Urban Art Association

Everyone who is holding lots of unsigned prints is saying the unsigned print market will crash in a spectacular manner ?

Would seem a bit strange but apart from yourself on a few occassions I dont recall many folks saying what you have been saying. Do you have a date for this spectacular crash that would allow the unsigned print holders to sell whilst the prices are high should they choose to do so?

They seemed to do very well at the last auctions.....

Because of their value? Yes.

Funny how they are all over them like money grabbing cheap suits now...isn't it.

     I have stated this previously on the forum. The value of a piece of art, holding image, size, etc. constant, is determined by the degree of interaction that the artist had with it. So, we can all agree that in general, all other things being equal, a canvas is more valuable than a signed print, a hand-finished signed print is worth more than a signed print and a signed print is worth more than an unsigned print. But what did Banksy actually do with an unsigned print? Unsigned prints have no connection to him. He did not pull the screens, he did not sign them, and he did not number them. These historically acceptable determinations of value all equate to zero. This is why auction houses initially declined to consign his unsigned work; they viewed them as nothing more than reproductions which held no real value.

     In the mainstream art world, that is, not on this forum, unsigned prints are essentially worthless tat. No reputable art adviser would tell you that an unsigned Banksy belongs to a solid asset class. They would steer you towards quality images produced in small runs with signatures. The next time you are at an upper level gallery, ask them what they think of the current market for unsigned Richter and Banksy. Every conversation I've had with seasoned veterans has reinforced what I've been previously told; that is, that they are completely dumbfounded by their rise as a valuable collectible and that they predict a crash once people wake up to the fact they are viewed as valueless. I choose to go with expert opinion and to disregard the opinion of those who solely want to protect their "investment" in an unsigned print.

They may well stay in collections for many years and I hope the owners enjoy them, but new buyers will dry up.

Distinguish between fact and opinion.

I am dumbfounded by your lack of reading comprehension and inability to think critically in relation to your vested interests. 

Banksy is the artist of our time. Like warhol and Lichtenstein before him and people were saying the same things about their works back then too. Banksy, invader, stik, fairey are pioneers of this and their pieces will be remembered as such and they will be priced accordingly due to the limited availability.

Of course, I just don't think they'll be spending it on a Banksy

Thanks Bob, i appreciate the time you've taken to respond and your response has provoked some debate which is good.

I can only add a couple of things to it, namely the next time im in a high end gallery will be the first time and i hope to fck that these experts and major players in the art world you speak of arent anything like their counterparts in the banking world otherwise you and your signed prints should maybe take Wiskys advice and get out whilst you can

Prices get talked up on here and everyone who owns one and reads it thinks it's worth £30k. so wouldn't sell for less.
Even if £30k is the market price, and they consigned their piece to an auction or gallery they would get nothing like that as a return. One sold at Phillips for £31k including premium but that means around £20-22k to the seller. As well as that there is the considerable risk that it doesn't hit that number and the seller gets even less.
There should be a considerable discount for a private sale

This assumes you don't negotiate a discount on sellers fees, which is very easy if the auction house is keen to get a Banksy print in their catalogue- in fact forum auctions recently had 0% for sellers.