Urban Art Association

Give em a break, they had to stay upright on their feet for at least 10 hours a day were friendly and helpful to visitors, took polaroid's and generally kept the show running.  So what if they take a few stickers (a few not hundreds) There weren't any on the day I went but I certainly didn't get upset...didn't even register.  Surely they deserve a few sticker 'perks'?

I think they were a rival business to the GoMA gift shop at one point.

Remember after Dismaland, when a lot of the ex-staff, many of whom were students with debt, etc, were selling their wristbands, uncut fish fingers, gift prints and even their ears (I'm aware that if you don't know what I mean by ears, that sounds mental). In an ideal world I'm sure they wouldn't have had to do that.

Yeah, sure, I don't know what instructions the staff were given about what they could or couldn't do regarding merch, and I sure as heck don't know what's in the NDA (I don't even like sports), but people hustle. I get that it might be a bit more iffy with pocketing the freebies, but this is the time we live in. This person might be trying to make rent, want new brakes on the car, or new teeth for the kids.

They've made a nice little earner put it that way. 

Once this all blows over they'll have more stickers to sell. Probably worth more too now it's ended.

The unofficial/official hastily pulled/timed release Herald photos have started landing. There are a couple on eBay already - not mine, by the way.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276039119941?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=p59PaHvnQQe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=HzykCmwXT0i&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Will the books continue to be on sale at the GoMA shop?

While there isn't a direct connection, the artist could indeed have been inspired by the Depp vs Heard saga.



Some admittedly-pedantic, further distinctions I'd make is that, with respect to Banksy's piece:

(i)  the subject matter relates to male-on-female domestic violence;

(ii)  the victim has apparently snapped and retaliated lethally; and

(iii)  no indication exists of the abuser-perpetrator having tried to gaslight the world by painting themselves as the primary victim in their toxic relationship.

Your original post on 10 September at 15:23 UK time, rightly challenging @artyparty08 on their recent eBay sales, looks to have been the catalyst for them to:

(i)  promptly delete their forum account here;

(ii)  end their eBay listing shortly afterwards, for the combined lot of Cut & Run ephemera, including a staff traffic cone earring;

(iii)  change their eBay username from jsub321 to tacotuesday47; and

(iv)  go into hiding, possibly until October.



However, I suspect this was due to @artyparty08 simply having gone into panic mode, rather than for the purpose of scamming buyers and then fleeing.

"Panic mode", because you shed light on their unscrupulous behaviour while they were actually working at the GoMA exhibition.


__________



ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY


1.  The conflict of interest had already begun just one week into the show — on 22 June, when @artyparty08 / jsub321 / tacotuesday47 first created three different auction listings on eBay (ending on 25, 27 and 29 June).




2.  Few would have begrudged Cut & Run staff if they had offloaded a couple of gift shop items after the GoMA exhibition had ended.

But for one staff member to do so while the show was still running was poor form, an abuse of their position, and quite possibly a breach of their employment contract — since it clearly wasn't what the artist would have wanted.



The sheer volume of their selling on eBay is another issue altogether.

We're not talking about a couple of trinkets. Or even a few.

Some figures for sales by @artyparty08 on eBay alone (i.e. excluding any private dealings they may have arranged via this forum or elsewhere):

(i)  number of completed transactions: 69

(ii)  number of individual items sold: 178 or thereabouts

(iii)  combined sale proceeds: around £2,800*

*This total assumes that, where the relevant eBay listings were Buy‑It‑Now listings with a 'Best Offer' option, the offers accepted by the seller amounted on average to 75‑80% of the original listed price.




3.  Of particular interest to me are the sales of complimentary stickers.

Banksy had intended that these stickers be gifted to visitors as they exited the show. To enhance the experience even further with a little surprise at the end. Because everybody loves a nice freebie.



So what does @artyparty08 / jsub321 / tacotuesday47 chose to do instead?

They pocket a large number for themselves and list handfulls on eBay.

Stickers? For you and the children, who made the trip to Glasgow all the way from Brighton, just to see the exhibition? No, I'm sorry, ma'am. No can do. We've completely run out of them today.



It is also worth noting that their eBay listings, when viewed collectively instead of individually, can be misleading.

Because a significant proportion are multi‑quantity listings, with each of those listings selling multiple copies — whether 3 at a time, or 6, or 9, or 15, etc:










The completed sale listings indicate that, between 6 August and 10 September 2023, @artyparty08 sold 109 stickers on eBay (at prices up to £23.99 apiece).

That is quite the stash.

And it is unlikely they could acquire such numbers legitimately, i.e. without stealing from their employer — whether that employer be GoMA or Pest Control Office.

This may be one reason for the sudden desire by @artyparty08 to cover their tracks and lie low awhile.




4.  Note the debit/credit card receipts that form part of the eBay sales for some of the stickers or sticker/badge combinations.

