The Less Blob

Most of my fixed price free 50 listing items are things I will re-list anyway. It would be nice to control the re-list better. I suppose I can always end something on day 29 if I don't want it re-listed.

I have no problem buying a signed book, I just don't have the time, energy, desire to spend gobs of money, or inclination to get one signed via the CGC SS process. I bid on SS books from time to time. Never wind up winning any of them though.

If it is a brand new book and your copy is pristine, I have used stock images on occasion, but you need to give it a grade I think. Don't say "judge the grade yourself from the scan!"

He was pleasant with me. I had him sign a power man 48 and he was all like "holy I haven't seen this book in years" and he read it out loud a d made fun of his corny dialogue. He was signing next to neil gaiman who had a line 300 groupees long. Claremont's line was 1 person long. The Sig was free. This was in the mid/late 90s at a mini-con at a public school in NYC. The PTA president had industry pull. I was a dealer there.

Then edumacate them! Write a thoughtful letter to each of your favorite 25 or whatever artists. You're good at presenting data. It does sound like maybe the cgc as route may consume a little more of their time than plastic through a stack of 30 books?

Well, you can always have them sign raw and have the other company "authenticate". Maybe you wear those glasses with a video recorder for further proof...

I agree those charges are irrational. But they probably keep the supply of double signed nm 98s down.

It saddens me that the nice conversations I had with john romita senior and Chris claremont getting books signed 25 years ago is now a financial transaction where they probably figure the fan will be flipping them.

Autographs on collectibles are pretty common. Folks were getting books signed long before comics And many a signed first edition from the right author go for a ton. I don't chase signatures but I totally understand their appeal, particularly if authenticated. Todd McFarlane signing his own book hardly seems like defacement.

I though Sig series was $30 on a modern. Does that not include the $20 you spend on grading anyway? And if 2 guys sign at once do they charge $60??? Are you saying getting liefield and nicienza to sign costs another $170-140? I though liefield was at $30 for SS books? (Where did I read that?) Not sure how nicienza can justify charging more for SS if signing solo. Does he have an extra charge for NM 98?

Nicienza should be charging $1. Liefield can justify a little more. Nowhere did I ever say what these guys are charging actually makes sense.

With all due respect, did rma offer you one of his hoard of SS maxx ashcans to give me grief?

If that is the case the market will let the talent know that their SS premium is stupid, no? But it's true I do see more wacky SS asking prices than sales. And that is perhaps what some artists are reacting to.

Rma, with all due respect it is pretty easy to look at prices. And I agree that with many books and many artists the market just does not care And does not add value. And yeah, I agree, it is silly for Rob liefield to charge $30 to sign new mutants 93 or x-force 4 or whatever. But looking at sales, liefield/nicienza new mutant 98s in 9.8 sold for $1100-1300 in January and $100+ less without the sigs. New mutants 100 9.8 liefield/nicienza sold for $399.99 whereas non SS 9.8s are generally under $150 (although there was one weird one in the $200s). Maybe the $399 was a fluke. And yes, nicienza alone does nothing at all. I am not going to spend hours researching various books. Stan Lee seems to be adding a lot right now. Him charging more for SS seems to have been justified in terms of ROI. Anyway, you're right, it is not a market I care much about. I don't assign much of a premium when bidding, but it is going to depend. I could see myself paying more for a Miller dd 158 and some others. Maybe the right Sam kieth book. Cap 286.

Just observing sales, SS books typicly get a bit more, particularly if it is a tough signature to get. But for some folks maybe nobody cares. There are always exceptions. I am not opining on whether charging $50 extra for a SS book is justified or not in terms of adding value. The market will decide. But ultimately it is the person signing who decides their price in a given context. If their decision is irrational (3rd tier artist charging $100 for a SS book) the market is going to punish them. Let's face it, 20, 30 years ago many of these folks gave away free sketches or charged $5, now they want $150 or more because they see them getting sold. How many fans walked around with sketch books to get artists to doodle In? In 1995 the re-selling wasn't in your face on the internet. I understand your irritation. Keep on plugging your view, maybe some will change their mind.

I didn't think so.

I had 2 books that I started around $17 with bins in the $20s get into the $40s and $70s respectively. It happens now and then.

The answer is for folks to not pay the premium for the SS books and then these folks may adjust the prices when they realize they are not selling as many sigs unless you plan on getting your state's Attorney General involved because you think this is discriminatory.

If CGC wants to get involved and price cap SS signatures they can go give it a shot given that they can presumably control the process. But I suspect they don't want to get involved with this.

I love it when libertarians get mad when the free market negatively impacts them.

You're wrong.

Not so sure about that, but whatever makes you happy. Provided that I am not negatively impacted by it in any way, of course.

Because you say so? Anyway, this might be the third time we have engaged in this same debate so I am tuning out. I am perplexed how a guy who is in favor of $2 an hour wages in the USA if that is what the market will bear is enraged by guys charging what the market will allow for totally unnecessary luxury stuff. If you feel that it is unfair that you as a pure collector get charged a flipper premium for a SS book then befriend these creators and let them know you're different so that you should get the non-CGC rate. Admittedly, you have an uphill battle, but I am sure Kav will happily charge you his non-CGC rate!

Fanboys have financial issues too and wind up selling stuff they didn't want to sell. A creator has to assume it will eventually hit the market. I didn't want to sell my SA keys 10-15 years ago. I planned on keeping them a lot longer. When I bought most of them I thought I would always have the kind of income where I never needed to sell any good books, but life got in the way. I would have been better off keeping almost all of them.

With that said, do shows pay these guys to come and sign? If part of your $50 a day price for commiccon is paying all this talent to show up I understand why it is annoying to be charged an arm and a leg for it when these sigs used to be free.