To sell Shag or not?

Wanted to get a few opinions on this subject. I have a fairly large collection of Shag prints mugs and two originals. Do you think the prices will continue to appreciate or should I sell some while it's hot? Thanks

You know TR I don't know Art from shineola, But, it would seem anything that is this hot will eventually cool down.
Mahalo,
Al

oh yeah, Shag stuff is "out". Every day his prices are falling lower and lower. You better sell. I guess that if you really want to get rid of your worthless stuff, I will give you a few bucks for it! (JUST KIDDING!!!!) But really, I have been wondering the same thing about his price longevity. I have a large number of his prints and it is really hard to hold on to some of them where I paid around $30 for and they are on ebay for $300 or more! I have given up on the mugs(except for Hukilau 2003!), lamps, etc. because of their prices. As for selling his stuff? I would guess to say hold on to it if you have the room. I think that his stuff is still going to be in high demand for the future. At least that is what I believe. Plus, his stuff looks so damn good with my decorating style and my tiki stuff! I urge others to put in their 2cents on this topic. I am really curious to read what others think.

To buy Shag or not?...to sell Shag or not? I think it will hold it's monetary value for a long while. I say buy it, appreciate it and collect it because you like it and not because "it's hot","it's in", or "it's the latest trend" and you can't go wrong.

It's a two-foot putt. Sell.

The prints and the mugs: sell. Keep the originals. If things produced by the Shag machine do hold value and even appreciate, the originals are what you want (lucky you!). The prints, mugs, decals, pens, backpacks, drywall, surgical supplies, dog food, etc...

SELL.

Then again, why listen to me? My Dad tried to corner the market in Pet Rocks. I am stil hoping that market comes back, it's my legacy.

But seriously, the mugs and prints? Take that profit.

midnite

I don't know what the future holds, but I can't imagine that Shag's print will continue to increase in value as they have given the rate at which new prints come out, and I would guess that the abundance of new prints will eventually bring prices on the older prints down as well. So if you view your collection as an investment you may want to start selling.

As for me, I have 14 Shag prints now which is about as many prints by a single artist as I ever want to own. Accordingly, I intend to keep a rough balance between prints purchased and sold so that I can continue to refine my collection without filling every space in my home with Shag. For example, I've been thinking about selling my "Sepik Explorer" lithograph for a while now. I love the poly-pop theme but the colors of the litograph don't impress when compared to Shag's later serigraphs.

Since he never plans to release any of the serigraphs as mass market prints, I think that they will retain their value. I finally have one up and every time I look at it I feel happy. Thats all that really matters.

It is nearly impossible to determine whether an artist's work will increase or decrease in value over the future. If you bought your Shag prints only as an investment, you might want to sell now and get a guaranteed profit - but you may regret it if the prints continue to rise in value.

Shag's work is definitely well-known within the relatively small tiki and Juxtapoz categories, and for these crowds it might seem that his work is at the saturation level -- Here a Shag, there a Shag, everywhere a Shag-Shag -- and for the investment minded of us, doomed for a potential downturn.

I would argue that there are entire new communities of potential Shag fans who have not been reached. I recently started subscribing to Dwell, a modern architecture magazine, and I can't recall any mention of Shag in the 3 issues I've received - and his artwork would definitely appeal to that audience. How many guitar players have only recently heard of Shag based on his artwork in the latest Fender guitar catalog? What about those people just discovering tiki this summer through Buffet's tiki tour?

Did Shag play with toy trains as a child? If so, and he incorporates trains into his new artwork, he could have a whole new source of buyers who have Lionel trains in their basements ..... not to mention what would happen if Shag ever suddenly developed a Harley Davidson fetish. Perhaps the next winner of 'American Idol' will be wearing a Shag shirt for their final winning performance. These latter examples may be a bit far-fetched, but one can never tell when a certain artist will suddenly appeal to a much wider audience.

I'm in the view that if the Shag prints add value to your life -- either because of the visual pleasure they add to your wall, or the potential selling cash you can make when you decide to sell - then hold on to them. If they start bringing displeasure (perhaps your future wife will hate them), or anxiety (that their value may drop), or even just plain boredom (that print has been hanging there for years!) then you might as well sell them.

I haven't come close yet to reaching my Shag-selling point.

Vern

I haven't come close to my Shag-buying point yet... much less my selling point! As a fellow artist and collector of most things Tiki... I say hang on to the originals (you are certainly blessed by the Gods!)and sell the rest. Shag is definitely an artist worth hanging on to. His work is very well known by Tiki hangers-on and will only retain or go up in value to those. Most likely... you'll always be able to get a decent price out of an original.

Well, keeping hold of the originals can't be too bad of an idea, but I'd flog the rest of them if you are just keeping them for investment purposes. The buzzword is dilution. As more and more prints & mugs appear, the value of the older stuff will suffer. And perhaps the wave of Tiki hitting the US hardware stores will drive away the fickle hipsters who enjoyed the 'coolness quotient' while it lasted.

So - Shag investors, now's a good time to sell. BUT, those who bought because you love his stuff, hang it on the walls & enjoy it. The real pleasure of art comes from the art itself, not the $$.

Trader Woody

I personally think that the Shag originals are your best bet in the long run. Collect what you like of his prints because you like them, but as far as originals, those should definitely do well in the future. By the way, have you seen the images from the next Shag show coming up this month? A few pieces have a "Tiki motif". Kinda cool.

