Rick2you2

I learn something new every day. There really is “a sucker born every minute.”

Lots of people have had good buying experiences; and I think that has included me from some time in the past. And, I don’t have any personal complaints about him either. Very pleasant to deal with at shows (although he sometimes seems a little tightly wound). Someone I know has also been happy doing trades with him. So, I don’t have any personal complaints at all. But I know what I heard, whether true or not, and it did not sound tongue and cheek, either. And no, it did not sound ridiculous to me. Raising prices on pieces which don’t sell seems even more ridiculous, but that seems to be the way here. It isn’t philanthropy; it’s inventory control. But frankly, at this point, the horse has been beaten to death. The answer is buy overpriced pieces now because later, they will become even more overpriced. 🥸

It depends upon what you are looking for. Good artists on unpopular books are likely to remain under the radar. Mediocre pieces by well respected artists on popular books, IMO, do better than they should. But after the Pandemic, I think lot’s of things at least at the higher end have gone up. With the shallow recession we are in, the question is whether they will hold. After Friday’s Wall Street Journal article on the baseball card market being on fire, you can safely assume it will drop soon (the question being how long can owner/sellers of the cards pawn them off on rubes for how long?). But this stuff is art, not photographs on cardboard.

I don’t think you will see it again. The Great Depression occurred because what would have been a milder recession was mishandled. Money was effectively pulled out of commerce as lending froze and the government thought the right solution was to economize, while simultaneously having more economic power to influence things than it did at the time of the “Panics” of the 19th century. We already had the Great Recession. I think that is the worst you will see going forward unless there is a systemic collapse.

Or, he could have been lying to make himself look good.

Beat on the brat, beat on the brat, beat on the rat with a baseball bat, oh yea, o o yea.

The OP didn't say it. I did. And actually, saying it is something a reasonably smart person would say. Since the piece had already been purchased, offering it at a higher price than before, when it wasn't sold, instead of a lower price because it is old stock, is counter-intuitive. When stock sits around, stores lower their prices to increase their cash flow. They don't hold it on the theory that newer, say, refrigerators will cost more. Moreover, admitting to raising prices is essentially telling the potential buyer: "I see my inabiltiy to move this piece as an opportunity to increase my profit margin at your expense." As to whether it is disprovable, how? Go to the Wayback Machine and try to find it? Who would bother? You might say to yourself: "Ah, but art is an investment, not a refrigerator." Well if have that kind of free money, and are so confident it will sell, go ahead, raise the prices, I won't buy it. And neither did any other real person. It's now with a different dealer, where it sits in all its glory, until Heritage needs to be contacted in a few years. As for me: "I don't wanna be a pinhead no more, I just met a nurse that I could go for."

Interestingly enough, the one cover that had been previously available for sale on the open market has now reappeared on Heritage after all the other potential, lesser comparables had been pulled. I think I can now guess what will also be coming up in the next few months.

On one piece I am watching, something odd is going on. There is very little public history of how much a particular artist's work sells for (I've bought privately, so I know). There were also about half a dozen pages of the artist's work listed for sale. All of a sudden, after sitting around in some cases for years, they all vanished. Then, some covers start coming up for auction. Very strange "coincidence". I'm thinking someone didn't want the public looking at low prices to gauge comparables, and bought or somehow manuevered them off the market in the hope the pieces would rise higher without comparables to consider. Is that possible? Has that happened before? That answer bothers me a lot, because different people from all over the place had pages--not just dealers. Someone went to a lot of trouble for some pieces that won't sell particularly high under any circumstances. Instead of making joking references to the "Cabal", I'm beginning to think we should consider the existence of a real Cartel, and its price impact.

Not really, no. It was a piece I had been watching for years; one of those ones you don't really want but are still kinda-sort of interested in, and if you hit the jackpot might change your mind and buy it. But it no longer matters because it has since been sucked into a black hole where pricing is a sometime thing. Any guesses who has it now?

