MOCA Murakami merch gets big bucks on EBay

Well, it was only a matter of time before the Takashi Murakami merch for Louis Vuitton sold exclusively at MOCA made its way to other channels. Art and commerce have truly collided and it looks like the consumer is driving without a seat belt.

Murakami totes, coin purses and agendas are selling on EBay at a markup of almost 70%, which means that early collectors are making hundreds of dollars off their shopping sprees at the downtown L.A. museum.

This morn, the Louis Vuitton Murakami MM Neverful tote (above) is selling for $1,424.99 on EBay, with 15 bidders vying for the bag that the Japanese artist created for the show at MOCA. The bag sells at MOCA for about $900.

In case you haven't been following the story, MOCA decided to install a Louis Vuitton store in the Murakami exhibition and the boutique is selling LV wares emblazoned with his day-glo take on the logo.

An agenda, featuring a new whimsical character named Chibiko Kinoko (see above), is selling for $641 -- not too much more than its $500 selling price. The coin purse, also adorned with the LV logo by Murakami, should fetch $400, which is a jump from its $255 MOCA price.

The museum is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I can't check out the MOCA store to report on inventory. But last I heard, the pieces were still in stock -- as the exhibit runs through next February.  Clearly, Murakami/Louis Vuitton fanatics who can't fly here to get the goods are beholden to locals with EBay seller accounts.

Whoever thought that art collectors would go by handles like "inlandfantasy" and sell on EBay instead of Sotheby's? Or is it art? Weigh in.

Photo credits: Louis Vuitton agenda and tote, Ricardo DeAratanha/L.A. Times; Flowerball art by Murakami, Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd.