NFS

[Monsterhoodoo]

For me, its pretty simple. The answer is mostly, "its not for sale right now, but at some point everything is for sale so I will keep your email on file." I rarely sell, but once in a blue moon, that one piece comes along that I have to have, and then I either pony up the cash or sell off a few pieces. I keep emails from CAF of those who have requested pieces, and have sold a few pieces to those folks.

 

The one thing that does bother me however is one of these scenarios. After that initial response, I sometimes get "Well, how much then?" I generally ignore that second email, because I felt it was pretty clear up front. Sometimes that second question is posed more politely, and then I will respond that since it's not for sale, its sort of incumbant on you making me an offer.

 

The offer I get back mostly is below what I paid for the piece. I look at that person's CAF gallery and see what they have. You can tell a lot about the knowledge a person possesses by what they have in their gallery. If they have top shelf stuff... then I consider the low ball offer just that, and cross that person off the list indefinitely. If it's a newbie and its an education thing, I am generally open to kindly sharing information.

 

Email could use a sarcasm font certainly. All context is generally lost. But most of those CAF emails I get come off arrogant and cold, and many almost come off as demanding. My advice is to be nice, and try to do some homework before you make an offer. Just going to the Heritage or Comiclink sites and checking the database can save you a lot of trouble. Assume everyone knows what something is worth.

 

John

[irchooker]

I'd say only 1 in 10 have actually followed through and made the purchase.

 

How often does the interested parties version of fair and the now-selling-sellers version of asking price meet? I'm guilty of this. I have pieces I don't want to sell. So the prices on these are stupidly high. Never get a taker.

 

I've offered 4x market value on a piece and been turned down. The seller has more than enough money and didn't want mine.

 

If you are chasing a piece, make it worth their while. I realize no one wants to get burned on buying something, but if you're using disposable income to buy sooperhero art then what constitutes a burn? If you want it, and can justify the price to yourself, then pay it.

[malvin]

I've had several people offer good money, but at the time I was not looking to sell. However, a short time later I have decided to let some pieces go and they are the first people I contact. For that reason I would say it is worth contacting them.

 

This is a much more interesting question. I've had several pieces in my CAF listed as NFS. It hasn't stopped people from asking to 'please keep me in mind if you decide to sell'.

 

Well, over the course of time, I've contacted the folks that loved the piece so much, and I keep all of their emails, so when it comes time to sell, I contact them first, and I can't begin to tell you the types of excuses I've received about them not being able to purchase the art for reason X, Y, Z.

 

I'd say only 1 in 10 have actually followed through and made the purchase.

 

What has everyone else's experience been?

 

I don't mind if someone expresses interest, but isn't able to follow through when you contact them again months or years later. Finances and tastes change and they did not make a firm committment to buy.

 

What I do hate, and it happened to me at least 3 times, are people who ask about NFS pieces (and I said make an offer) and they make a strong offer that I accept, then they either politely back out or I never hear from them again. That's what you call breach of contract (if I was a lawyer)

 

Malvin

[Royd]

Like others, I've had the occasional enquiry regarding "NFS" pieces in my CAF gallery and I have no problem receiving such enquiries. I reply politely thanking the person for their interest but explain that the piece isn't for sale.

 

I recall one approach when someone made an unsolicited offer for my Marshall Rogers DHOKF Daughters of the Dragon splash but then retracted it when he realised that it was my first ever original comic art purchase 23 years ago We had a nice chat about Marshall's work.

 

Royd

[igotnogame]

I have yet to inquire about anything being listed in someone's gallery as NFS. Doesn't mean that I am not interested in what others have, but the stuff I typically would really want is very likely out of my ballpark at this time, so I tend to shy away. If I were to make an offer, I would definitely research and figure a maximum that I would want to pay for it before making the offer. Sure, it would be great if the owner of the piece had a set price in mind to begin with, but more often than not, I'm sure they aren't thinking "I'd sell it for $xxxxxx" when you initially contact them.

