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Which artist is just too damn pricey?

Started by funkyj00ky,

45 posts in this topic

jjonahjameson1

jjonahjameson1

Posted
Posted
Without naming names, My answer to the question would be; any artist who is collected heavily and passionately by 1 - 3 collectors. Tends to make prices kooky... at least for awhile. DF

 

I agree 100% with your statement. Dale Keown artwork is sooooo overpriced so everyone please PM me and I will buy your Keown Hulk covers and splashes at these kooky prices :grin:

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Allison Sohn-migration

Allison Sohn-migration

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I think its a wierd question, and requires a bit of translation. Which artists are too pricey for my budget/income? Any of the ones I really want! Bill Sienkiewicz Elektra Assassin pages are too pricey for me; that doesn't mean that the pieces I cannot afford aren't priced fairly, at what the market will bear.

 

I think a good point was made earlier; who is sitting on art years and years later? Those pieces are obviously over-priced if they have been up for sale for that long, and not moved.

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Sharkey

Sharkey

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I think a good point was made earlier; who is sitting on art years and years later? Those pieces are obviously over-priced if they have been up for sale for that long, and not moved.

 

Absolutely.

 

A much more knowledgeable collector than I made a great point to me during dinner the other night. Many artists, reps, and dealers price certain artists' pieces very high *coughcough* EYEBALL *coughcough* when they know there are a handful of collectors who are passionate about that artist and are in financial situations where they can pay the prices asked. But if those buying elite pass on particular pieces or pages, other collectors who like that artist but aren't as financially liquid are stuck with two primary choices: pony up the dough, or pass on the piece. You can tell which ones those are -- and if there weren't a core group of Richie Rich collectors willing to buy their pieces then the median price would likely come way down. It sucks but that's the way it is.

 

I am surprised though, that pieces will sit and sit for a long time at prices that obviously nobody is willing to pay. It makes me think that (A) the dealer either put too much into the acquisition of that art and don't want to lose money, (B) the artist values his/her art very highly and doesn't care if they ever sell any of it, or © the dealer has very little in it and figures they can afford to sit on it and wait to see if the demand for that artist ever comes up. It's a crapshoot when you have new artists that might have potential -- do you sell it at a price that'll move quickly, or mark it up and wait for them to get hot? They might never get hot in which case you'll sit on that art a long time, but if they do get hot and you're the dealer that has their art, you're going to make out well.

 

Of course, one can always try to negotiate with the artist, rep, or dealer -- and quite honesly, your results will vary. If you're a regular customer of artist/rep/dealer X, you might get preferential discounts. If you aren't, then they may not be inclined to discount their prices. I think sometimes people forget the basic principle that it never hurts to ask about discounts. They'll either say no, or yes, or offer up some level of negotiation that's in between. If you're buying directly from the artist, it's not good form to ask for a discount because you're basically telling them their art isn't worth their asking price. Not a good way to make friends and influence people.

 

Another thing that I think comic collectors who have moved into art sometimes forget or just don't quite get the concept of is that dealers like trades. Most really big ticket items rarely get sold for full cash value (unless they are at auction). There is almost always some level of trade involved.

 

I do not envy people who deal art. It's a tough thing to try to set pricing for one-of-a-kind items, especially when the financial demographics of the people who collect it vary widely and the price of pages in a 20-page story can vary widely depending on what's depicted. That would make my head hurt.

 

 

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NelsonAI

NelsonAI

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As many have stated, you can't generalize about an artist based solely on price.

Rhino's last point of what's depicted in the art is a key point and goes along with supply and demand.

 

I love Jim Lee's art. Based on actual sales, one can say Jim Lee's signature work is X-Men or Batman. All artwork that comes to market are priced high but seem to sell. Jim Lee's work on any other title is priced significantly lower but doesn't seem to sell as quickly. His Superman art has been discounted but sales have still been slow. The quality of his art is consistently high across all titles but Batman is simply more popular than Superman.

 

Is Jim's X-Men or Batman art overpriced? The marketplace says no.

Is Jim's Superman art overpriced? The market seems to think so.

 

This is an example of where the marketplace can have different views on the same artist.

 

Cheers!

N

 

 

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jjonahjameson1

jjonahjameson1

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Is Jim's X-Men or Batman art overpriced? The marketplace says no.

