art is a pyramid scheme, the trick is keep selling it back and forth amongst each other, ante up the price at each sale, and you've created fictional value.
perception is reality in most things. including why gold, et al has value. gold--it's a freaking rock! currency---it's freaking paper! surf
<i>"I've been thinking that about the art world for years. Someday someone is going to wake up and say---its a FREAKING picture. But they keep going up in value. Look at Rothko, basically 2 or 3 huge blotches of color and they go for millions."</i> Every time I see one of the recent works go for $30mil, $50mil, $100mil or whatever it never ceases to amaze me. In all honesty, there are much more attractive pieces available for five hundred bucks (or less) hanging everywhere. Yes, I get the whole aura factor that's built in. But, so were tulips back in the day. What once sold for incredible (relative & adjusted for inflation today) sums of money are now food for squirrels and deer in my yard. * If they want status, understood. Were it my money instead, would be spent on chunks of land in the midwest, northwest or western Canada provinces. To each their own. BTW... should I still be drinking protein shakes w/creatine and lifting weights, or taking estrogen shots instead? I'm a bit fuzzy on proper protocol for an emini daytrader :eek:
well take 10 pieces of art and 10 people holding each piece. 5 exchange to the other five at 5 mil profit, per piece. Now you've just created 50 mil in fictional value. By one participant by buying it from the other at 5 mil appreciated price, the seller nets 5 mil profit that he uses to buy from the buyer his piece at 5 mil profit, noone has lost money in the deal, but the art collection in general appreciates for everyone. This analogy can be extrapolated to the broader market, imagine if your a insti holding a major block of shares, ala black pools or liquidity, another insti buys your block at a markup, now your obligated to buy a different block of a different company shares at markup, noone has lost money in the deal yet, you've increased the stock price..since its major blocks going back and forth among select shares. The trick is to pawn off the crap paper to retail at inflated prices. Or corner the options at certain strikes.
Does everyone here have A.D.D.? I am just curious because I do and I find it very difficult to stick with one topic.