Rick2you2

Never said the law practice has no barriers to entry. Be thankful it does. Some of the misinformation about what is legal or not is appalling. As to free competition it carries a lot more significance than no barriers to entry (although that is a big one). It also includes, among other things, no non-economic biases, and perfect knowledge shared by all potential buyers. As to what is “fair”, that can depend upon your point of view. Is it “fair” for someone to engage in short term rental of an apartment in an area not zoned for hotels/motels if the temporary tenants have lots of noisy parties or leave bags of garbage in the halls (and no, the apartment owner does not respond to complaints and there is no practical legal recourse)?

Since I have my BA in Economics, I think I do. You probably don’t understand that a true free market can only exist in theory and for a snapshot of time.

Technically, you are correct. A true free market naturally gravitates to monopoly because it is in the sellers' interests. The issue is how far away from one are you, and is it being deliberately manipulated or an accident of circumstance.

Absolutely.

A bit of hyperbole on my part. If the primary purpose is to raise the price or create a floor on the price, that would have been more precise. But yes, overbidding leaves people with things they should buy.

You absolutely can prove intent. I have done it in other situations in court; neither judges nor juries are stupid. They can connect the dots. In fact, I would wager that most cases where fraud is proven are done without an admission of intent to perpetrate a fraud.

As far as I'm concerned, it boils down to the same thing. Bidding on a piece for the purpose of maintaining a price support, and without any interest in really owning it, has the same effect regardless whether the person is employed by the seller or not. It is preventing the free market from working properly where prices fluctuate with demand based on an interest in purchasing. Of course, if the dealer ends up paying that price, I'm fine with that. There is only so much money available to do that until the effort collapses. Some auctions are conducted in states that permit shilling, so long as the practice is disclosed in the auction terms--including Heritage where the laws of Texas apply. We hve been through this earlier. Texas' interpretation of the free market is already drawing enough attention in the news these days. See how well that's working out.

Definitely part of it. It boils down to shilling.

You need more shrooms.

From what I can tell, dealers can still get discounts, particularly if they are buying up lower end stuff, but it is so easy for individuals to market things right now on places like HA they probably don’t have the leverage they used to. I don’t care about high end material since I won’t buy it. So, they can add all the premiums they want. Personally, I would love it if all my competitors were dealers at auctions. They have to make money at something to buy it for sale. I don’t. So logically, if I lose to a dealer, I have undervalued the piece, and that is my fault, or the dealer has way overvalued it. And yes, dealers do make mistakes. Just look at the dealers’ piles of stuff that sits around for years until the market has caught up. I have seen some pieces sit around for almost a decade without selling.

They are all really nice. I confess to liking Captain America, and Sienk’s cover a lot.

It's still mid-auction. I think a lot of people don't put in serious bids until much later.

I cannot imagine life without more Phantom Stranger artwork. 🤯 Will, we’ve had versions of this before, on lesser scales. I remember when Persian Rugs were hot. Old crystal has been hot. Silver place settings which used to be hot get scrapped. Mediocre jewelry, once hot, has gotten recycled. When I was a kid, Indian pennies were a hot collectible. Not to coin collectors anymore. The world of collectibles is always nuts. Even Planter’s Peanuts collectibles have had their day in the sun.

Wait until the next burp in the economy and you try to sell. The volume of money doesn’t matter much if the demand is there to soak it up (sorry Milton) including overseas demand for $, and if purchasers are not willing to pay higher prices for ordinary goods (which is partly the case as manufacturers haven’t been able to stick with price many increases). Do you know I have been able to buy red peppers at my supermarket for $2.99 or less for over 15 years?

I may be old fashioned, but I do do deal with facts. Millennials have a higher rate of savings than boomers, X or Y generations, precisely because they saw what happened in 2009 (documented by news reports). They also have a higher debt load, have to rent homes because they can’t afford to buy them, and have put off having families for financial reasons. Just this past year the population had a negative replacement rate due to the decline in births. So if peddlers want to peddle cr*p and call it “Yowza”, that doesn’t mean it will stick on all the walls. From what I am seeing here, they ought to call it cryptocr*p.

So is herpes.

But people will still be watching movies in the next century, just like they are reading novels since the days of Robinson Crusoe. Superhero comics, or any comics, I have my doubts. And pages from specific story lines in comics? I don't know of anyone who picks up O'Henry and casually reads it (although we sometimes hear the repeated tales, and people probably buy them). Maybe some literature students, or suffering college/high school students.

Or minstrel shows? Art forms also fall out of favor too when their subjects are by-passed by the march of history, economics or taste. Comics are geared to popular culture, and consumed in a disposable manner, much like newsprint, at a comparatively high cost. Their art prices are substantially a function of nostalgia. The artists you have mentioned are in forms of art that remain popular, and generally obtainable (even if in duplicate form like a print). And as to the subject matters, do you honestly compare the pages of a comic book run by an artist to, oh, Taming of the Shrew? Starry Night?

The Hulk is a tough guy to get to know.

My kids are in their 20’s and they love that old music, and other stuff dating back to the 1960’s. Twenty- three, skidoo.

Do you really care, one way or the other?

When future generations look back at comics, it will probably be with the same reaction which we give Horatio Alger stories: we know of them (maybe even character names like "Ragged D*ck" or "Mark the Match Boy"), but books? Uh-uh. Or how about "Tom Brown's School Days"? A well read series from the late nineteen hundreds, and completely forgotten? And first appearances...yea sure. If anything, future generations will marvel at how we didn't value things like war comics or romance--things that deal with real people. Most of the stuff we value will likely be viewed in much the same way we view jewelry made with human hair--historic curiosities to be valued as such.

Oops. John Byrne. Definitely need more sleep.

I can't agree with you on that. Take a look at John Byrne's artwork. His X-Men and some other appearances are expensive as hell, but then compare it to later work like Next Men, which is cheap. He didn't lose skill; he lost audience. Someone earlier had commented that they consider full splashes the best (along with covers). I disagree. They are the showiest, and tend to command the highest prices, but in terms of moving the story along, they are like a pregnant pause. And, they may take a lot of illustrative skill, but in many cases, you better see their comic artistry in panel pages--making dull dialog or lulls in the action interesting. That's got to be harder. Finally, let me add that "quality" is sometimes confused with style--is the artist's particular flair attracting attention or not. That's often a matter of personal taste, and market influence, not quality. Most people would agree that Bruce Timm is an excellent artist, but part of what makes him a hot commodity is the style in which he draws (like sexy cartoon women).

I had originally mentioned this on another thread, but now that it came to fruition, I thought this would be a good place, too. Rather than get my better half a typical Valentine's Day card, I decided to "re-purpose" some old-fashioned "adult humor" after seeing something on CAT which reminded me of her. I'll leave it your imagination to guess the particulars. I wasn't sure what sort of reception I would get, but I can now report it was very positive--very, very positive. She is now keeping it by her desk at home. So, if you like the idea, and can come up with something a little romantic, feel free to plagerize. It won't be forgotten.