Thinking about buying/bidding on my first piece and need some advice

[Genesis Comics]

Hi

 

I mostly collect pedigrees of Hulk and TTA in high grade...I like the fact that a pedigree stands apart, kind of like a 1 of 1 piece which led me yo original art, the TRUE 1 of 1 piece...I recently saw in the Heritage auction that there was practically the entire TTA 93 Hulk/Surfer story line. I would LOVE to have one of those pages for my collection, but I have no idea how much it may cost? I honestly don't know if they are $500.00 pages or $5,000.00 pages. Does Heritage accept time payments?? I would guess that the first and last pages may be more$$ ?? Any advice or "guesses" as to final auction prices would be great! Also, I am registered, but have never bought from Heritage. I know of the 20% buyer's premium...anything else I should know?? Thanks in advance for any advice or help!!

[irchooker]

Yeah, I can see why you'd have a tough time pricing these. Severin TTA art can normally be had for a fairly good price. This issue being what it is, I'd say they will carry a premium. There is no risk in saying that these are not $500 pages. You should definitely expect higher, and if you get one for $2500 be happy. And heritage will give you credit terms, you have to apply online; the forms should be there.

[Genesis Comics]

Thanks for the response! I'll look up the credit terms (thumbs u

I was hoping they could be had for less, but I guess you get the cross collecting Hulk and Surfer fans for this semi-key issue...Would, let's say, the last page sell for more? I know it often depends on an individuals tastes but what prices do you see each individual page going for?

[Jesusjon]

I've never done this, but doesn't Heritate take trade? Someone else will have to fill in details on this... Ideally, you could offset the price of your page with some comics. As I always say, comics are just original art catalogs anyhow. Good luck!!

[Mister Trent]

Thanks for the response! I'll look up the credit terms (thumbs u

I was hoping they could be had for less, but I guess you get the cross collecting Hulk and Surfer fans for this semi-key issue...Would, let's say, the last page sell for more? I know it often depends on an individuals tastes but what prices do you see each individual page going for?

 

At one time, I owned a near-complete collection of Marvel Silver Age comics.

 

As my interests shifted towards collecting Original Art, mass-produced comic-books lost most of their appeal to me . . . and I sold-off most of my comics (replacing them with reprint editions - I could actually hold and enjoy, without fear of damage/loss of grade).

 

Although I have little or no interest in 'pedigree' comic-books, I am aware that comic-book collectors will pay very high prices for nice condition books.

 

If you're one of these guys who spends lots of money for pedigree comic-books, you shouldn't really be looking to penny-pinch when it comes to something so unique and special as a historic piece of Original Artwork.

 

If it's something you really want, and can afford to go the distance (in a bidding situation), give it your best shot.

 

It's worth bearing in mind that dealers often buy art from auctions, such as Heritage.

 

It's not uncommon to see dealers buy art in auction, then offer it for sale on their web-sites at significantly large mark-ups in price (sometimes double the amount of the auction price).

 

[Genesis Comics]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Mister Trent- I am one of those guys who pays more for a pedigree book and have set many a GPA record for books that I want. The problem lies in the fact that I am not educated on the prices of original art and don't want to be the answer to the thread "Anyone know who the individual_without_enough_empathy is that spent $xxxx on that TTA page???"

I am not looking to penny pinch at all, although I would love to get whatever pages I want for as little money as possible. I would like to make the page I am looking at a central part of my comic room (I'ts not built yet, only in my mind..., but hopefully will be one day) .

 

I appreciate your feedback and I do understand the "significance" of a one of a kind piece, but unfortunately the funds are not unlimited and I have to draw the line somewhere...the purpose of my post was to figure out if getting one or more of these pages was even a possibility, but at aprrox. $2500.00 per page I will probably keep it to the one piece I really like...

[Big Daddy]

I haven't bought any pricey art yet. But price is influenced by if it's a page with the heroes on it, if it's a splash page and if it's an action page. These types of pages always cost more compared to just a filler page. Also it depends on if it's a classic issue as well who's the artist. But expect to drop a nice sum on the pages you're talking about. Good luck in your quest. (thumbs u

[Mister Trent]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Mister Trent- I am one of those guys who pays more for a pedigree book and have set many a GPA record for books that I want. The problem lies in the fact that I am not educated on the prices of original art and don't want to be the answer to the thread "Anyone know who the individual_without_enough_empathy is that spent $xxxx on that TTA page???"

I am not looking to penny pinch at all, although I would love to get whatever pages I want for as little money as possible. I would like to make the page I am looking at a central part of my comic room (I'ts not built yet, only in my mind..., but hopefully will be one day) .

 

I appreciate your feedback and I do understand the "significance" of a one of a kind piece, but unfortunately the funds are not unlimited and I have to draw the line somewhere...the purpose of my post was to figure out if getting one or more of these pages was even a possibility, but at aprrox. $2500.00 per page I will probably keep it to the one piece I really like...

 

Better to be known (in OA circles) as the lucky son-of-a gun who landed himself a historic page, from a memorable issue, than the who over-spent on pedigree comic-books.

 

$2,500.00 for a page of art (as a hypothetical sales price) . . . not exactly small-change, but the deeper you get into this hobby (and as sights are raised higher), no biggie either.

 

Consider this . . . if you give it your best shot at the auction and lose out - at least you can walk away comforted in the knowledge you tried your best.

 

If you hold back and lose out . . . don't be too surprised to see the art re-appear for sale with a large mark-up in price (then you get to kick yourself).

 

It doesn't matter what other people think of the way you choose to spend your cash. At the end of the day, you should collect to please yourself - not to impress others (though, sure, it is nice if fellow-collectors endorse your tastes).

 

By the way, Doc Vassallo owns the cover to TTA # 93. It's on display in his CAF.

[westform]

I believe our own Mitch I. sold that cover many years ago. I also remember it sitting for awhile, maybe even through 2 of his catalogs. I guess no one at the time wanted to shell out the $1200 or some such chicken feed at the time.

 

My memory could be fuzzy on the details, but the gist is there....