Urban Art Association

I guess it would be the best way to minimize the likely hood they are flipped, also likely maximizing their profit. The one downside I can see it being that they probably would vary in selling price annoying a lot of real fans who ended up spending more than they should have/needed to in order to get the piece they wanted.

I can't say I'd be 'happy' with it but it would probably improve my chances of being able to buy the piece if I wanted it enough.

I've often wondered why nobody (or nobody notable) has done this already just from a logistical point of view. Eg in the early days of POW or for smaller galleries with popular artists, it'd stop their websites going into meltdown on the day of a print release. Which would be less stress for both sides.

I suppose it looks less professional than selling through your own site, but even Banksy had to give up and sell through SeeTickers (or whoever it was) for the insanity of the Dismaland Tickets release.

Think it would be fun to see a whole print release start at 99p simultaneously. (Maybe not fun if you are trying to buy the print, lol).

I also thought the idea Guy Denning/Red Propeller sometimes used, of making the print run total be however many were sold in a 24hr period, with plenty of warning. Cut out most flippers but still makes it kinda exclusive.

I think Art Republic sell a lot on eBay, but only "buy now" and not auctions as far as I know.

Arsham already did this. It worked well.

I always wondered if artists care that much that its flipped? I get mixed opinions when I talk about this with buddies. Flippers seem to be setting the price by flipping. If people pay double, then its worth more then they released it at. Also EB balances out the average price which I like and one thing I use to look at when I purchase art. But imo If artists did this, It would be such a nightmare and hurt sales because most people wouldnt even try. I hate auctions in the first place which is why I stay away from them.

I imagine most would do the same and stay clear unfortunately. Set price releases are still the best way to do releases. This auction thing would cause so much drama with price manipulation/people not even trying anymore because of over bidding wars. Keep in mind the galleries would also have to pay the ebay fees as well which I dont think they would want to do. 

Honestly, you need a fraud team like most companies do that protect content theft/fraud stealing. You need a team to do what Shepard fairey does/did which was sign up with fake ebay accounts and purchase the art without paying to get the real email address and then ban them. Its not easy but with anything in life/biz you need to not be lazy and actively fight flippers. No artists active, which is why we have the flipper problem we have today.

I don't think artists really care about flippers... They've made their money and keep a few back once the market climbs after the bidding frenzy of the secondary market.

Totally agree! It's no different to a big named artist fetching millions at auction.
All helps with the hype and in return helps further sales.

I actually have a rather different view on it, as an artist, and as someone that knows quite a good amount in the artist community (at least in the bay area, US). This certainly does not apply to all but one could make a very great argument that the secondary market is really really freaking wonderful for the Artist. It boosts the cost that an Artist can sell their own work for out of the gate and it creates an artificial demand. The down side of coarse is the person that actually wants the item at cost and cannot get it and ya that is shitty but financially speaking and comeing from the 'artist making a living and its my profession' angle, you can really argue the merits for it. Anyway, just another way I look at it and frankly hear a ton from Artists in general that are not big. They would kill to have the demand and secondary market working in their favor money wise. For example, Fairey, who I really do not care what he says personally, is not losing sleep over the fact that he can release a run of 250 literally weekly/bi-weekly and have an instant sell out. His demand and the amount of product he pushes simply would not be what it is without the secondary market. To your question though...I would say what you are proposing is pretty much reality for big Artists already.

As a counter point, couldn't that completely kill a market for a print?

It seems EBay and other secondary sources help with the buzz and setting a level for future releases.

Wouldn't another solution be to price the print appropriately in the first place? The flippers can't flip until the artist sells the work. If the artist wants to make more money, couldn't they raise their prices? POSE is a great example. His work is priced perfect. Priced with no room for flips, and doesn't flip. And he doesn't have to pay EBay fees on top of all of it. Just one example.