Rick2you2

You may want to look up the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law, and contact the State Attorney General’s office about filing a complaint for a deceptive business practice. That’s not a State where I practice, but there should be general information on the internet about its details. They seem like they are bad for this hobby.

Deleted. For reasons described below by C. Purse.

I think Voodou once wrote that there are real things which show up on Live Auctioneers (my apologies if I am wrong), but I am beginning to wonder whether it is even worth bothering to consider any of their listings. The site's track record is really bad..

Just out of curiosity, is there a Facebook page which deals with apparently fake art? Just be careful about what you say, if there is, so you don’t get into trouble yourself. “Suspected” is one thing; a flat out claim something is fake is different.

Does anyone know the status of the NJ art con next week, or the upcoming NY con? I just saw the Big Apple con was cancelled.

The language itself may qualify as a violation of at least NJ’s Consumer Fraud law. Seems unconscionable to me to try and take away a right provided by law, and credit card co., agreements. If it comes up, consult with counsel.

In defense of the slant towards "cheesecake", I think women and their curves make them fundimentally better as subjects for art work than men. It isn't only about the sexuality, either. I had that discussion with artist Michelle Delecki a while ago. She just likes to draw women, and I suspect she is not alone. You can see it in other female artists' work, too. It's like when artists paint landscapes. Notice how they often include rolling hills? Curves just naturally work well with art. But, of course, a good part of it is just raw sexuality; I don't want to overstate that point.

Is it possible the seller made an honest mistake in this case? The signature looks like it is by someone named “Sam” something. Perhaps the seller, who I gather runs a thrift store, just jumped to a mistaken conclusion? The Fat Spider-Man, however, is ridiculous.

Maybe Sal did it?

Whatever is closest to the door.

I generally agree with what you wrote. But, this is also a small market where it doesn’t take much to tip it. What, for example, has that Frazetta painting which sold on Heritage for $5M done to the Frazetta painting market, or overall Frazetta market? If the increase is material, then holders can easily sell at least some of it to less savvy buyers at higher prices. I think some of Picasso’s later work, in particular, is . But, it sells. The market-warping is one reason OA will eventually produce its our own version of Tulipmania (as well as the aging out of older collectors whose nostalgia exceeds their brains but matches their wallets).

Actually, no, I haven’t been in the market for a cover. I don’t have a published comic book cover, but I do have a panel page and a Fanzine cover which are nice. But I still watch them. I like getting different artists doing similar subjects; not just one artist doing the same subject. I also understand that resultant actions can look similar based on different motives. That is the difference. So, if someone wants to buy a Mike Zeck piece for personal enjoyment or because someone thinks the market undervalues it, that’s one thing. If they buy purely to prop up a market price to support their own inventory, that is different—even though it may look like it is the same as buying because the buyer thinks the market undervalues it. Let me also add that, as I have said before, prices for those covers which I have seen, until recently, did not align with the current pricing over the last few months. If there have been private sales heading in that territory, then my opinion would change. Let me add that I don’t sell; I buy solely for personal pleasure. So I have paid more than market if I like a piece, and have bought pieces I am not crazy about because it appeals to my “ completist” instinct (although I had to lay off the PS page from last week’s auction, ugh)

It sounds to me like the same thing, except it prevents the establishment of a lower price point reflective of true demand, instead of a higher price point, like what Mike did, in order to protect prices on other pieces. I still consider that manipulation.

But if you are a dealer, a 10% increase on $1,000,000 in inventory, which could be 20 pieces @$50k each, is a cool $100,000. Therein lies the rub. Since Heritage Auction prices for past sales are no secret, it’s a good way to increase the value of your holdings and justify a higher sell price.

From the potential buyer’s perspective, there isn’t one. The issue is whether you are buying it to just hold up the market price or are willing to spend it for your own enjoyment. If the former, it creates an artificially high price. If the artificially high price is way too high, someone may have to buy a lot of art, but for OA, comparables are limited as compared to something like publicly traded stock. That is why it can work here where it wouldn’t work elsewhere.

From the prospective bidder’s perspective, the effect is the same. Artificially high prices.

It also can lead to a market where “overshoot and collapse” kicks in later to cause needless financial loss. Shame.

He is. While you will read all sorts of statements about his mysterious origins and reasons for doing what he does, I will let you in on a secret you will not see published. PS is modelled after Freud's Superego, which, in comic book land, boils down to the personification of human conscience. I am fairly certain that his opposite number was supposed to be Tala. Not just a demoness, but modelled after Freud's Id. That is, human impulse, urges and desires. In most stories, they are considered respectful enemies of each other: like the way superego and id clash in a person's mind, and mediated by a person's ego. Terrific potential, rarely achieved in the comic stories.

But this isn't the stock market. It is a small, thin market where small changes can have a major impact on private buy/sells. By analogy, it is why we have anti-trust laws. A small number of possible sellers warp the prices which would exist in a free market due to lack of competition. We do have more buyers and sellers, so a closer analog might be ologopoly pricing than sole source pricing.

There are rumors of bringing back the Shadowpact. Since he just showed up in the Quintessence, and is apparently in an upcoming faceoff with Wonder Woman (in May) over something, after being captured by the Batman Who Laughs, I have to think the pot is beginning to boil. Honestly, I wish they would return the character to his Silver Age roots as a moral compass and conscience guide instead of mysterious overseer of major threatened calamities. Greater human interest possibilities.

It isn't morally wrong, if that is what you mean. But it is a market disruption which can warp pricing in the long run.

Correct, over time. But in the short run? Not necessarily. Still and all, there is so much inventory out there, one has to wonder if we are beginning to peak.

But that assumes the only impact of high bidding is on the auction rounds. When dealers or sellers see a high auction round price, they can set their own prices based on it. Then potential buyers are faced with the choice of ponying up to the bar and buying the newly repriced item, which now has a comparable auction price, or moving on. If the increase is not too crazy, it logically results in a price reset. Yes, eventually this would catch up on the sellers, but it is likely to be a relatively slow process. About that word eventually, as John Meynard Keynes once said, in the long run we are all dead.

Always good to have more fans. The Blackest Night tie-in was a gimmick. I don't include it. I think I have all appearances (with the possible exception of reprints) through the early 90's, and a fair number after that. Still looking for oddballs, like print copies of Scribblenauts (I have one of the covers). Don't be surprised if PS shows up again as part of another team book. He is appearing a lot more lately.

In the 1980’s, my parents “ invested” in some expensive Persian rugs because they weren’t being imported anymore and the market seemed locked. What they hadn’t counted on is “substitute goods” consisting of hand made rugs from China and Pakistan (and presumably, India too). For the wool rugs, the wool is different; I can’t tell with the silk rugs, but some dealers can. More importantly, the prices dropped on all the rugs, no matter where made, by 60% or more (not counting some specimen pieces, which are also down). Throw in the fact that these things can last what seems to be forever with minimal maintenance, and you have a permanent oversupply burden. In case the analogy isn’t clear already, artists continue to produce excellent work, and not all of it is on the computer. Add in the aging population of buyers for the Silver and Bronze Age stuff, including Aparo, and I can’t see spending this kind of money to feed a memory of my past. So count me out off of this hamster wheel. I will continue to buy what I like if the price is for money I can easily absorb. But not this amount.