N

 

 

HIya, Nelson:

 

Over the course of time, the market will always determine the true value of a piece of artwork. I can't speak on Jim Lee's X-Men pages since I don't know the initial asking prices, but I disagree with you regarding your statement that his Batman art is not overpriced. Initially, the Batman art was made available through Albert Moy and priced fairly high (in my opinion) but it did sell very quickly at the prices Albert/Jim wanted.

 

HOWEVER, once the initial purchasers tried to sell the pages, I don't think they were able to sell for their initial outlay. Thus, the market said YES, Jim Lee's Batman pages are overpriced. Same situation occured with Tim Sale's Batman/Superman/Spiderman/Hulk/Catwoman pages and there are many other examples to cite but I just don't have the time to list them.

 

Kind Regards,

 

-Yoram

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NelsonAI

NelsonAI

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Hey Yoram

 

My comments on Jim's Batman was based on how quickly the entire Hush run sold. I haven't followed the secondary market that closely so you may be correct about his art cooling off. However, the marketplace at that time, seemed to think prices were fair. If not, the art would have went unsold.

 

(fyi - I do not own any Jim Lee Batman art but do own some of his X-Men pages).

 

I agree with Shemp - all art is overpriced. I wish everything would drop by 50% so I can buy some more (wink, wink).

 

Cheers!

Nelson

:grin:

 

 

 

 

 

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BleekerBob

BleekerBob

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Maybe Jim lee panel pages were over priced but the covers and splashes certainly were not. The 608 cover sold for HUGE money and any other nice covers from the run would cost a big money. As for the new artists i think secondary prices drop about 50%. Good luck trying to sell anything once it leaves Spencers site.

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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P.S. Who's Sam Keith? (shrug)

 

Very surprised that you aren't familiar with his stuff. Very much "up your alley" from the "exposure" I've had to your tastes over the years. Not saying you'd buy any of his stuff but, artistically, something you'd probably appreciate.

 

If I had to make a comparison, I'd say he's a more "polished" Bisley. Grotesque-gritiness. Would like to call it a "refined-rawness", but probably a little too detailed for "raw". Very non-traditional. Proportion be damned; it works though. Very talented.

 

 

 

 

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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Now, back on topic.....

 

Hard to say who's art is "overpriced". As others have noted, the market will bear it out.

 

Is Turner's (RIP) art overpriced? I know alot of people can't stand his stuff, but I loved his work on Bats/Supes. I considered buying some art from that run, but decided it was out of my range at the time.

 

I don't ever see anyone singing the praises of Sean McManus, but his Sandman stuff sells at a hefty premium.

 

I love Ed McGuiness's style. Someone posted earlier that trying to re-sell his art for profit is near impossible. I'm really happy with my page, and would only sell it for a premium (not that I'm trying to sell it).

 

With OA, there are just too many factors to say that one artist is a bargain, while another is over-priced. Key story? Key page in the story? Whose on the page? Who was the writer on that particular arc? etc, etc.....

 

Someone made a great comment earlier with regards to Walking Dead. Great series. Nice art, but nothing mind-numbing. Yet pages sell for a very high (IMO) prices for current artwork. The market will dictate the prices.

 

Is Dave Gibbons ever listed in anyones Top 5? Yet, how much would you pay for a Watchmen page? And why would you pay that amount?

Hint: it's not because he's Jack Kirby.

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micmack

micmack

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As for the new artists i think secondary prices drop about 50%. Good luck trying to sell anything once it leaves Spencers site.

 

From my experience, it is not always true. Pages I have aquired from Spencer's artists are very highly desired. When I've sold some, I've either received at least what I paid for and in some cases I got double returns. Mainly artists like Finch or McNiven pages.

 

The same could be said with Ed Benes pages. His covers now command a heavy premium, but at first, he let the market decide by putting them on ebay with no reserve. Once his covers went beyond the 2k mark, then he started to set prices.

Resell of quality Benes pages do well on the open market.

 

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Mister Trent

Mister Trent

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P.S. Who's Sam Keith? (shrug)

 

Very surprised that you aren't familiar with his stuff. Very much "up your alley" from the "exposure" I've had to your tastes over the years. Not saying you'd buy any of his stuff but, artistically, something you'd probably appreciate.

 

If I had to make a comparison, I'd say he's a more "polished" Bisley. Grotesque-gritiness. Would like to call it a "refined-rawness", but probably a little too detailed for "raw". Very non-traditional. Proportion be damned; it works though. Very talented.

 

 

 

 

Thanks. I'm genuinely not familiar with a lot of 'moderns' (haven't bought any comic-books in years!), so any background info is appreciated. (thumbs u

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