If you are out to try and get your hands on a genuine Banksy piece through eBay you'll be faced with frustrating truth that only about 10% of your search returns are genuine Banksy prints. The others tend to be artists or sellers using Banksy as a keyword to flag their items up in your searches. My warning however is to collectors who get fooled by sellers using the name Banksy for the purpose boosting prices and hype on over priced pieces.

You may be aware of some of the names like Faile, Nick Walker, Dface etc that appear side by side Banksy on these search returns but just because the name Banksy is there, be sure that they are priced correctly should you choose to buy one. Do your homework, Google the artists name and most importantly check the sites like Pictures on Walls to ensure that the original run of these prints has in fact sold out and is still not available from the printers.

Banksy prints are notoriously expensive on eBay just now because the limited edition prints sell out in minutes from Pictures on Walls and the popularity of the artist is at an all time high. Just because a seller is selling (for example) a Faile print on eBay for £1000, doesn't guarantee that this is the true market value. Check around, as you may find the same print online from the original point of sale for half that! Not all names experience the same incredible selling power as Banksy but many people that own their prints may try and convince you otherwise!

Treat terms like 'Friend of Banksy'; 'Banksy Stablemate'; 'Rare, Like Banksy' and 'PoW' with caution!