Who's Priced Right?

[Jesusjon]

I've been complaining about modern artists priced too high all morning. Here's a thread to keep it positive. Who's priced right? Top/down, from covers to panel pages, who has realistic prices on their art?

 

Related question, anyone have an opinion on a rep who really knows how to price their art right at that inflection point where the artist is maximizing their dollars, but most of the saleable art is selling within, say, 90 days?

 

Some I have experience with:

 

Mitch Breitweiser - A bit hard to say cause he's new, and Cap: The Chosen features so little Cap, but he has a good head on his shoulders, and I think Mark is pricing him right. I'd really have to see more to know for sure.

 

Tony Harris - Pretty flexible on price, and sells most of his covers and desirable panels right away. Machina is a tough book to sell those "men in suit" pages on, but I don't think there's anything unreasonable.

 

Ethan Van Sciver - Would I like his prices to be lower? Sure. But he's selling everything he draws lickety-split as it's published, so yeah, I think he's priced dead on.

 

For Reps, I'm going to say Splash Page Art (I kinda just thought my way into it.) Mark isn't afraid to price a nothing page in double digits, and I see most of the art from his artists selling within a reasonable time frame.

 

Others? I'd love to check out their art...

[Pirate]

Barry Kitson is very reasonable and has been for a long time so don't think drawing spidey will affect it much.

 

Mike Perkins is reasonable but pricing could be based on bad titles he's drawing.

 

Tony Harris--agree, but correct who wants Mitchell in a business suit.

 

 

as for art reps, i try to avoid if possible so no real opinion on that.

 

[mrpunch0]

Tony Harris--agree, but correct who wants Mitchell in a business suit.

 

Surely not me.

 

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this piece of that just turned up on my wall one day.

 

http://cafurl.com?i=7306

[Pirate]

I feel your pain, can't get rid of the

 

 

 

[comix4fun]

For Reps, I'm going to say Splash Page Art (I kinda just thought my way into it.) Mark isn't afraid to price a nothing page in double digits, and I see most of the art from his artists selling within a reasonable time frame.

 

 

 

I agree for the most part with the artists on your list, but as for reps one thing I learned from dealing with so many reps is that many (most) of them don't set the prices at all. The artists set their own prices. Bruce Timm is one example.

 

Bruce sets his own prices and they are very reasonable. He sells through Albert Moy. And for a guy of Bruce's stature and reputation you'd expect some bigger prices.

 

Best,

Chris

[Mighty Hal]

Personally, I don't find Timm's prices all that reasonable. Panel pages (if memory serves) start at $200 and covers (again, only from memory) seem to be at about a grand.

 

I'm prejudiced, certainly, because I'm only mildly interested in his artwork. I truly believe that all of the Timm-imitators out there have diminished my interest in the original guy! Plus, his covers are always small, on 8.5 x 11 sheets -- which, since I like the 11 x 17 standard art pages, is a negative to me.

 

But...if you want an artist that's "priced right"...how can you ignore the often-ignored Ben Dunn? I'm not wanting to argue about the merits of the Ameri-manga thing but I am arguing that his artwork is priced right for the average wallet. Panel pages rarely top $25 and covers routinely sell for $100.

[Jesusjon]

Thanks for the recommends. I'll check em out.

 

From a little that I've seen it seems that some of the very young artists need "pricing guidance" from their rep -- not sure how common this is. I'm sure more experienced artists know where their pricing should be.

[brandolsn]

Personally, I don't find Timm's prices all that reasonable. Panel pages (if memory serves) start at $200 and covers (again, only from memory) seem to be at about a grand.

 

I'm prejudiced, certainly, because I'm only mildly interested in his artwork. I truly believe that all of the Timm-imitators out there have diminished my interest in the original guy! Plus, his covers are always small, on 8.5 x 11 sheets -- which, since I like the 11 x 17 standard art pages, is a negative to me.

 

interest in the work pretty much is the opinion : ) his style aside, the color marker originals he's done in recent years are incredible in person, and amazingly continue to get better each year.

[malvin]

Priced right is very subjective. It also depends on the goal of the artist or rep.

 

Basically the question for the group is, how long before the art sells do you consider it priced right? 3 months? a year?

 

One name artist on a name book right now is probably pricing art too low. Once the art is available, it normally sells out within days! Of course the price has been slowly edging upward and the sell out time slowing down. Heh, I won't name it since I'm one of the people that pounce when the art is available.

 

On the other hand, I know of name artists who still have art available from their work 10+ years ago! But they do sell some pages every year and that's the price they are comfortable with is that considered right?

 

Malvin

[Jesusjon]

I consider "priced right" to be "priced consistent with current FMV of their work" -- so for instance, Alex Ross art isn't "priced right" across the board. Some of the low/mid stuff is priced way above FMV for what it would sell for at auction. (even a favorable auction) Some of the high stuff is actually priced right, sells, and could sell again to a different buyer at the same price.

