A $60 Banksy?

Seriously.

Jason Lew
October 19, 2024

Everyone knows the world-renowned British street artist, Banksy. Famous for his anti-establishment, anti-war, and anti-capitalist art, his piece "Love Is In The Bin" sold for £18.59 million at auction.

But here’s something most people don’t know: in 2013, Banksy set up a simple stall in the middle of Central Park, selling original canvases for just $60 each.

Only eight pieces sold that day—two even discounted at half price. His total earnings? Just $420.

One couple from New Zealand, unaware of the art’s true value, bought two pieces. They later sold them for just under $200,000.

Reflecting on their lucky purchase, they said, “The whole point of that market store was testing art in a market store vs art in a gallery. You take those same pieces and put them in a gallery and the value changes, the perception changes, and the crowd changes.”

There are two big lessons here:

The obvious lesson here is the context of how and where you sell, sets the perception of value.
But the hidden lesson here is about the expected cost of quality—or in this case, authenticity. This plays a huge role in buying psychology and purchasing polarity.

Pay close attention here. For an art collector, raising the price often increases the desire. The higher the price, the more scarce and valuable the piece appears.

But lower the price and desire fades. “What’s wrong with it?” And when something is priced extremely low—like a $60 Banksy—it doesn’t just raise suspicions, it can completely slip off the radar of serious buyers.

So, here’s my question … Is your pricing making you invisible to your dream clients? Even if you’re offering exactly what they need, want, and desire are they walking right past your business like it’s a $60 Banksy?

Cheers,

PS: Here’s the video from the Wall Street Journal on Banksy’s $60 art cart—definitely worth a watch!

PSS: Want to stop peddling your offer to just anyone on the street? Check out my free training here.