On Heists and Hustling
Dear Editor,
It seems we live in an age where value is a subjective and slippery beast. On one hand, a lone burglar in St John’s Wood makes off with £10 million worth of treasures, while on the other, I managed to sell an art pamphlet on eBay for a cool £5 — a pamphlet, I might add, that I picked up for free at the gallery! Who’s the real criminal here? (Don’t answer that, my conscience is already chewing its nails.)
Now, the St John’s Wood heist raises many questions. How does one person even carry £10 million worth of items? Were there priceless jewels and golden Fabergé eggs involved? Or did they stuff their pockets with rare Beanie Babies and limited-edition mugs? These are the details we, the public, deserve to know!
And then there’s my little eBay transaction, which, though modest in comparison, feels no less audacious. £5 for a pamphlet that was freely available to anyone? Some might call it entrepreneurial spirit; others might call it daylight robbery. Perhaps I’m just a low-budget Banksy, redefining the art market one A5 booklet at a time.
But here’s the twist: What if the burglar and I are not so different? Both of us saw value where others did not. Both of us turned opportunity into action. The difference, of course, is that they now face the full force of the law, while I face the possibility of a neutral-to-positive eBay review.
So let us reflect on this peculiar dichotomy. Whether it’s a £10 million heist or a £5 pamphlet hustle, value is in the eye of the beholder — or perhaps in the highest bidder. And if the buyer of my pamphlet is reading this, I hope you enjoy the essays on postmodern brushstrokes as much as I enjoyed the fiver.
Yours in bemused capitalism,
A. Opportunist von Bargain