing multiple times, and getting no reply, I finally got someone on the phone and it turned out the person who handles CA quotes wasn't there and that's why I hadn't heard from them and I was asked to email another agent for a California quote. That took another day (and their scheduled delivery to California was two months away). Veronica from Crescent in the meantime, called me at 7:00 am trying to release my goods to another shipper I had never heard of called "The Wooden Box". It was very disorganized. While I had her on the phone I finally got some answers - that the dimensions I needed for my shipper were impossible to get (she couldn't get to my item) which is likely why I never heard back from Crescent. I also let her know LAKid gloves had not responded and with only two days left to the cut off date, (two weekends between) I realized my usual shipper, Ply-con was better. Ply-con was amazing and got right on it. I guessed at the dimensions of the piece and Veronica okayed the release to them and they privately arranged the pick-up. Unfortunately however, they arranged it for after the pick-up date and mentioned nothing to me or my shipper, and when they arrived, they would not release the goods unless I paid a 150.0.0 fee - something that I had not been asked for or contacted about. I was not available to take the call and found out after the fact, wasting Ply-cons time. I reminded Veronica I had spoken to her several times after the auction and let her know I was not able to get timely replies and still had worked within her time frame on my end. She said there are no exceptions. We had several emails back and forth and unfortunately there was no acknowledgement of the impossibility of working within a time frame if the auction house and the shipper cannot work within it for their customers. I was disappointed and because I had already paid, decided to call my CC company do a charge back and cancel the shipment. I love the pieces and would have loved to finish the transaction, but the issue in question is a policy that is unreasonable and not possible to successfully accomplish without responsible reply's from Crescent and the recommended shipper. It is always busy after and auction, but I am in California and cannot go over and do it myself. It appears Veronica has a very short window intentionally and makes quite a bit on these expensive storage fees, and will hold the pieces you have already paid for ransom until you pay her additional 150.00, and will not give a refund on your auction winnings either way, so it's not pretty. If you have had this issue as well I suggest sending off an email live Auctioneers about it. Ply-con was lovely about it, (they have been my main shipper for 20 years) but it was unpleasant they were blindsided as they were standing there having arranged a pick-up, unable to collect the goods. Live Auctioneers heard my story and were concerned and offered to get a refund for me, but my CC company had already refunded me. Be careful and know ahead of time Crescent was very disorganized and be prepared. I have been buying at auction for 20 years and this is the first bad review of an auction house I have given. We can all work together but this has an aura of extortion and I think its important to address. read more

BUYERS BEWARE!! I purchased thousands of dollars of furniture that the gallery staff broke between the date of the auction and the date of pickup. they would literally not even talk to me about it and literally had their staff put the items to the curb in the rain to force me to take possession. since they wouldn't talk to me at all, i stopped payment on my check later that day hoping we could discuss a resolution, and reissued a new check for what i estimated the damage to be ( they also created major delays in not preparing my items for pickup leading to a $4000 moving bill). instead of calling me to discuss a remedy, they instead had their lawyers harass and threaten me with criminal litigation for "stealing" their broken furniture items, since i didn't pay in full for tables with broken legs and marble tops split in half. i can honestly say that this has been THE WORST customer service i have ever had and am preparing a formal complaint to the State Attorney General's consumer protection division and Louisiana Auctioneers Licensing Board. addition to the 10 or so items badly damaged in their custody, another 5 or 6 items completely fell apart while moving them, as they were shoddily glued together along old break lines in order to be sold and were not actually repaired. I wish i could give zero stars. read more

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Do not buy or consign with this company as they're extremely untrustworthy and unprofessional. We purchased an Audubon print at auction that was researched and advertised BY THEM incorrectly. When we presented the mistake we were told they couldn't issue a refund as the dealer they received it from was already paid and they couldn't be held responsible for the mistake. To make matters worse, we had items already under consignment for them to auction and when we went to pick up a piece that didn't sell we were told they couldn't find it and that they would have to file an insurance claim to pay us! 6 months later and no check. They present themselves as a reputable establishment but they're nothing but an unethical, bate and switch auction house. A definite pass! read more

They finally paid the comission they owed me (after 7 months and countless emails and phone calls). When I asked why the checks were short by several percent from the settlement statement, they claimed that our agreement was different than it was and had their lawyer write me. They "accidentally" left 2 items off of the final statement saying that they had returned them to me until I produced the photo from their website showing they sold at auction. Additionally they "accidently" over charged me for photos and handling and the checks they sent were "lost in the mail" more than once. I am so happy to be done with this company. I cannot advise strongly enough to avoid them. Adam and Sully have been rude, irresponsible and most importantly dishonest in our interactions. read more

SOLD COUNTERFIET ITEM, WOULD NOT REFUND NOR ADMIT GUILT, HORRIBLE, STAY AWAY I bought 2 pocket watches, they purposely did not show a hallmark on the 14k gold case, oddly they had time to show a sterling hallmark. They also had no photo of the back of the watch. I would soon find out why. Before I paid I send 10 emails and called 10x, I finally got a reply and was guaranteed it was a 14k gold pocket watch. Well, I got them and was in shock. The hallmark in the case was a fake 14k stamp, it was actually done so poorly it was done 2x. The back of the case was all worn, brass was showing on the edges. I now knew why they hid all the needed info. When I asked for help I was stonewalled and ignored, eventually I was quoted some mumbo jumbo and told to run salt. I have spend a fortune on line, 99.99% of all sellers would have canceled the sale and not even taken my money. Why these hustlers needed to con me and force a confrontation over a small lot is something I will never understand. So to surmise, Horrible service, fake 14k gold item, no help at all. Emails and phone calls ignored. I had to file a credit card dispute and leave a bad review which I hate to do. AVOID THESE PEOPLE LIKE THE PLAGUE. I only wish I did. read more

