Rick2you2

Lower prices. No high comp’s.

I wouldn’t worry about that, unless you have a particular character-driven interest.

Simply that we don’t know what Jim owns or Heritage owns, and if the ownership changes after the sale. I wasn’t referring to anyone else. If he is making a lot through Heritage, like the company making over 21% on each sale, and he is helping set the market by doing so, his personal collection is a virtual bonus. Or stock option, since he gets to sell when he wants. By the way, after watching most of that first video posted by Phil the Governor…and considering the likely parallels to OA collecting, I would be very nervous about investing real money in it for the long term. Excellent piece of reporting.

👎👎👎

How do you know the actual chain of title, and when all information is not publicly available?

I’ll generally take the quantity, within limits, over the quality, since my definition of quality probably differs from yours. I like to really look at the differences in styles, so what some may consider a mediocre piece (I do have tolerance limits) can be great if it is different and interesting in some way. I wouldn’t take 20 Joe Blows either, but I would take a few Joe Blows, a few Bill Blows, a Jane Blows, and some cartoony sketch. Absolutely. One of the things I intend to get is a commission of a happy Phantom Stranger eating a slice of pizza. Why? It’s silly fun, and that matters to me a lot.

Why do that? Was the high bidder a Russian officer?

I have a half of a splash page, and I know where the other half is. Can I get him to sell it? No response to my earlier attempts. And he has the better half. ☹️

The market sets value in lots of strange ways, something which has been mentioned often. You mention artistic value? There can be excellent pieces for sale that are relatively cheap due to the artist not being the right fan-favorite name, or on a different book. I do agree with your theory, however. By the way, I would expect 2 page splashes to be worth more than 2 separated pages.

There is no reason for it to burst yet. The economy is strong and inflation, which drives up all prices, is at a 30 year high. Wait until the next recession shows up, which is typically every 7-8 years (sometimes 6-9). A frozen economy (no increase in GDP) could also do it.

You increase your bid on-line during the live portion by first signing in and then following the bidding until your desired piece is up. Then, if you want to bid, type it in and confirm. Try a dry run on another piece by putting in an early bid which you know will lose. Try it early, or you may become the unfortunate owner of something else (which is how I once ended up with a Phantom Sunday section).

On second thought, pedestrian is pretty harsh. Some of the things I buy are not exceptional, but I still love them. Of any category or art, be it fine art, sculpture or whatever, they just aren’t all exceptional. Actually, I am not happy with the way prices have gone up because it cuts into my ability to afford more pieces. And, I don’t think of it as an investment vehicle but as an expense.

Because I still consider bidding on art as something to acquire for personal appreciation, not for potential financial appreciation. I thought I was clear that this is my personal valuation system at work, whether anyone agrees with it or not. Just like my collection is idiosyncratic, so are my views (“while knowing full well that no one doing it would give a damn”).

No offense intended. When I started buying OA, I bought a Neal Adams cover for $200 and a Totleben/Bissette Swamp Thing page for around $40. So, no matter how much time has passed, everything seems absurdly expensive. By modern standards, your collection may be wonderful, and to you, it is wonderful. But the prices still leave me scratching my head.

Perfectly legal, and business is business. But, I still find it morally repugnant, while knowing full well no one doing it would give a damn.

But these days, how much is shilling vs. “market making” or price manipulation? I still find it unbelievable that people have paid so much for fairly pedestrian work, yet that seems to be the case. And, I plead guilty to buying spare OA in case I can ever use it for trade bait (not likely). Is there really that much shilling going on even now? My instincts suggest it should be on the rise to preserve market gains, but it could be just new money or people who have a limited recollection or caring about old prices.

You are correct. While it is a form of price-fixing, it may not be legally actionable.

But it does matter, and it deserves to be clarified. Otherwise, collectors who don’t spend gazillions on art are being left with the impression that their taste, and collections, are somehow second-rate and can never be viewed as great because of what they spend. I, personally, have no dog in this fight because I don’t care about market value. To me, it is more interesting to have an image of the Phantom Stranger by an obscure artist than a well-known one because I love to compare art (and I probably have an example by the well-known one). How many times do I have to buy a bit by Aparo to see the style?

So are you saying that art for under $20,000 is lousy? Because if you are, then the bulk of my collection ought to make me sad. And, I am willing to wager that a fair number of other people on these boards would be in the same boat. What people are now willing to pay is something I consider extraordinary, but it’s their money. Is this a second paradigm shift? Maybe, collectibles that are hot are a good hedge against inflation. But that’s meaningless if you don’t buy it as an investment.

There are a lot of older collectors who feel the same way, including me. Some of the younger ones, however, have enjoyed an embarrassment of riches, so to speak, and don’t seem to mind. Others don’t mind so much as they buy with the intent to sell and “move up.” So, some of the relatively new stuff has enjoyed a lot of appreciation. I don’t sell what I buy, and I cannot get over the view that the established pricing market is sort of nuts. And, I also don’t think there is a qualitative difference in many cases to justify the price differences—more a matter of nostalgia and artistic style than out and out quality. Almost anything published by the Big Two will be very good, some a bit better, some not. The key is to focus on what you like, not to pay much attention to what everyone else tells you is good, and enjoy the fun of ownership. Bank the difference, and buy a Miata (or something similar) with a stick shift. Now that is money well spent.😉

Yes, they do. But would they have achieved it anyway?

I have also used that approach, but I think it is counterproductive except in situations where there are not to a lot of highly interested bidders. I think it will knock out the bidders who aren’t that into it, but if they are, they are likely to match you.

Over $20k. Don’t forget that every time you bid, you create a new price floor for other bidders to add on top of it. Since no one wants to lose by a bid increment, and we all have budgets, it makes sense to hold your fire to the end to help keep the final price down. So, don’t expect the high prices until the very end.

You can get what you generally need at E. Gerber Products. But, you do have to call in the order, and, depending on the art size, perhaps buy more than you need (or buy things which don’t fit very well). I’m pretty lazy on this score and generally just get storage books. I also buy misc. mylars at shows which I use to hold the art that goes into the books. And, I don’t bother with boards as the art is in the books and stacked flat. Just keep the art in a cool, dry and dark place. You should be fine even if this is not up to standards of perfection.

Giving it away? Probably a DC fan.