 

I have been contacted privately quite a bit about pieces that I have in my CAF. The Sandman pages that I have, in particular, seem to be a hotbed of interest. I tell anyone the same thing whether they are curious or actually throw a number at me - I'm not interested in selling at this time, but if I change my mind, I'll contact them with the price I have set or allow for them to make an offer on the piece at that point in time, which may or may never come.

 

Later.

-Will

[artcollector9]

Ask away.

 

I have seen (too) MANY pieces marked NFS being sold when the owner needed a few bucks..I lost out because I thought 'NFS' REALLY meant NFS.

 

A polite inquiry is never rude IMO.

[r1982rhoads]

To add my two cents: I've both bought and sold via this route. It can be a very effective way to get a piece you are admiring and get access to other pieces some collectors do not post in their galleries for viewing. My inquiries are short and sweet, expressing my liking of the character or artist and my desire to entertain their price or make an offer if they are so inclined. Most replies are generally declines, but some time it is luck of the draw. As we all know, sometimes money is tight or the piece doesn't do anything for them. Usually, the deal is consumated awhile after the inquiry. I picked up a nice splash from one collector in Canada, and 6 covers 2 years after my inquiry.

 

On the reverse, offers to buy from me have generally been fair. Some have left comments to the fact that if I wished to sell or trade, contact them. You do run into the occasional person who does lowball you and tries your patience. Not to name names, but one collector offered me a cover he owned for 7500. Months later he made me an offer of 1500 on a cover I own from the same series that was far superior than the one he was offering me in the first place! Emails ensued of his reasoning my cover was worth what it was. In the end, I just stopped responding.

 

The best part of sending a message on a piece: starting up good convo. I've learned much about certain artists I follow...

 

[batman_fan]

For me, its pretty simple. The answer is mostly, "its not for sale right now, but at some point everything is for sale so I will keep your email on file." I rarely sell, but once in a blue moon, that one piece comes along that I have to have, and then I either pony up the cash or sell off a few pieces. I keep emails from CAF of those who have requested pieces, and have sold a few pieces to those folks.

 

The one thing that does bother me however is one of these scenarios. After that initial response, I sometimes get "Well, how much then?" I generally ignore that second email, because I felt it was pretty clear up front. Sometimes that second question is posed more politely, and then I will respond that since it's not for sale, its sort of incumbant on you making me an offer.

 

The offer I get back mostly is below what I paid for the piece. I look at that person's CAF gallery and see what they have. You can tell a lot about the knowledge a person possesses by what they have in their gallery. If they have top shelf stuff... then I consider the low ball offer just that, and cross that person off the list indefinitely. If it's a newbie and its an education thing, I am generally open to kindly sharing information.

 

Email could use a sarcasm font certainly. All context is generally lost. But most of those CAF emails I get come off arrogant and cold, and many almost come off as demanding. My advice is to be nice, and try to do some homework before you make an offer. Just going to the Heritage or Comiclink sites and checking the database can save you a lot of trouble. Assume everyone knows what something is worth.

 

John

 

PM on its way John

[heartened]

So, I was wondering what you all think proper etiquette is on a piece listed as NFS or not for sale? If your searching CAF, and you see a really sweet piece that you really really want, but its a NFS, is it ok to contact the person and ask if they would be willing to sell if the price was right, or not contact them at all. I know some people get really erked if you ask them if they would be willing to sell, while others are open to offers. So what do you think is the right way to go about this. It never hurts to ask, right?

 

It is always fine to contact someone about a NFS piece and make an offer. However, you had better know the market and the market prices/values. In most instances, I think at least a 20% premium should be added, as the seller is not interested in selling.

 

Hari

 

[comicartcom]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

[Bronty]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

ooops I guess I should have offered $3000

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bronty]

cool wood piece rich

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=430866&GSub=66195

[Mephisto]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

I usually try and ask what it will take for someone to sell rather than make a blind offer and fall far short.

[Meeley Man]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

I usually try and ask what it will take for someone to sell rather than make a blind offer and fall far short.

 

Yeah, I have to agree with this. If an owner has "NFS" on the piece, but is willing to at least entertain an offer, they need to be forthright and state what they would think would be a fair MINIMUM price to the potential buyer. Otherwise, they should simply say "sorry, not for sale at any price" and leave it at that. Anything else, simply feels like you are playing games with the other person and that's not cool.