I am a retired university professor and art collector who promptly pays all his bills, including auction invoices, and who never carries balance on his credit card. I rasked Crescent City to approve me as a bidder on Live Auctioneers, as other auctioneers routinely do. Crescent City, however, insisted on my disclosing credit-card information, name, address, and other private information as a PRECONDITION for allowing me to bid. I understand that some winning bidders fail to pay, but I am not such, and I assured Crescent City of my credentials and good intentions intentions. I warned that I would publicize the firm's violation of privacy. They ignored my polite messages, and simply rejected me. Auctioneer has a right to credit-card information from people who are paying, not from those who merely bid. Most bidders lose in auctions, and do not have to pay. By analogy, shopkeeper must not look into people's pockets and collect personal information from people looking into shop window and browsing inside the shop. Indeed, Live Auctioneers warns users not to disclose private information. Crescent City is treating me, and apparently everyone else, as a potential fraudster. Crescent City insists on violating people's privacy. read more

The good: 1) despite packed warehouse they stored items for free 2) the staff was helpful and polite and patient The bad: 1) difficult parking for large vehicles (when you pick up large items or a lot of them). The ugly: Do request details condition reports before bidding because this auction house only posts ONE photo, and the most flattering one too. Unlike other auction houses it does not disclose the damage voluntarily examples of our latest purchase (problems discovered only on pickup) table with 2 legs cut shorter rugs with holes in them and so worn out that we plant to simply throw them out table with the top split completely in half. the list goes on. we saw paintings on the wall with HOLES in them but photo cleverly concealed the issue. Be careful. We will still do business with them but are move aware of their shortcomings now. read more

I am a longtime collector of American Art -- this auction house (which sells a lot of "junk" by the way) lost checks that I sent them, then claimed they hadn't, then cancelled the transaction out of fear. It's ok with me not have purchased the item I bought -- but what bothers me is the recalcitrance, stubbornness, and testy attitude of the employees. Even in a small dispute, such as this one, I expect kindness from the representatives of the company. read more

I wish I saw previous reviews before working with these scam artists. I purchased a painting which they stated was signed by the artist. The painting was not only unsigned but was completely FAKE!!. I regularly purchase artwork from reputable auction houses across the country and have never dealt with anything like this. This auction house needs to be put out of business. read more

Good honest people. Good honest if conservative summaries, condition reports and estimates. It is hard to trust many in the auction business in Louisiana and the Deep South, but the owners and staff here are friendly, delightful, knowledgeable and helpful on both selling and buying side. You will not find a hidden Da Vinci gem here--but you will find wonderful bargains on fine art, furniture and others. Highly recommend, certainly better than Neal! read more

Buyer Beware! In my experience CCAG's descriptions are misleading and misrepresent both the actual item and value. It is standard auction parlance to use the name ie. John James Audubon when an item is an original work of an artist and to use " after John James Audubon" to describe a copy. They listed what turned out to be offset lithographic copies of his work using only his name and gave preauction estimates valued at hundreds of dollars when in actuality you can buy these framed on Ebay for $25. When I pointed out how misleading their description and assigned value was I was told that I should have asked for a" condition report". A condition report is just that, ie is there foxing, any tears etc, not is this an accurate or misleading description? Apparently at CCAG it is up to the buyer to try to ascertain if the listing is truthful and in what way it is not. In spite of the fine print that governs all auctions, reputable auction houses have always in my experience stood behind their listings. Instead, CCAG stands/hides behind its attorney Lisa Montgomery. CCAG is not a member of the National Association of Auctioneers and it is easy to see why as they violate both the standards of practice "members must not build unreasonable expectations" ie. estimating value 10 to 15 times the actual value and the Code of Ethics "Members owe the buyer the duties of honesty, integrity and fair dealing at all times" and "members shall not misrepresent or conceal material facts" ie. not identifying a copy as such. There are so many fine reputable auction houses in this country and abroad there is no reason to waste your time and money with this one. read more

I've won many auctions at this gallery totaling several thousand dollars. I have never had any problem with this gallery. I've been bidding on their items for about 6 years. I have been to the gallery several times and I have seen their photographer taking the photographs of the items shown on the website. I have purchased small items that the gallery was graceful enough to hold for much longer than their usual time frame so that i could drive to New Orleans and pick them up. I had no issues with submitting my credit card info and other information to the gallery in order to become a bidder. I have excellent credit and pay my bills, but this is a business and this is their policy. Anyone thinking it's an invasion of their privacy to submit this sort of information should bid in person and refrain from bidding on line with this gallery. Its been my experience that these folks are very up-front and professional. I have done online bidding at 3-4 other auction houses and this is by far my favorite. The have quality merchandise and great auction prices. read more