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How to Read Your Park West Invoice (and the Terms You Sign)

A plain-English walk through the Park West invoice: every section of the front, and the small-print terms on arbitration, returns, claims, delivery and appraisals.

By Your Art Vault · · 3 min read

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This clip explains the invoice terms used for our guide. Check the authorship guarantee, dates and transfer conditions on your own invoice.

The Park West invoice is the one document that proves you bought a piece, when, and for how much. Most collectors check the total and file it. This guide walks through the front of the invoice and the terms in small print that you agree to when you sign.

The front of the invoice

SectionWhat to check
Bill toYour name and address, as they’ll appear on every later record. Note your customer number, because Park West uses it to find your purchase history.
Auction and invoice numbersThe auction code identifies the sale. The invoice number is the reference to quote in any correspondence.
Reg./Ser. numberThe registration number, which ties the line to its certificate and appraisal. It can appear with a letter prefix or a shorter form, so match on the digits.
Artist, title, codes, priceOne line per piece, sometimes with notes about framing, a dedication or a delivery condition. Read any note on a line, because it’s part of what you bought.
Invoice creditsTrade-up credits and other credits, listed by type. See how a trade-up works.
Invoice totalsArt, appraisals, custom framing, credits and discounts, subtotal, sales tax, shipping and handling, and the grand total.
Payment summaryHow the total was paid, card by card.
AssociatesThe names of the people who helped you. Useful if you need to follow up.

The terms you agree to

Under the signature line, the invoice says the purchaser “has read, understands, and agrees to all terms and conditions” and that “all sales are final.” The rest of the terms are in small print on the front and back. These are the points we think every collector should know, quoted from the invoices in our own collection:

The arbitration clause and the all sales are final notice printed on a Park West invoice
The arbitration clause and the “all sales are final” notice on the front of a Park West invoice.
  1. Disputes go to arbitration, not court. Any dispute “shall be brought solely in non-binding arbitration and not in any court or to any jury”. If that doesn’t resolve it, either side may start binding arbitration. The venue is Miami-Dade County, Florida, under Delaware law. The clause also says it applies retroactively to earlier purchases.
  2. One year for claims. Any claim relating to a purchase “shall not be maintainable unless filed within one year after the invoice date”. The authenticity guarantee also runs one year from the invoice date. See how to read a certificate.
  3. Delivery and damage. Allow up to 12 weeks for delivery. Report damage in writing within 10 days of receipt and keep the shipping container. See when your art arrives.
  4. Returns are at Park West’s discretion. If Park West agrees to accept a return, “a fifteen percent (15%) restocking fee shall be applied”, issued as a bid credit for future Park West auctions and valid for two years.
  5. No verbal promises. You confirm that no verbal representations were relied on, “including … that the art you are purchasing was offered or represented to be an investment.”
  6. Your example may differ from the one shown. A limited edition “may be annotated in a different manner than the example displayed”. For “embellished” or “mixed media with lithograph” works, “you likely will instead receive a unique work that is a variation of the example displayed.”
  7. Reserve prices. Auction items “are subject to a confidential minimum price”, and Park West may bid up to that price.
  8. Copyright stays with Park West. Buying a work “does not include intellectual property, including copyrights, in the artwork”.
  9. Appraisals. They’re offered for insurance, at $35 for the first work and $15 for each additional work, and represent Park West’s opinion of retail replacement value. See appraisals explained.

Read before you sign, at the auction. Terms can change between invoice versions, so the version printed on your own invoice is the one that applies to you. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice.

Keeping invoices useful

  • Keep every page, front and back. The back has half the terms.
  • File each invoice with the certificates and appraisals of the pieces on it, matched by registration number.
  • Record the price, tax and shipping per piece. An invoice with several pieces shows tax and shipping only as totals.

When you upload or email a Park West invoice to Park West Collectors, we read each line, match it to the right piece by registration number, split the sales tax across the pieces, and file the invoice with each one.

Your Art Vault is an independent platform operated by Kerja Group LLC, written by collectors for collectors. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Park West Gallery. Park West documents shown are from our own collection, with personal details removed, and are reproduced for explanation only. This article is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice.

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