Is stealing art masterpieces fastlane? No, no, no!
Art theft is "no lane." As sorry and illegal an idea as selling counterfeit goods.
I just read the book Stolen Masterpiece Tracker by Thomas McShane (great art detective name!). Nonfiction. As an FBI agent, it was his job to investigate and recover stolen works of art.
What struck me about his case studies, was how often the criminals had weak plans for liquidating their stolen assets for cash. They made poor choices from the beginning, of course, and it just went downhill from there as the sagas unfolded.
Obviously, the thieves did not usually travel in the same circles as the wealthy art collectors who might afford such acquisitions. That meant they were de facto dealing with layers of middle men (if they could even find them).
The more their sales plans failed, the worse the situation became, and the riskier. Duh! And the more the price would be reduced, so that ultimately over time, they'd be willing to accept almost any offer just to be rid of the hot art.
Put into our language, the thieves could execute the beginning of the 'business' venture, but lacked viable exit options.
Sounds stupid, huh?
And yet how many of us have done a similar thing, thinking things like, "I'll just buy this _________ , [and it'll appreciate] and somebody will come along and buy it"?
Like the thieves, there can be a bit of wishful and magical thinking involved on our part, as we gloss over the final details, and assume that the vaguest of exit strategies will somehow work out in the end.
How one gets out of a deal is important. Do you have three exit strategies? Four? Zero?
So the next time you ponder entering a business deal, just take a moment to remember the lesson of the art thief... the art thief who found himself boxed in with no qualified buyer or exit strategy in sight.
Art theft is "no lane." As sorry and illegal an idea as selling counterfeit goods.
I just read the book Stolen Masterpiece Tracker by Thomas McShane (great art detective name!). Nonfiction. As an FBI agent, it was his job to investigate and recover stolen works of art.
What struck me about his case studies, was how often the criminals had weak plans for liquidating their stolen assets for cash. They made poor choices from the beginning, of course, and it just went downhill from there as the sagas unfolded.
Obviously, the thieves did not usually travel in the same circles as the wealthy art collectors who might afford such acquisitions. That meant they were de facto dealing with layers of middle men (if they could even find them).
The more their sales plans failed, the worse the situation became, and the riskier. Duh! And the more the price would be reduced, so that ultimately over time, they'd be willing to accept almost any offer just to be rid of the hot art.
Put into our language, the thieves could execute the beginning of the 'business' venture, but lacked viable exit options.
Sounds stupid, huh?
And yet how many of us have done a similar thing, thinking things like, "I'll just buy this _________ , [and it'll appreciate] and somebody will come along and buy it"?
Like the thieves, there can be a bit of wishful and magical thinking involved on our part, as we gloss over the final details, and assume that the vaguest of exit strategies will somehow work out in the end.
How one gets out of a deal is important. Do you have three exit strategies? Four? Zero?
So the next time you ponder entering a business deal, just take a moment to remember the lesson of the art thief... the art thief who found himself boxed in with no qualified buyer or exit strategy in sight.
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