Foolkiller

I think it’s an over reaction to feel like any price is in and of itself offensive or obnoxious. Certainly someone can say it’s way too high or aggressive or whatever but how someone can call it out as some sort of character issue seems to me to be inaccurate. I don’t think the asm 300 was put out there with the intent to sell. 
 

with a lot of auctions coming up offering really nice material, my guess is many folks waited to spend their money. If you buy something at auction you can always consign comics or art to pay for it, an option not available at comic art live. The event is awesome and there are lots of great pieces offered in the past. If someone prices something more than I want to pay, it’s no big deal. But I also think you can’t wonder why some thing doesn’t sell if pricing is aggressive. 
 

I think once you started looking at prices 5000 and below there were some really cool pieces. 

On 10/31/2022 at 6:05 PM, Robot Man said:

In my many years of dealing in collectibles I have found that nearly no dealer wants to admit they had a bad show. If they do, they often blame it on buyers, the promoters or economic conditions. They never want to take any of the blame. It might be they had the wrong stuff, their prices are too high or maybe they just aren't "people people". Everyone want to be a success and they want everyone to know. Not that the seller had anything to do with an unsecussful show.

As a seller, if you low ball me, whine, or disrespect me or my merchandise, you usually leave my booth with nothing. Buying and selling collectibles is supposed to be a positive interaction between buyer and seller. This is what usually separates good shows from bad ones. 

This is a really great observation and shows someone who remembers being on both sides of the table.  I always shake my head at the folks (and I mean this everywhere, whether on YouTube, FB or where ever) who seem to want to say how all the dealers are thieves and they're all over priced as if the dealers are the enemy.  This is unequivocally untrue.  The same for the idea that the LCS owner is trying to rip you off.  Likewise, if you haven't sold much as a dealer, it isn't always that the buyers are 'too cheap' or there weren't enough people there.  There's been a real price correction the last couple of months, but people are still buying.  

Some of the disconnect comes from the idea that dealers are not trying to all 'blow their material out' or even 'give good deals'.  Many are patient and want to set at or above market pricing.  Just because they're not all looking to sell you something at the last GPA or what you perceive the true value to be doesn't make them the 'villain'.  This is a model that has worked well for many, many dealers.  Especially those at the top of the market.  They aren't always chasing last GPA etc.  Many folks who need to have good flow of product or work on a model of higher volume turn and burn want to give deals so that their cash flow is constant.  Still others are simply under capitalized and can't afford to just wait for a return, while others believe in cultivating a client base where they aren't squeezing every last dollar.  I don't think any of these are the 'right' or the 'wrong' way to do things.  There are enough sellers who want to raise capital or who believe in quicker turn over that there's no need to deride the folks who are more patient and may have higher prices.  They also may have rarer books or higher quality.  

Like many things in life, the relationships really matter.  I find the relationship you have with dealers, store owners, and fellow collectors is what really carries the day.  That's not to say that I've been perfect in every action with every single person with how I've treated them or how they've perceived I've treated them.  But overall, I would say that understanding what the seller wants to achieve and what they respond to is what opens the door to more and better deals.  

On 10/30/2022 at 8:34 PM, g-man said:

How was business? People spending $ or lookie lou’s? Any big deals in books or art? 

Really depends on who you asked.  I would say some dealers were down from 2021 pretty significantly, some reported being down from even 2019's show.  I know Donut said he did very well, and I think there were some dealers who did great.  Most of the folks reported having good shows, but nothing insane with the folks that I spoke with, but all were very happy with the general results.  

As I noted with New York and some of the other shows, I did not think the early pre show dealing was quite as electric.  Earl Shaw did well, but as a couple of the early folks noted who went through his stuff, you had to go through it carefully, so even if you pulled a big stack, you needed to review it.  But Earl had great stuff that was fresh and did well.  David Burns also had great stuff and a lot of pre-show action.  Al Stoltz had a terrific new consignment full of top census oddities and Jim Halperin and Doug Schmell amongst others made some nice piles.  Al was busy the whole weekend.  Most dealers reported the show did decent with the public if you priced well, but people were focused more on lower end material.  Comiclink got a fair number of consignments.  

There's no doubt people are still spending money.  I think it's shifted to the slightly lower end of the market and there's less of the frenzy.  Several of the flippers have disappeared, or at least have disappeared from spending large chunks.  

If you asked some of the older collectors and higher end guys with deeper pockets, most were being fairly conservative.  I know I was in terms of what I would spend on the floor.  I bought very few slabs, as most I thought were priced at the top of the market, with a few exceptions.  For the most part, you aren't going to get 'deals' on a show floor.  That's the reality of today's market.  There are several, of course, if you look, and upgrades chances as well and I know several of those in early seemed happy and found plenty to buy.  But I find you do far better in a less competitive and enjoyable environment at small regional shows.  

I know some folks have said either privately or where ever that many dealers have not adjusted to current pricing and I think that's really only slightly true.  Most dealers were very realistic, but on some stuff they're simply willing to ride things out.  Copper/80s stuff, most everyone has seemed to have gotten the memo that prices are dropping fast.  Depends on where you want to bail out now as I think there's little long term confidence in that market.  

I'm generally not free on Saturdays during the Spring (and usually not the fall either) due to my son's baseball and golf schedules, but found myself free because the team was off this Saturday and my son strained his calf at track earlier in the week, so he wanted to just hang out.  

The art con is a cool event.  It's been awhile since I've attended (several years) and I haven't gotten to one since I've more seriously gotten into art, but Veteri as always put on a nice show for everyone.  The show is almost more social than it is a marketplace because many of the pieces are things that people have seen already (via website or just being around).  That said, there was plenty of new stuff, but not perhaps the 'big' piece I was looking for.  I'm not saying this for any other reason than a point of reference but I bought $70k in all green (and a checkbook) hoping to make a deal, but could not make one with anyone even at what I'd call market or slightly over, though I only inquired about a couple pieces.  One of the problems is, what exactly is the market and how do you price it?  There were a number of wonderful smaller pieces in the room and you could have absolutely scored some fantastic art, but with so many great pieces coming to auction, you're better off not necessarily spending on those, but saving the money and waiting til auction (so I can be blown out of the water there.  

The best part of the convention is the other collectors.  It was so fun to see all the dealers and meet so many folks, both old and new, and put faces on the names I have heard and known for some time.  As some people may know from dealing with me on comics, when I meet folks in person or know them pretty well, I am absolutely willing to make deals with them.  I brought a portfolio and sold a couple of items I wasn't intending to, but they went to very good homes.  I could have sold more but just wasn't necessarily prepared to sell.  My belief (and this is no criticism of anyone) is that art is meant to be enjoyed.  If I have it sitting in a portfolio and you will enjoy it more than me, I'm happy to see you have it.  While I don't want to be completely bent over, I also feel zero need to make as much as possible, so I want the collector to feel they got a fair deal too and are happy with what they paid.  That's a lot of what the shows are about for me.  I always hope that others will pass that along -- but I also understand the desire to get as much as you can too.  Plenty of collectors have been very generous with me, and I will never forget that. 

Most of what I picked up were things I bought a couple years ago and hadn't remembered to pick them up and bought a couple of new ones.  

On 3/20/2022 at 12:26 PM, djpinkpanther67 said:

Why don’t you go golfing or something 

I’m actually in willamette valley wine tasting so having to multi task.