John E.

Interesting research. His life is certainly something I'd be interested in reading more about. That paperback of Dawn Treader sat in my mother's drawer for years. I never read it. But my mother had some cool stuff in that drawer and for years I would rummage through it, similar to what my daughter does now. She had other interesting paperbacks in there, all of which I thought about the covers, What is going on here? Anyway, the art might be "weak," but, man, that images opens a lot of memories. Good thing for someone that I'm too budgeted to run with the big boys (unless I joined forces with my brother...)

I'm feeling the love for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. That opened up a lot of memories. I wish I could bid.

Yeah, I think there are 10 different ways a CAF inquiry can go, and 9 of them are awry. It is something to be accepted. About the shipping thing--I just went by a "shopper" who would be firm on how much he wanted to pay (an imaginary shopper, not the original poster at this point) which was no more than 25% above sales price/FMV, just to illustrate how there is very little motivation left on the Owner's part to take 25% above price. But even if the Shopper threw in $20 for shipping, that's not exactly a dealmaker either. Of course, I cited an example that probably has no bearing in real life either.

I agree; there's no harm in expressing interest; it's just how you communicate that counts. You really have to use your intuition--if it's something that "hot" right now, then, yeah, you have to make an offer higher than everyone else would. If it's a C-level page that you want but no one else does, than a market- or slightly above market price will suffice. If you really want a piece, then you have to keep trying, even if you don't get an initial response or your first offer is rejected. And yes, I have had pieces marked "NFS" with the intention of selling them later, but I just couldn't be bothered with the listing at the moment. What does irk me is when collectors inquire about a piece and I actually give them a price and I never hear back from them. But can I point something out? Without knowing the specifics of the page in question, you said you felt 25% above market is a good price. What did you mean by that? So, if there's a modern page that you know you recently sold for $250, your 25% above market/sale price is $313 (rounding up). You do a PayPal transaction and the seller ends up with $304. Then the seller pays $20 for shipping and packing materials. That puts him at $284. So a whopping $34 profit, or a 14% return. I'm not a math whiz so anyone can correct my numbers, but depending on how you view "an offer 25% above market," you can see how that is not a tempting one. I will say that if it was a Paper Girls splash that sold for $600, then 25% would be $750. If the seller got that in cash in person without PayPal or shipping costs, that's a respectable offer, to me anyway.

Nova #8, p. 20 (1994) Pencils by Chris Marrinan, inks by Mark Stegbauer 11-1/4" x 17" SOLD

Thank you to those who bid on my auctions or bought any of my pieces. I was successful in raising the funds I needed to pay off an expensive piece, plus a little something extra. Be it as luck may have it, I have an opportunity to buy a piece that's is important to the history of my comic collecting. Here's the first two of many: Darkhawk #8, p. 25 (1991) COPPER AGE! Pencils by Mike Manley, inks by Ricardo Villagran 11" x 17" SOLD

Excellent post, ESeffinga. I've noticed the same selling trends during those periods. What I would like to add to the artonomics is that I don't sell art during the summer. Most people are away from the computer and enjoying the nice weather. Also, there's SDCC (as you noted). Collectors are saving up their pennies (or thousand dollar bills), but even comic collectors are waiting for the variants (I guess toy collectors, too) and aren't really buying much else. So if you put up something for auction or best offer at that time, you're probably not going to get the optimum price for your piece. On the flip side, if you're looking for bargain shopping, summer, particularly during SDCC, is the time to do it. I've been on an art selling uptick funding some upgrades. I'll be posting a couple of pieces tonight.

We all learn that lesson the hard way and pretty early. Don't worry about it and move on. We must both be referring to the same Madman splash that just ended on ComicLink. I've noticed that the last few ComicLink auctions have had Madman pages, so keep checking there. Those have been running at $375+, depending on the quality of the page.

That $80 Sakai piece is pretty sad. You are better off plunking down $250 on one of his unpublished "pin-ups." You can find them on eBay, too--just wait for a quality one to pop up. Albert Moy is Erik Larsen's art rep. Have you been to his site and looked for SD art there? Erik Larsen is a Bay Area resident so I've met him plenty o'times and he brings a stack of art with him. He does not price to move. Covers run around $3K+ and splashes $1K-$2K. Panel pages are around $300+. I remember one page on 11x17 paper of Dragon descending into the ocean. It was a lone figure about 2 inches long with bubbles coming out of his mouth, no background. That was $100 and as cheap as it gets. Like Mr NSN stated, and Erik has told me this himself, Erik mostly sells complete books. I would ask Albert Moy if he can request a stack of art from Erik as I don't think Erik wants to bother with packing and shipping art. He is fan friendly and a gentleman so maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask. His new art really large by the way, larger than 11x17. It's at least 12x19, maybe bigger. Allred Madman covers don't pop up often, not from his direct series anyway. Recently, two covers with Madman on it popped up. One was from a board member here and it was a TPB cover. His asking price was $1500 OBO and I believe it sold on an offer. The other was the cover of a Dark Horse Annual. That sold for $1500. If you search Comic Art Fans you'll find a dealer selling a later Madman cover for about $2500 and and, I think, and Atomics cover for $2000. This month on ComicLink a Madman splash from #2(?) (Dark Horse run) sold for $1100. Madman was the central figure, but not the dominant one. A nice Madman cover or splash is on top of my want list so know that you'll have healthy competition. Simon M. at Gotsuperpowers.com is Mike's dealer and he can help you. I can't confirm this, but Latour is probably all digital.

