Banksy isn't over hyped in my opinion, he has changed the art world forever and is at the front of an exciting art movement. He uses media, net and in todays fast moving world its interesting to see how this movement has developed and evolved in such a sort space of time.

could totally ruin the myth, i love the unknown.

"I have no interest in ever coming out. I figure there are enough self-opinionated assholes trying to get their ugly little faces in front of you as it is. You ask a lot of kids today what they want to be when they grow up, and they say, "I want to be famous." You ask them for what reason and they don't know or care. I think Andy Warhol got it wrong: in the future, so many people are going to become famous that one day everybody will end up being anonymous for 15 minutes. I'm just trying to make the pictures look good; I'm not into trying to make myself look good. I'm not into fashion. The pictures generally look better than I do when we're out on the street together. Plus, I obviously have issues with the cops. And besides, it's a pretty safe bet that the reality of me would be a crushing disappointment to a couple of 15-year-old kids out there"

As the prices sore, and his fame skyrockets - the question must be asked, has the worlds most famous "urban" artists become to expensive for the man in the street ?? A signed Banksy is no small investment these days...

Do you think he is just beginning ? The crash is coming ? The skies the limit ?

Will we see prints in 20 years time going for 10x what they are today ?

Lets explore !!

at this moment in time. WAY over priced. Look at what people are paying for CYW. Oooof. I hope they love them, because in 5-10 years time, they will not be holding their value.

I thinks its pretty unlikely I would buy any Banksy pieces in the future I think you can get just as good, if not better pieces from other up and coming artists in the scene for a fraction of the price.

Sean - how about you take the question in the spirit if creating a dicussion on the 16 March and not react like a school teacher.

I am fully aware of the many threads of discussion , the point is that opinions change all the time, as do art market prices, trends, fashion etc - so current dialogue is crucial

In the immortal words of Banksy - p*ick !!

I love easy questions!

Without a doubt Banksy brought worldwide attention to a flourishing scene, but 3-8kusd for a large editioned screen print that is less than a year old! Non-sense.

One lesson I never forgot in my economics course was "opportunity cost". What else could you buy for that same money. Now since the way the original poster phrased the question leads one to think strictly in terms of investment, it is very hard to justify the prices for most of his editions. You cant turn around without tripping over another artist which you could buy for similar money that will have exponentially greater growth over the long term (strictly talking Banksy prints vs other artist originals. Banksy originals are another conversation). Im not going to start naming artists, but let's say that the only reason I have been able to afford an art collection is because of people over paying for signed Banksy prints I was fortunate enough to buy at source. While I love the works I have on my walls and get a ton of non-monetary fulfillment from them on a daily basis, there is no doubt in my mind that selling those prints to buy what I collect was a no brainer investment wise.

Time will tell of course, but I am very confident that investment wise I made very wise decisions. More so, the enjoyment I get living with the unique works or art I was able to buy, is, without trying to sound corny, f**king priceless.

would love to hear others chime in on this. Seems it could be an interesting debate. Furthermore, I think Banksy would approve of what Ive done. After all, his work turned me into a life long art appreciator and collector. It has allowed me to support other artists' careers and watch the flourish. Ill also add, these stupid POW lotteries have made it very difficult for me to add to my collection in the recent past...Bring back the old school bun fight where I had a chance.

Overpriced if you're looking to buy. Undervalued if you're looking to sell.

The problem with the Banksy pricing on prints is that they can be attained for a fraction of their value which is crazy; I dont know where else this occurs. This just distorts the pricing on them...

And for being able to buy other artists for cheaper then that is cool. Whether thats better value or not though is another matter. I mean Banksy is the original, the instigator and the one who has the mass appeal. And his latest relase, CYW is certainly one of the coolest things Ive ever seen. If his stuff was declining then the pricing would deter Id have though but it just gets better.

Rude Copper is ten years old next year, take your measuring stick from there

The last 4 prints released by pow from what I call Banksys 'crayon period' have all been sold @ at least 1k below market value...So looking at the bigger picture, not ovr priced and some real bargains out there.

agree with Pez.

There are a whole host of emerging artists who will go on to bigger and better things - it would appear to me that British Contemporary artists is where it is at again or perhaps it never left. If you were to sell a Banksy, would you reinvest that money in to buying another Banksy or would I use it to purchase an OG from one of these emerging talents?

woulnt call them emerging mate!