Lolz. While I'm bummed I don't live near LA, it's kinda laughable that all these brits are up in arms over an in person release. Not too long ago, you had access to many a in-person Banksy releases at POW/Santa's Ghetto that us in the states had no shot at. But hey, when the shoes on the other foot, gotta raise hell amiright?

Market will eventually settle back in. I think if you're going to buy one of these, now is the time, especially if you can get for anywhere between 2500-4k. I think they will be worth more, so people shunning prices at 3500 may regret not picking up at these "laughable" prices.

I really have to think that complexcon release played a huge role into the people who are flipping these. Sneakerheads/Supreme people who had no idea who he was until long beach release who now know these go for more than a pair of shoes will wait in line.

I still think complexcon was a very strange venue to release , but I understand all exposure is good exposure, just not for secondary market prices and the introduction to individuals who don't really care about art at all.

ComplexCon is an event built entirely around reselling culture. And the culture that is being promoted is open and accepting of things like bots and getting more than the share you're allowed, actually those things are encouraged and praised. The number of art related vendors that were added this year was surprising. But then again even galleries gotta pay the bills.

I'd disagree given size, edition size, and the fact that at least half went to non collectors.... And his market rollercoaster pricing

5k can get u a great classic right now if shopping carefully. It will be a few years before these hit that Mark imho....

That’s assuming that the average Invader/ Street Art fan has a spare £3500 to snap up this ‘bargain’.

I said it time and time again.

The only way is open signed editions.

The artist makes more money and the true collectors/fans have access to any print they want................ simple as that.  

In my group: 2 were wearing Supreme tshirts. First guy said "I guess I will take a white one". All three of them were on their phones texting, not even looking around. Second guy had his card declined, so he had to start texting someone. It was beyond obvious, and as I said the sales people looked annoyed.

And to answer your "How did they know" question. I walked up and was very excited. They smiled. I said I didn't know which one to buy. I went for Neon and a book. 

"Get it framed quickly" she said.

"I know. I just framed my Astro Boys print from him a month ago" I said

So again, me or the guys in Supreme tshirts that stunk of Marijuana texting on their phones with declined credit cards

Yeah....they knew.

They need a questionnaire about the artist. 

5 really simple questions any fan should know. Answer 3 right your in, any less tell them to fuck off

all i have to say is that i think this is one of the best invader print releases in quite some time.  embossed tiles and a classic invader image.  certainly happy with mine.  LED is up there but not as classic of an invader looking print (if that makes any sense).

As an Angeleno, this was a very nice surprise and opportunity to purchase a classic Invader print. If I remember correctly, RVE (which I love and missed out on) surprise dropped at around 4am PST, and most people in LA and the west coast missed out on that. The setup by OTI was organized and smooth all things considered.

The crowd was a milieu of people - ages, interests, and intentions. It opens your eyes to see and moreso hear the discussions people are having. The people directly in front of me were mostly talking about the quick flip and both admitted that that's their full-time job (seems absurd to me spending your life in lines to simply resell things). One of them even mentioned that he might not even have enough to purchase it and his friend offered to transfer him funds on the spot just so he could turn around and sell it. The exposure to that mentality and intention was a bummer. Being there for no other reason than to make a buck. So yes, there were a lot of people there who could care less about Invader and only wanted the quick flip. However, that same thing happens during an online release - this was manifested in person so it was a more visceral experience. There were also a lot of diehard fans and followers.

For anyone who has grown up in LA or lived here for the past decade, you can tell that Invader is an essential artist for this city. He's crushed it on several occasions and his work is woven into the city. Even people who don't know who he is, know who he is because you can't escape seeing his pieces around LA.

Happy that I checked IG when walking my dog Sunday morning - dropped the dog off, drove to the shop (quickly) and patiently waited and was fortunate to get the print I wanted.

some of the instant flippers are very knowledgable about many artists. The manner in which this print was released plus the location scuppered a few of them.

RVE ? what is that?

I went to the show Saturday night and luckily saw the release get announced Sunday morning.

The show itself is great, clearly a lot of people didn’t get or believe there was not going to be any print release Saturday but there were a few who seemed to be aware there might be on Sunday. The volume of people caused a bit of a roadblock especially when Shepard Fairey and Mr Brainwash showed up. Fairey made a swift exit when someone started giving him crap about his website. I am sure that was a conversation he wanted to have after beers on a Saturday night.

The line Sunday was interesting, a lot calmer than I expected and OTI seemed to handle it well, it seemed like about 50/50 flippers and collectors, including one super annoying stoned chap ahead of me constantly offering people $ for their place in line. I ended up with the white/blue and the wife picked up the blue/gold, they will be going on the wall vs the straight flip, after missing out on RVE and others in recent years it was a bit of a result.