Hey Tikichic, I saw the new paintings and I love the one titled "Tiki" ! Even though he's labled a tiki artist, the majority of his work doesn't feature tiki's. I feel fortunate that one of my originals has three large tiki's in it, and Sinatra to boot!!

I completely agree about Shags work. Many of them don't have tikis in them however the one's that do are great! I'm lucky enough to know the owner that bought one of the originals at the upcoming show. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out which original you're speaking of that has both tikis AND Sinatra.....hmmm....I'll have to ponder this one! Lucky you!

tiki-riviera,

I have a Shag collection very similar to yours. Personally, I have never bought anything that I didn't intend on keeping for the long haul. I suppose I've justified my purchases by looking at the investment value. But truthfully I love them all to much to ever part with them. I would say that the mere fact that you are considering selling kind of indicates that you're not too attached to some of them. So, if the money is what is important to you, I would say sell while the market is hot. If the money isn't that important then definitely keep them. I know I would regret it somewhre down the line if I ever sold mine.

The original you're describing sounds like "The Broken Bottle" from Night Of The Tiki. Am I right?

By the way, after reading your posts, I think I may have met you in Palm Springs at the Shag exhibit. Were you there? If so, then I know your other original too.

Cheers!

ModMana :drink:

Hi Everyone,
As new gallery owners, SHAG collectors and Tiki Fans we would like to offer our opinion on the subject.
I realize that many of you at TC have collected SHAG's work for quite some time and that you are probably amazed at how his originals, prints and other items have appreciated. Just consider some of the following :

1. Fans of Tiki have probably known about Shag longer than any other potential demographic.
2. New demographics, which dwarf the Tiki crowd, are only discovering Shag's artwork for the first time.
3. His painting cross over into many decorating styles. Consider Modern Architecture, Modern Furniture Collectors, Planet of the Apes fans, Collectors of Cats, Blues and other music fans, Gothic fans, etc. (you get the idea).
4. Shag's printed are typically limited to less than 300 per edition. Do you really think that if you like a print that there are less than 300 people in the entire world that will like it too? If that were true, you should stop purchasing anything as your taste would obviously suck.
5. Of the almost 300 people that purchased our "Palm Springs After Dark", less than 75 of these people were into Tiki and probably 75-100 of them had never viewed Shags work prior to our show.
6. Shag's prices are only now approaching a pricing level where many of our friends would consider hanging these on their walls. Do you think that many people with multimillion dollar homes want to show off their $50.00 print? This market will only continue to grow in my opinion.
7. We, my wife an I, buy Shag's work because we love it! We don't speculate on it and we don't have any intentions of selling anything from our personal art collection. We have probably 30-50 fans that we have turned on to Shag that will buy his prints and keep them either in their collections or in their portfolios. None of these people have any reason to sell (they have lots of cash).
8. Many people burn out on a topic after they've enjoyed it for a while (maybe even Tiki) and assume it has reached a saturation point in the marketplace. We did this with modern furniture 3-4 years ago. However, the number of people getting into modern furniture has continually grown at a phenominal rate over the past several years. Tiki will also continue to grow as a community (look how TC has grown since its inception.
9. Shag is a super cool guy (not true of all artists) and those fortunate enough to meet him appreciate he and his artwork even more afterward.
10. Shag is offered a tremendous amount of project opportunities and always acts in the best interests of his customers (I can't say that the loyalty is always returned). He has already been requested to do covers for two prominent magazines here in Palm Springs (keep your eyes open).
    Note: You don't have to agree with anything I've just mentioned, however, I do think you may want to consider what I stated above as I could have went on to list at least a few dozen more points (I'm writing this at 2:20am and am quite sleep deprived since his show).

Some of you stated it best. If you love the piece of artwork, can afford it and can't live without it then buy it. If you don't think that it still works for you at that price point then don't buy it. If you feel you must sell, for whatever reasons, call me and we'll gladly purchase any Shag prints or originals we can get our hands on.

Maholo! Jay @ M Modern Gallery 760 416-3611

Hello Tikichic, the name of the painting is "Broken Bottle" from the Night of the Tiki show at Copro Nason

Hello Modmana, good guess about "Broken Bottle"! The other piece was a wedding present. I was at the Palm Springs show, at the head of the class so to speak. Were you the nearby store owner or the nice couple from LA (France)? Or someone else? I had fun bonding in line only to be disappointed when the doors opened. I don't buy to sell, but I have sold a few of my least favorite ones, limited wall space!!

Thanks tiki-riviera! How nice to be given one original as a wedding gift. The piece will grace your walls for years to come and you will remember how and when you received it. A little late in the coming, but congratulations and it sound as if everyone had a great time at Tiki Oasis. I wish I could've been there....
As for myself, I have quite a portfolio of Shag prints along with many other artists also. Shag is definitely my #1 and I only buy what I like. As a young child my parents engrained in me to only "buy what I like" and if it goes up in value in the future then that's a "bonus". If it doesn't, then you bought something that you like and will be happy to keep. That's my motto with Shag prints and I would love to buy them all, but can't afford to.
All in all, as pretty much others have said, keep or buy what you like as long as it makes you happy! Not anyone else....
I couldn't make it to Palm Springs but is anyone going to the Santa Monica show??

[ Edited by: tikichic on 2003-06-13 00:20 ]

Hello tikichic, i'll see you in Santa Monica. When I learn how to post pictures in here i'm going to put up a picture of the original I recieved as a wedding gift. It's very cool and Shag was unbelievably considerate to paint this at a time when his plate was very full (like always).