 

Though I understand the distinction you're making. I've always said pricing is up to the artist -- if it works for them and their selling strategy, more power to them.

[malvin]

I know what you are saying, but FMV is a whole philosophical discussion too. What is FMV? The ebay price is not FMV. In most cases, the ebay price simply reflects 1 bid increment above the underbidder. The winner could have been willing to pay double what the underbidder bid, is FMV the underbidder + 1 bid increment or the full amount the winner was willing to pay?

 

If you are talking re-sale, then yes, the ebay price is probably a good gauge, but I don't think that's FMV.

 

I didn't want to name names but Alex Ross is a good example. His stuff is high and if you buy it and try to ebay it you will probably lose money. But some people still buy his stuff, so aren't those prices/sales considered FMV?

 

Malvin

[Jesusjon]

The OA world is all about vaguries. What is FMV? What is priced right? Which subjective pieces of Alex Ross art are priced right, and which are purchased too high and are about $5K less in FMV? You could discuss all these issues for each individual page.

 

I don't have definitive answers to those questions other than that I use any pricing data on comparable pages available/historical as well as "gut instinct" to decide who I feel is priced right.

 

So, to state the question another way, what's your gut instinct on who's priced right?

[Mighty Hal]

Michael Gaydos (Alias, The Pulse, Black Mist) hasn't overpriced his stuff, if you ask me. On his website, he offers painted covers for prices running from $200 - $1000. Some nice work, too.

[AvengersFan]

I don't collect "modern" artists but I will give my opinion on who is selling at a price that seemed high to me at first but his stuff just sells fast: Jim Cheung. His art is nice to look at, dynamic, but also laid out in a way that makes me harken back to the "marvel house style" of yesteryear. If I WAS going to start with a modern artist it would be him. Jay

[NelsonAI]

I think all art is overpriced .... everyone should lower their prices.

 

Most modern era panel pages are still reasonable especially if you buy the pages directly from the artist at a convention. IMHO the premium charged for cover art makes most overpriced.

 

Tony Harris' art seems reasonably priced given the level of his talent.

 

Cheers!

N

 

[Jesusjon]

I don't collect "modern" artists but I will give my opinion on who is selling at a price that seemed high to me at first but his stuff just sells fast: Jim Cheung. His art is nice to look at, dynamic, but also laid out in a way that makes me harken back to the "marvel house style" of yesteryear. If I WAS going to start with a modern artist it would be him. Jay

 

I agree -- I really enjoy his stuff and have been waiting for "the right piece" from him to surface...

 

J

[Stronguy]

I know what you are saying, but FMV is a whole philosophical discussion too. What is FMV? The ebay price is not FMV. In most cases, the ebay price simply reflects 1 bid increment above the underbidder. The winner could have been willing to pay double what the underbidder bid, is FMV the underbidder + 1 bid increment or the full amount the winner was willing to pay?

 

If you are talking re-sale, then yes, the ebay price is probably a good gauge, but I don't think that's FMV.

 

I didn't want to name names but Alex Ross is a good example. His stuff is high and if you buy it and try to ebay it you will probably lose money. But some people still buy his stuff, so aren't those prices/sales considered FMV?

 

Malvin

 

Dunno that I agree with your definition of FMV. The high bidders max bid would be Top Dollar, FMV would usually be somewhere between the underbidder and the Top Dollar.

 

Just because one nut is willing to pay 10x what everyone else thinks is fair that does not make his bid the FMV. If 5 people agree a piece is worth $1000 - $1500 and someone puts in a $10k bid you're not looking at the FMV at all.

[NelsonAI]

Slightly off topic but .....

 

Generally speaking FMV for established artists with a historical track record is usually an average of the most recent sales. It's similar to home appraisal. They look at recent sales of homes in the same neighborhood and establish a trend line.

 

That's why it's there is a reluctance to pay top dollar for a new artist entering the industry no matter how talented the individual may be. How do you determine what FMV is for that artist when there is no track record? I couldn't care less if you were named Wizard's top ten for this month.

 

How many times have you heard the expression "buy what you love and buy within your budget"? FMV can go up or down based on the artist's popularity.

 

A single item sold on ebay itself does not necessarily establish a trend. Not all collectors have time to troll ebay every day following auctions. (Not all comic collectors are geeks. Some of us actually DO have social lives; wink, wink ). As such, a collector who normally would have placed a bid, missed out on the auction completely.

 

In addition, some high ticket items may also sell below FMV simply because the collector doesn't have the cash at that specific point in time. Look at the recent ebay listings during the month of December. Most collectors were probably strapped for cash because of the holiday gift giving season.

 

...... now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

I mentioned Tony Harris before, Perez may be the other. Their art seem to consistently sell briskly over the years regardless of the title.

 

Cheers!

N