Sean I

oof, could have used a spoiler alert on Daredevil and Punisher I read most non-X-Men related titles on Marvel Unlimited

Twanj, sorry, if this has been his usual practice I wasn't aware. I just saw the tweet today and noticed that the images in the prints he was announcing had all been sold earlier as mono prints. When really the exclusivity is the only angle to use to justify $1,500 I have to say I do think it devalues the, for lack of a better word, "original" print. I feel the implication is typically "this is the only one there will be" so thought I'd share for others. Rick, that's very interesting! He was ever the entrepreneur!

Looks like the oft-cited concern has happened after a fashion. Dauterman just tweeted that he has 11"17" prints available of some of his costume covers for $35. These are in color, the black and white 11x17 monoprints sold for between $1,000 and $1,500. Is this the first example of a monoprint artist breaking ranks and selling 'variant' prints of something that was previously a monoprint?

I don’t know if I see a bait and switch, but certainly reads as an attempted flip, with previous attempts flopping.

I don’t know that’s pretty strong language. Some of my primary interests are niche within a niche hobby. I know I likely wouldn’t see much of a return for quite awhile and even then risk a generational shift in interests. There’s also legions of commission focused collectors who are likely aware they would see a negative return as well in the short and medium terms.

The Kristiansen Sandman pages were also rushed flips that flopped. #64 page 18 (pencils only, maybe a prelim?) sold on eBay 10/08/22 for $4,000 and today for $2,640. #64 page 23 sold on eBay 09/29/22 for $2,200 and today for $2,160. Both of todays numbers are including buyers premium.

There was a Lawrence Sterne Stevens piece in the last Illustration auction at Heritage that they attributed from being published in 1920. I’m fairly certain it was actually published in Famous Fantastic Mysteries in 1949 for a completely different story with the same title. Still a gorgeous piece nonetheless. I never got a response and the posting was never updated. There was a Marc Hempel piece recently of Morpheus with a ‘Sandman’ text stat over it listed as an unused cover. Even the more casual fans would know Dave McKean did all of the covers. I asked Marc in Baltimore about it and he said he couldn’t recall if it was a house ad or other promo piece. Again, doesn’t take away from the piece at all, but Heritage did not do anything with the information when I emailed. As others have said they may receive more emails then they can process during the auction period.

Some interesting data points on monoprint resales tonight and recently on Heritage. Russel Dauterman - Thor Omnibus #3 cover- original sale $500, sold on Heritage 10/22 for $264 Two other recent interiors by Dauterman from Thor went for a $29 increase over original (with BP) and $31 loss over original price on Heritage. Russel Dauterman - X-Men Legends #1 variant cover - original sale $1,000, sold tonight on Comiclink for $348 R.B. Silva - Powers of X #2 cover - original sale $1,000, sold tonight for $336 R.B. Silva - Powers of X #3 cover - original sale $1,000, sold tonight for $617 Thought it was worth including the Heritage results because someone will likely say on this thread that pieces underperform on CLink. Also, not bashing monoprints, I own one and bid on 2 of the above auctions and watched all 6. I like them myself, and will likely buy more, depending on the artist and story. Just seems that the asking price on some at drop may be higher than is warranted without the FOMO element of not getting shut out on the initial opportunity . Also, a feeling I can relate to as well. I find these results helpful in deciding what prices to pull the trigger in the future and thought others might find it useful or interesting as well.

Do you get a notification that a lot is withdrawn if it’s pulled before the auction even starts?

The Boys Highland Laddie Issue 6 Page 1. Sold by John McCrea in August for £120.00. On eBay for $2,100.00

Thanks for starting this thread, Lee. There is a huge wealth of knowledge on this board, and so many entertaining and educational threads. As someone who’s only been collecting OA for less than 2 years, this Flip of the Day thread, Alex’s Pricing thread, and RBerman’s Morlock thread have been the cornerstones of my OA education journey.

Sold on eBay, for $561, four weeks ago. Listed today for $2,000.

Another reverse flip. $400 last September and $288 a year later or today.

Preacher pages performed a little above my expectations, especially the 1st lot but that one had 3 main characters. This one, #33 p12, either a flip flopping or, more likely, a dealer getting less at auction than their asking.

Been getting that blocked message a lot this week too. It usually goes away after half a day or so, very strange. Guess I’m glad I’m not the only one!

