That didn't take long!, by Strange Al on Jul 27, 2007 9:19:08 GMT 1, I was one of the unlucky folks that queued for over two hours and didn't get a print. Blissfully unaware that a large portion of the prints had already been set aside for those people who queued in the rain earlier in the afternoon. Cest la vie - with limited supply and such great demand, you're never going to keep everyone happy.

Funnily enough, although bitterly disappointed, part of me was glad that the prints had sold out. My time spent in the queue was like going to an office outing (although not my office). I was surrounded by people who all knew each other and had come straight from work. Interestingly, very few of them had any idea what print they were actually queuing for. Perhaps this is presumptious on my part, but I don't think many of them had any intention to put a SBFO on the wall or even agreed with the message of the piece.

Do I blame these people? No. Fact is, you'd have to be pretty crazy not to try for a SBFO print with these sorts of returns; particularly, if you aren't into the scene or collecting art. If someone told you, I've got a job for you which basically means you have to stand in line for a couple of hours. You can chat to your mates or read a book and make £600+ in the process. Who'd turn that down? While many of us live and breath art, owning prints is by no means a necessity. Particularly, with the wealth of other artwork out there if you miss a particular release. You miss out on a print, life goes on as before. Therefore, it's very easy for someone outside the scene to justify flipping.

While I don't blame these folks, it does make me sad. It also reinforces my belief that this scene is actually pretty unstable. But that's a debate for another thread.

As we all know, the issue of flipping is as an incredibly complex one anyway. At what point does a collector who sells a print for profit become a flipper/bagger? Now I won't deny that I've bought and sold prints for profit (as most people on this forum either will have done or are likely to do at some point) and will continue to do so. Though, I wouldn't class myself a flipper. Every artwork I have bought I have done so because at the time of purchase it was a piece of art that spoke to me and that I wanted for my collection. Where I've sold it's been to trade up for a more expensive artwork or simply to pay the bills. Pezlow - posted a very reasoned post on this very issue in another thread just the other day.

Finally, it's been said time and again, but flipping will continue until there is no longer a return on the investment. The easiest way to ensure that would be to make all editions open. Though, as we all know, there are plenty of reasons why this course of action would never get widespread support in the scene.