Masterworks Reviews 218

Masterworks made is very easy to invest. Thanks for answering all my questions.

Jake was great providing me a solid background on the platform and the process. This significantly improved my understanding and confidence in the people and platform. He also took time to provide perspective on various art investment strategies.

I wasn’t sure if this type of investment was for us since I’m 77 and my husband just turned 80. However we have been collecting art for years and reading how we might be able to invest in unbelievable pieces of art interested us. All of the young men we interacted with were very friendly and helpful especially Phil, the tech guy who walked us step by step through setting up our account and banking information, he was unbelievably patient and kind. We were able to start with a small amount ($10,000) and divide it between two works of art. Now we can easily add to that as new paintings become available. If you’re on the fence, don’t be, the whole process was very easy, the hardest part will be the waiting till the art is sold!

Relentless spam and breach of GDPR. Two years ago I saw youtuber promote Masterworks. I clicked a link to their website and tried to make an account. The account would not be activated unless Masterworks spoke to me directly. I refused to speak to Masterworks and tried to delete my account. Two years later, I am spammed daily by the same people. I asked them to remove me from their mailing list - they ignored me. I contacted their support to request removal from their mailing list - they ignored me. I contacted them again giving a final warning - they ignored me. I reported them to the ICO in the UK - they also ignored me. Why are there GDPR laws if no one enforces them? Why can I be fined for breach of GDPR but Masterworks can do whatever they like with my data? I would never invest in this platform based on my experience with them. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

Knowledgeable, helpful, thorough. A;ways made me feel like a valued client and helped with resolving a issue at my end, with my bank.

Everyone I spoke to was very helpful and made is easy to make my first investment in blue chip art. I would highly recommend Masterworks to anyone that is interested in investing into blue chip art.

Great customer service with LOTS of patience on their part! A nice experience.

Really enjoyed talking with Erik and Ty. They gave me a ton of useful information, made sure all my questions were answered, gave me advice, and guide me through my first purchase with ease. I'm excited to see how my new art investments work out!

Phil Severino was the picture of persistence and patience. It took quite a few attempts to transfer funds from Strata Trust but he stayed on it. I appreciate that he did not belittle my computer challenges. He is a pleasure to deal with.

Process thoughtfully explained in detail. Kevin's questioning ensured that I was appropriate for this type of investment as well as directed me to the appropriate pieces for our investment style. Phil was heartily understanding with the issues I had taking longer than expected to get funds transferred to complete the purchase

Great, non-aggressive answers to questions in a clear concise manner

Kevin Cox was great to deal with. He wasn't pushy and gave me time (and space) to consider the platform and art as an investment. He was informative and knowledgeable on the subject.

I never finished the onboarding but still receive emails. I asked them to remove several times but I never get a reply.

I would assume this behaviour also reflects the daily business.

Fees:
1/5 -
large frontloaded fees, yearly asset under management fees and a hefty performance fee. The artwork would have to make staggering gains for you to even break even.

Diversification:
2/5 - They don't offer a fund of artworks. They sell stakes in individual artworks and get you to invest the maximum amount possible (given your income) into a single artwork.

Liquidity:
1/5 - Secondary market is a way to hot potato your stake onto the next ponzi participant. Only actual payoff will come from sale. Sales can take a decade+ and is at the discretion of Masterworks. Masterworks are incentivised to delay as long as possible since the yearly management fees will allow them to gradually control more of your stake (capturing even more of the actual art appreciation)

Taxes:
3/5 - capital gains on collectibles can be larger than capital gains on stocks, depending on your jurisdiction, not that Masterworks will tell you.

Sales tactics and marketing:
1/5 - Cherrypicked data displayed on site, the too good to be true art appreciation is genuinely too good to be true; they only show you artworks that are successfully sold meaning all of the failed investments are left out (art is slow moving, sellers aren't in a rush to sell below their buy price).

They try to get you to invest on your first call and immediately proceed under the assumption that you're looking to invest your entire income (What's 5000 investment when compared to your yearly income of 80000? etc)

They make you "prove" that you are a "serious" investor by testing your knowledge with simple qs designed to stroke your ego and make you think you're a sophisticated investor ready to plunge all your discretionary income into a high risk, low liquidity market.

If you say no to investing they will put pressure on you (and make you feel fear of missing out) and if you say no again, you will get a callback to let you know that the sales rep has talked to their manager and they can do you a special deal: for a few times less investment as they previously assured you was the absolute minimum, they will now allow you to invest (same fees ofc).

Eric & Alanna made it so easy. Eric has a welcoming personality, easy to talk to. Alanna walked us through all the steps. Both made us feel comfortable about our decision

Asked to be removed from mail list 10 times and ignored me every time

I really enjoy the transparency with Masterworks and the exclusivity for such valuable pieces! Jake is my advisor and Leila was my acquisition agent, both were very helpful and thorough with the investing process; answering all of my questions. Excited to start and continue my investing journey with Masterworks!

Detailed explanation. On the phone help with setting up my account.

Alanna was patient, helpful, thorough and timely! Great job!