Someone was bound to try selling picks and shovels

Agree with most statements here. It is interesting typing in “historic” in the search function and seeing the varying results! I do want to say that I personally like Marcus Wai’s comments, while they’re ubiquitous they are brief and often thoughtful, and certainly harmless.

It’s going to take a lot of luck or a lot of tenacity to track down a specific page published 27 years ago. Maybe you’ll fine another page from that run, or artist, or title, that you’ll like just as much. You’ll want to start here: https://comicarttracker.com and here: https://www.comicartfans.com

Looks like the Donnelly’s won their own consignment from the June Heritage auction. I know they had the page at the NJ art show anyway. now listed today for sale on CAF. https://www.comicartfans.com/ForSaleDetails.asp?ArtId=7932219

I’ve done this a couple times with the 200% mark up crowd on eBay. They seem willing to let listings languish forever. Then they send watchers a 10% “discount” opportunity. I’ve thought maybe that indicated a willingness to cut bait, so I’ll offer 10% over what I know their cost was to offset some of the eBay fees but unsurprisingly been turned down every time.

I really enjoyed the episode. I share a similar perspective on the 1st appearance market seeming artificial looking in from the outside. I’m sure there are some people generally excited by that category of collecting and just like any pump and dump those are the people who are at risk of getting caught up and left holding the bag by those exploiting that enthusiasm. I’m not fond of anyone flipping intentionally for quick profits. I understand the justifications that have been made to generate funds for personal collecting, but it still doesn’t sit well with me. A fool and his money are soon parted and everything, but that doesn’t make it honorable to exploit the fool. These feelings are mostly selfish, admittedly, as the practices push prices higher and more and more things out of my own modest reach. As for reps, I cut them the most slack as at least the artists, are benefitting, the ones most deserving. It especially gets my goat to see individuals or dealers picking up pieces from an artists table or website as a direct sale and then immediately marking it up 50%-200% for a flip.

Today was my first Fathers Day, so spent the day playing with my baby around the house and local park. So wasn’t able to watch or bid live today, wouldn’t have traded the day though. Seems like prices were a mixed bag going by the comments here. For me, I wish I had thrown another bid on the Preacher page this morning. Expected it would go higher in the live round, from my research looks like the first sub $1000 page with Jesse on it in a long time. Also thought the Zulli Sandman painting might go a bit higher since my understanding is he won’t do paintings of Morpheus anymore.

Some more flips flopping tonight. Both look like they went for about a loss of a third of their purchase price. That Avengers Buscema page that was listed for tonight’s auction within days of purchase, ended at $5,400. After, reportedly, selling for $8,000 previously February ‘22 and $1,500 September of ‘20. This one is less of a flip if it’s the original owner consigning, and a piece I put a few bids on myself. Larraz X-Force cover ended at $1,301. Looks like a nice pick up from my perspective and wish I had the funds at the moment to hang in there longer. Initially sold for €1,850 back in 2019 then on market for $3k 6/21, $4.5k 11/21, and $3.5k 2/22 according to comicarttracker.

It was a lot of fun searching through all of the art and getting to look over the scans. I appreciate Bill and his teams time and effort. Were the Want List notification filters and messages from sellers of saved items on price drops new this time? I didn’t remember it from before, but nice features! I got 3 pieces that I felt were fairly priced considering they were in categories you don’t see a ton in public sales. I’ll contribute to the Morlock thread once they arrive. Definitely a lot of aspirational flippers, many who strangely described themselves as motivated sellers or willing to make deals. I’ve never been particularly skilled/comfortable with haggling. I’d assume anything more than 15% off asking is offensive to offer, maybe some were willing to go much lower, but I just passed them by if their sticker prices were more than 15% above what I’d say was fair.

I have asked writers to sign pieces before. I don’t really think about an advantage since I don’t have plans to sell. As someone noted plans change though so I would not ask them to personalize the signature. As a buyer I don’t think it would influence me towards a purchase too much. For me it’s just a fun thing to do as a fan to add another layer of personal meaning to the piece and usually sparks a good conversation with the writer. Again I’d 2nd the suggestion to keep signatures in areas that wouldn’t detract from the art. Can’t help but thinking of all the random modern variant covers with Stan Lee in the middle of the art area!