Mid-80s to mid-90s is my nostalgic spot, too. Another board member revealed that to me that that his collecting period. We must be of the same age. Anyway, I find it to be an unusual era to straddle: the respected copper age and the "wretched" modern age. Night and day. If you're in the Bay Area, Madman1138, will you be attending Silicon Valley Comic Con?

Message sent through CAF CC: @Bronty

Finding quality 90s stuff hasn't gotten any easier since I created this post. Since posting this, I decided to mostly be a "nostalgia" collector despite the drought in the market. I've come up with a list of pages that are in my nostalgic wheelhouse that I'm waiting to pop up and these pages range from 1984-95. One example is a "C" page from New Mutants #100. I'm not a big Liefeld fan (nor am I a detractor) nor am I a NM fan--but, this is the last comic that my grandfather gave me before he became too old and frail to do much (Why did it have to be New Mutants #100?!). The problem is, as per recent Liefeld/NM discussions, NM pages don't pop up often and are in high demand; so, if I want an example, I better be ready with cash in hand (which I don't have at the moment), which also means I have stopped buying every shiny thing that pops up on the market. That said, I've come to accept that I may never get a page from NM100, but if I have a list of 20 "nostalgic must haves" and I acquire 5 on that list, then that's a win considering the market conditions. (As an aside, to keep focus, I admitted to myself that a page from NM99 or X-Force #1 is a not a good substitute). The other thing I've realized is that, yes, modern art is more accessible and affordable. Nowadays, I don't feel the urgency to pick up modern art from every book/series that I've enjoyed. Now I turn to books/series that have made an impression on me after a few years, pages that I remember from 2012-13 for example, that are still relatively easy to find and affordable, that way I know it's something I really want. I also look to the aesthetics of a modern artist, main guy that comes to mind is Paul Pope. The guy hits homers and triples for me so I have to find the right piece for the right price and that'll do it for me; no nostalgia needed. Thing is, as reasonable Felix is with Pope's pricing (for finished published work) it's still not cheap, so I really have to be saving up money for a year. Lastly, there are artists from the 90s whose style and aesthetics I absolutely love whose work is not largely available such as Kelley Jones and Sam Kieth, so I have to make an exception to my "no commissions, no non-nostalgic pages" rules. With Kelley Jones, I got a commission, so check. With Kieth, I'm begging for a commission list to open and I'm open to published pages of his that I didn't read as a kid, they just have to have the Sam Kieth-qualities I've developed a love for. All this is to say that if you want to collect 90s stuff, don't give up, but know you're going to have to be patient and spend a lot of money and pass up on a lot of stuff (hence: focus). And it's okay to be flexible outside of those parameters, if what you do end up acquiring scratches that itch.

There's a very important lesson to be had in your first paragraph. The other week I had someone contact me through CAF asking if I would be willing to sell him one of my pieces. My intuition tells me that I should know a little about the person to whom I'm selling so I went to check out their gallery. The person had no gallery. That didn't sit well with me. I hate to admit it, and I think most people do too or deny it, but if someone has a gallery full of $100 pages or sketches, then that tells me they aren't going to meet my price; whereas if they have a gallery of "expensive" pieces then that tells me they can make make it worth my time. I'm not looking to overcharge anyone, but I'm not looking to be undersold either. I don't mind negotiating, but I don't want to waste my time with a lo-baller either, especially on a piece marked NFS. Needless to say, I turned away the inquiry. I subscribe to the "fresh to market" idea, even though I acknowledge its limitations, or myth. I think it's good marketing that can generate excitement especially in a hobby starving of new pieces as collectors sift through the same stale pieces over and over. Everything comes down to price, Fresh-to-market or not. Fresh or stale, if it's overpriced, then no one is going to bite. The piece is going to sell itself--if there's pent up demand (like Liefeld NM/XF comes to mind) it's gonna sell at the right market price regardless if it's fresh or been on CAF for 5 years. Even stale pieces will sell at market price on auction or if the price is reduced to the market level. Personally, I keep certain pieces off CAF that I plan to sell later. These are pieces I acquired because the opportunity was there, the price was right, and I had the money. But I keep them off CAF not necessarily to keep them fresh, although like I stated, I do subscribe to the idea a bit, but because they don't fit into my overall theme in my gallery. That's it really. Like other collectors have stated, people will buy what has been seen or unseen as long as it's available and the price is right.

Iron Man #128 recreation on Invincible Iron sketch cover by Gilbert Hernandez Ink over pencil SOLD

A lesson I learned about commissions early on, but not before taking some licks. SELLING ART has made me a better collector.

OMAC by Nick Dragotta 9" x 12" Pencil and Ink on Strathmore Bristol board SOLD

Sketch cover: The Shadow Year One #7 by Mark Badger Pencil and ink SOLD

Doctor Fate #17 (2016), page 7. Original pencil and ink art by Brendan McCarthy 11-5/8" x 16-1/2" Drawn on art paper heavier than standard typing paper, but lighter than illustration board. SOLD

I like the matting on the "piano" art. And I always love me the wall shot. I'm interested (nosy) to see where collectors hang their art.

Aw, man. My memory might be faltering me, but I could swear that Lazarus sword fight page was one that I was hem-and-hawing on a while back. I recall the asking price was about $400 and it sold for 773 Euro??? Where's that "The One That Got Away" thread...?

Azrael #38 cover Azrael versus Bane issue. Pencils by Roger Robinson, inks by James Pascoe. 12" x 17" SOLD eBay Link

Link takes me to 32.6K "Elektra" results.

Very nice, Malvin

WOW!

Secret Wars: E is for Extinction #1 p. 23 by Ramon Villalobos - SOLD