Not really surprised. This is just another version of "market making", like shilling at public auctions. On one piece I am watching, something odd is going on. There is very little public history of how much a particular artist's work sells for (I've bought privately, so I know). There were also about half a dozen pages of the artist's work listed for sale. All of a sudden, after sitting around in some cases for years, they all vanished. Then, some covers start coming up for auction. Very strange "coincidence". I'm thinking someone didn't want the public looking at low prices to gauge comparables, and bought or somehow manuevered them off the market in the hope the pieces would rise higher without comparables to consider. Is that possible? Has that happened before?

Not a good idea for something likely to be remembered. If he had simply said that “the market has moved up and I am pricing it at market”, I still wouldn’t have bought it, but I would have respected his frankness. Now, I wouldn’t trust what he says on almost anything.

Hmmm… two anecdotes, not related but addressing two different points. Just before COVID, I was at one show talking to Tom Mandrake. Anthony walks over to see if Tom had anything to sell. Tom said yes, and Anthony went through his stuff like a Hoover asking him if he would sell a bunch of things. Tom objected to selling the better pieces at what was probably apparently a previously agreed deal rate for the run of the mill, and gave him a large discount. Afterward, he turned to me and explained that Anthony was a dealer who buys a lot, so he got a big discount due to bulk. Another time, I looked at a piece Bechara was trying to sell. I asked him how much, and he quoted me a very high price. I told him I thought the last time he had it for sale, he priced it at $2,000 less. He responded that he never raises prices on things he had bought. In other words, he doesn’t sell based on replacement cost (which may explain his unwillingness to bend). The piece was later bought by another dealer, and last time I looked is still for sale. I suspect this is more common than you would expect.

No, but his reason makes no sense. If he has to pay more, then everyone he decides to sell to should pay more. With that said, currency conversions don’t necessarily take into account the additional costs for conversions. I bought something from Britain recently, put it on my credit card, and was shocked at how much “vig” was added. He may have meant something like that for his transactional costs on his end.

Poor Rich. All those potential buyers and no one lining up at his table. Although, some of his pieces weren’t badly priced.

Sorry I missed you at the show. Large number of dealers who were buying. Selling to non-dealers seemed somewhat limited (mostly lower priced stuff, and not a lot). But, a lot of happy show-goers and I was happy I went. Saw some familiar faces to whom I can now attach a name.

I don”t think I am looking at faded inks. I think the lines are too thin and fine, giving them a weak sketchy look. I don’t think that is just the inking. There are also others where the inks are pretty dark, and they still aren’t so hot. (The one up on Heritage for auction, however, is one of the better ones, but it still has those weak lines.) But, I still like his overall work on other books, like Legends, better, and with a different inker (Kessel). Less cluttered, stronger images, in general. Take a gander on CAF to see what I mean.

So do I. But not most of his Wonder Woman interior work.

I think part of the problem I have with his work was the inking. I just don't like how light it is, with a "scratchy" quality to it. That, combined with background clutter don't impress me. Are all of his pages subpar, IMO? No. He is an excellent artist and there are pages from his run whch are strong. But there are too many like these examples from CAF to show what I mean.

If you like them for personal pleasure, they make sense. Not so sure about their resale value. Probably depends on the subject matter.

Richard M. Baron

Name? You can email it to me if you prefer.

Albert knows his stock, and is good at extracting the last dollar from his inventory, but I agree, he can bend. I have found that Bechara will deal, a little, and so will Anthony (more so, but his stuff is usually cheaper so there isn't much room). I'm curious if anyone thinks the impact of the economy will soften prices more than normal. I have my doubts, except, perhaps, for lower grade pieces where a deal might have been made whatever the economy.

Given the topsy-turvy economy as of late, any predictions on pricing? Hold firm, up, or down (not counting the Bros., of course)? My guess is hold or up, despite the evidence that the economy has met the technical definition of a recession with 2 quarters of GDP contraction just confirmed.

So did I. Very convenient for me. 😢