Urban Art Association

Beautiful print!

Granted, astbury, it's a new account. But does it read like a first post?


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oldejames — In the interest of transparency and buyer peace of mind, please could you confirm your other current or previous username(s) on this forum.


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To potential buyers, especially less experienced ones, some tips for protecting yourselves:


1.  Try having at least one of the initial discussions via Skype or Zoom, rather than relying exclusively on more anonymous written or telephone communications — to get a better feel for the seller, by seeing if they're pleasant, forthcoming, and otherwise demonstrating good faith.


2.  As a precautionary measure for higher-value transactions, consider asking for a seller's proof of identity (e.g. valid passport) and perhaps even physical address (e.g. recent utility bill).


3.  Google the seller — their name, telephone number, email address, home or work address — to check whether they have a reassuring presence online (which may help to rule out the possibility they've given you a fake name or pseudonym, along with a burner phone number and email account).


4.  Get the seller's references for some of their previous sales, and follow them up.


5.  Find out in advance what provenance or authenticity documentation will accompany the art being sold, to ensure you're comfortable with it.


6.  Where possible, verify the art's purported provenance and ownership title.


7.  Insist on a detailed description of the condition of the art, accompanied by clear, high-res photographs (front, back, sides, and some at an angle in natural, raking light), with a particular emphasis on any damage, however minor — tears, marks, surface dirt, scuffing, abrasions, cracked paint or ink, pigment loss, water stains, foxing, discolouration, light damage, mount damage, skinning, adhesive residue, handling creases, rolling creases, corner dents, buckling, trimming, etc.


8.  Request information about any restoration work carried out on the piece — including professional flattening, which can slightly discolour a work on paper, alter its surface texture and (if very carelessly done) also flatten out a blind stamp.


9.  Should an agreement to purchase be reached in principle, ask the seller to confirm they will take the piece off the market, and not continue to offer it to other buyers.


10.  A face-to-face completion in a secure location during daytime is recommended, and will allow the condition of the artwork to be checked against the description provided. Please do not be stupid, by turning up with large sums of cash in your pockets when meeting a stranger. Rely instead on a smartphone for a PayPal transfer or, if you're confident enough, a bank transfer.


11.  If geography prevents a face-to-face completion, pay in a manner that gives you recourse, such as with PayPal, in case the art doesn't arrive, it shows up damaged, or you end up receiving a counterfeit or stolen piece.


12.  If geography prevents a face-to-face completion, make the sale conditional upon the seller also undertaking to:

  (i)  carefully package the art and ship it using suitably robust, protective packaging that is capable of withstanding the inevitable hard knocks and bashes in transit;

  (ii)  arrange a fully-insured, very prompt dispatch (within, say, two business days of receiving the sale proceeds) with a pre-agreed and preferably express courier service; and

  (iii)  immediately follow-up in writing and provide you with valid tracking details or other relevant updates for the parcel.



During the course of your dealings with a seller, you might sense they're being oddly evasive, uncommunicative, or creating other obstacles in relation to some of the points in 1 to 12 above. If so, then use your good judgement on whether to pursue any further.

There are plenty of charming, talented and experienced scammers in the art market, as well as less nefarious individuals who may still bend the truth or mislead you just to secure a sale. They know which buttons to push, and how to create a sense of urgency. They know that the possibility of losing out on a bargain is what many buyers fear most.

Do keep this mind. Try not to be the sucker who gets ripped off because they were overly keen and ignored the red flags.

Good luck. And remember the Golden Rule.