The same two photos with the same two receipts are used for a number of the listings.

And neither receipt is the original; they are both duplicate receipts, marked accordingly as "Duplicate".



Example listings:


www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134681193321






Detail




www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134681649725






Detail




@artyparty08 or one of their colleagues may well have had access to the gift shop card machine.

From one card transaction, multiple copies of duplicate receipts could have been printed out — with each of these duplicates thereafter being potentially misused as fake provenance documentation for completely separate items.

If, for example, a thieving employee managed to steal a stack of Louise Michel patches during one of their shifts, they might also seek to procure false provenance for their loot.

This could be obtained simply by:

(a)  purchasing one patch from the gift shop, or waiting for a gallery visitor to do so; and

(b)  then covertly printing out from the card machine as many duplicates of their receipt as required.



Whether dozens or hundreds, any number of duplicate receipts could therefore be printed from a single transaction, provided one had possession of the relevant card machine.

[They could later be misused as fake provenance, not just for unrelated authentic items, but also for counterfeits acquired elsewhere.]

This is especially convenient for multi‑quantity listings on eBay, if each sale is touted as being accompanied by its own receipt.



[Provenance‑documentation caveat for collectors

If a seller suggests a duplicate receipt from a card machine is in itself adequate documentation to support the provenance of a multiple that you wish to buy (where the receipt also makes no reference to an edition number or other item‑specific feature), such a statement is false. It is belied by the above illustration.

Demand the original card machine receipt, of which there will be but one genuine hard copy.


Comparable deficiencies exist with generically-drafted emailed receipts and invoices. These too can be printed endlessly. And then misapplied as supporting documentation to unrelated artworks or to counterfeits.]




5.  @artyparty08 appears to have sold or attempted to sell on eBay two of the staff traffic cone earrings:


www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134712624191


Completed sale dated 2 September 2023






www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134720922150


Listing ended early on 10 September 2023










Although we are ignorant of the circumstances, let us hope the second earring wasn't acquired by @artyparty08 from one of their colleagues under false pretences:

Hey mate, in case you don't really want yours, please could I have it for my kid sister? She would be eternally gratefully if she could add one of these to her collection of earrings. I could offer you £20 for it.



Not too difficult to imagine a scenario where a kind‑hearted member of staff (largely oblivious of the market for Banksy ephemera) hands over their own earring to @artyparty08 — only for that collectible to be promptly sold on eBay for £400.

It is one thing to screw over your employer, the person or entity who's given you a job. But exploiting the benevolence and naivety of a colleague would arguably require a level of callousness that is even more amplified.




6.  Imagine having the good fortune of being hired for an exhibition‑event like Cut & Run.

One would assume most people would be counting their lucky stars and trying to enjoy the brief moment while it lasted. Making the most of such a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.



Now query what type of person has a mindset akin to the following:

I am sort of grateful, both to the gallery and the artist. And I also don't wish to appear ungrateful for the opportunity that's been handed to me on a plate.

But, at the same time, it isn't quite enough. Put simply, I want more. Frankly, I deserve more. So let's look around to see what I can pilfer and sell on eBay.




7.  One of the more depressing aspects of this episode is that the actions of @artyparty08 have cast a small shadow over their fellow staff members.

These are people who were commendable, helping to make the Cut & Run experience so enjoyable for visitors.

Yet they now find themselves ever-so-slightly tainted by association. @artyparty08's little side business reflects on and let down the entire exhibition team at GoMA.

Not a huge deal, of course, especially given the massive overall success of the event. But still a bit of a drag. And certainly unwelcome for those on the team who behaved impeccably, maintaining their integrity and professionalism throughout the duration of the show.




8.  Whether it's politicians, cops, teachers, or more trivial cases involving staff working at institutions like museums, I have limited sympathy for individuals who abuse their positions along with the trust that others have placed in them.

They undermine public confidence.

They make all of us a little more cynical as a society. A little less generous in spirit. A little less open to the prospect of taking a chance with, or giving our time to, somebody we don't know.




9.  Apologies for the long‑winded post, which could have been drafted far more succinctly:

Good riddance to @artyparty08.

met giving the real detectives in the world a run for their money!

Yep, I got the double issue at £25 and like yourself, I received them folded to death and rammed through a letterbox. I left a neg review on their website about this but I suspect I'll never see it shown. Shocking considering the cost, bell-ends.

When the first banksy cover went online, the shipping was only £2.50. When they restocked, the shipping mysteriously changed to £5 to deliver a single newspaper.

Now it's a tenner and included in the single newspaper cost. But buy the 2 newspaper set and you're paying £20 extra for shipping. Hilarious how it keeps doubling.

All this fuss over a newspaper 

Lol some knob is trying to see one of my badges for £199 on the Ebay

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364477893362?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=cwgnc5zmqpc&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=vcV3axgrTky&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=WHATS_APP

Did anybody see this whilst in Glasgow?