Like the ebay guy ( daz something) who snaps up multiples of all prints ( 3 signd morons!)

would all prints increase in value over time as there are less of them around for people to buy?

hmmm I have a feelin cutting it in half may effect the value a bit

i wrote this on another forum: here is an interesting conundrum. what if these increases continue and say, most "average" signed prints go for over £10k. you will have a very large number of people sitting on a wopping pile of cash, maybe over £50k for some.

now, i know it's only money but it's money that corrupts people, and even if you bought your prints on the secondary market for say a grand or two, it must be very tempting to part with one or two of them to realise the appreciation. if that became a widespread trend prices would drop off a little. this in turn would be seen as the beginning of a price correction and perhaps prices had peaked and could therefore lead to a wholesale panic and people trying to offload their prints while they can get top dollar.

it has happened in the housing market and happens everyday on the stock exchange, so it could conceivably happen anywhere else? i mean this is total conjecture and could happen today or in 2 ,3 years time or not at all.

also, if there is an economic downturn people will look at their assets, house, car, banksy prints? if it means paying the bills and putting food on the table there may be a glut of collectors offloading to keep their heads above water.

sorry to bring the topic down to money/investment etc but i thought it was relevant.

interested to know what people think.

i hear ya. i'd part with a couple to pay of my £30,000 student debt if the value really went up. just wish i started collecting earlier and that i could predict the future

I agree with this... I know most of the art I have simply is not for sale, regardless of price (not withstanding a totally absurd offer). I would not take 30-40% over market for some as an example, because I love them and it isn't worth the extra money for me to have to go out and replace them just to take a profit. Plus, I feel an odd relation to the pieces (like their numbers, or where/when I got them) that I have owned for a few years... like a pet or something, you just dont sell certian things!

you see, i agree that there won't be a mad rush all the time it's banksy fanatics toying with their consciences and cashing in. where i think it could fall apart is, when regardless of choosing to sell, they have to sell - due to outside influences. then panic can set in and supply outstrips demand and you run the risk of a crash. it happens in almost every scenario of rapid economic growth, usually known as a price correction but can often include a crash.

my advice would be if that does happen, try and hold tight no matter how bad things get because although in the short-term prices may go below where they should be, in time they will rise and level off.

i'm just basing all this on general trends in other financial sectors, i have no knowledge or history of any sharp rises and crashes in the art world but would love to know of anything along those lines.

basically, what goes up must come down?

good point john, every day i look at my reaper and wonder if i could live with chopping it in for a load of unsigned pieces, i curse the fact there is no un-signed edition as i would get rid for one in an instant.

don't think i could live without him now though

This is a very interesting thread - finally some great discussion. Little known fact lesbianwednesdays - the contemporary art market actually follows real-estate market trends.

yeah that sucks that they only printed signed grin reapers.

i think if you love the image you should keep it. maybe you will luck out with the next release and you can trade that for some unsigned. i think if you aren't about to destroy your credit or get kicked out of your house then sit on it, but only if it won't ruin your life.


how many other prints were released in this fashion?

you can't compare limited edition prints to realestate. there are way more factors affecting the market price of realestate than there is art, the major one being SUPPLY.

in realestate there is a building sector that produces and floods the market.

there are only 150-300 signed versions of the banksy prints. how many of these are in circulation at any given time? right now there are 6 signed and 6 unsigned give or take. the market is flooded this month with morons but what about the other prints?

i think there will be slight fluctuations throughout the year for different reasons, but i can only see it as going up, unless everyone decides banksy sucks and he was a fad. in that case, i don't care because i love his work. of course i don't think banksy sucks or that this will happen.

my point: very limited supply that can not be regenerated, unlike diamonds, which they can just mine more of.

But why so much for Barcode? Or is it a case that all the signed prints will be up to this level before too long? A frightening thought.

I'm not comparing real estate to limited edition prints at all johnerotten. There has been numerous scholarly writing proving the contemporary art market mirrors the trends exhibited in the real esate market.

I also recommend you guys read: Collecting Contemporary by Adam Lindeman

www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/3822849391/ref=s9_asin_title_1-2288_g1/102-5181945-3628948?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0SR24PD189W7F9VKX6ZV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=278240301&pf_rd_i=507846