Street art wall

How to buy street art on eBay without getting fooled

Street art is one of the most copied art categories online. Prints, canvases and “original” sprayed pieces with famous names appear every day – many are honest fan art or decoration, some are fakes sold as originals. Before you bid, check these points:

1. Look for the certificate the artist really issues. Banksy works are authenticated only by Pest Control; other artists or their estates have their own rules. A seller’s own “COA” is not proof.
2. Check the edition. Real limited prints state the edition size and number, are often signed in pencil and match the publisher’s records. Open editions and posters are worth far less.
3. Read “inspired by”, “after” and “style”. These words usually mean the piece is not by the artist. The price should reflect that.
4. Compare the price with auction results. A signed print far below its usual auction level is a warning sign. The artist pages below link to auction searches.
5. Check the seller. Feedback in art, return policy, clear photos of the back, signature and edition number – and eBay’s buyer protection.
6. Ask for a second opinion. Upload photos to StreetArtValue.com for a free AI estimate before you buy.

Artists on this wall

• Banksy art – Anonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director from Bristol.
• Keith Haring art – American artist and activist known for subway drawings, public murals and the Pop Shop.
• SEEN graffiti – American graffiti artist from the Bronx, known as the godfather of graffiti.
• Shepard Fairey & OBEY art – American street artist, designer and activist, creator of OBEY Giant and the Obama Hope poster.
• Jean-Michel Basquiat art – American painter of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent, part of the neo-expressionist movement.
• Mode 2 art – British graffiti artist and illustrator born in Mauritius, co-founder of The Chrome Angelz and a pioneer of European graffiti known for his characters.
• Rammellzee art – American graffiti writer, painter, sculptor, performance artist, art theorist and hip-hop musician, creator of Gothic Futurism.
• JonOne art – American graffiti artist and abstract painter from Harlem, based in Paris since 1987, founder of the crew 156 All Starz.
• Niels Shoe Meulman art – Dutch visual artist, graffiti writer and graphic designer, known for calligraffiti.
• Art is Trash – Francisco de Pájaro – Spanish street artist based in Barcelona who works as Art is Trash (El Arte es Basura), painting short-lived figures on rubbish left in the street.
• Bando art – French-American graffiti pioneer and music producer who brought New York graffiti to Paris and co-founded the Crime Time Kings.
• Gen Atem art – Swiss graffiti pioneer, visual and performance artist, musician and Zen priest, born Anton Wettstein; known for his work with Rammellzee and his paint-bomb practice «Meditated Vandalism».
• Mickry 3 art
• Lady Pink art – Ecuadorian-born American graffiti artist and muralist, one of the first women to paint New York subway trains and a star of the film Wild Style.

Questions about the street art wall