[heartened]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

I usually try and ask what it will take for someone to sell rather than make a blind offer and fall far short.

 

Yeah, I have to agree with this. If an owner has "NFS" on the piece, but is willing to at least entertain an offer, they need to be forthright and state what they would think would be a fair MINIMUM price to the potential buyer. Otherwise, they should simply say "sorry, not for sale at any price" and leave it at that. Anything else, simply feels like you are playing games with the other person and that's not cool.

 

I don't know about this, and would tend to disagree. If something in my collection is NFS, then it's up to the potential buyer to make an offer that might blow me away and pry it out of my collection. If they do not know the market well enough to figure out what that sort of offer might be, then they're just wasting my time. Asking the owner to come up with a minimum, means you're asking them to put a price on it. And you already know the price; it's NFS!

 

Why is an owner obligated to assess the market, do all the research, and give an unsolicited potential buyer an idea of value on a piece they (as a buyer) presumably are desperate for (desperate enough to ask someone who has it listed as NFS)?

 

If you want a piece that's NFS, you should want it enough to do your homework, figure out what it's worth, and offer substantially more to pry it out. You might want to email and say you love the piece, understand the market, and feel you can offer market + X for it. If they say no, ask to keep you in mind in the future should they want to sell at a later point.

 

Hari

 

.

[comicartcom]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

I usually try and ask what it will take for someone to sell rather than make a blind offer and fall far short.

 

Yeah, I have to agree with this. If an owner has "NFS" on the piece, but is willing to at least entertain an offer, they need to be forthright and state what they would think would be a fair MINIMUM price to the potential buyer. Otherwise, they should simply say "sorry, not for sale at any price" and leave it at that. Anything else, simply feels like you are playing games with the other person and that's not cool.

 

I don't know about this, and would tend to disagree. If something in my collection is NFS, then it's up to the potential buyer to make an offer that might blow me away and pry it out of my collection. If they do not know the market well enough to figure out what that sort of offer might be, then they're just wasting my time. Asking the owner to come up with a minimum, means you're asking them to put a price on it. And you already know the price; it's NFS!

 

Why is an owner obligated to assess the market, do all the research, and give an unsolicited potential buyer an idea of value on a piece they (as a buyer) presumably are desperate for (desperate enough to ask someone who has it listed as NFS)?

 

If you want a piece that's NFS, you should want it enough to do your homework, figure out what it's worth, and offer substantially more to pry it out. You might want to email and say you love the piece, understand the market, and feel you can offer market + X for it. If they say no, ask to keep you in mind in the future should they want to sell at a later point.

 

Hari

 

.

 

I 10,000% agree with Hari

it's not for sale.. you want me to part with it.. then knock me off my and give me something to think about.

 

After all, I did not ask you to query me. It's NFS and in my collection, that is not a fishing expedition to find out if someone wants it. My reason for having the art up is to share visually with other collectors is they can enjoy it too. At some point when I die or if I want to get out sooner, the art is either back in the market, or given to an institution for their collection and if it's going to be sold then, you certainly don't want the estate to read my notes saying "this donkey offered me $2k in 2009 when it was worth $30k.. so don't bother with this insufficiently_thoughtful_person..Find a serious collector...."

 

If you aren't interested in making offers, then you shouldn't be asking if it's for sale.. in general that is

 

Rich

[stinkininkin]

I never mind being asked if I'll sell it, and though if it's NFS, I'm not interested - I will ask if they want to make an offer for me to keep.

 

such a situation happened this week on an item worth 25-30k in my CAF.

 

the offer this guy made??

 

 

$2,000

 

needless to say, it is certain he will ever buy anything from me and I probably won't be bothering to read any future emails from him

 

 

I usually try and ask what it will take for someone to sell rather than make a blind offer and fall far short.

 

Yeah, I have to agree with this. If an owner has "NFS" on the piece, but is willing to at least entertain an offer, they need to be forthright and state what they would think would be a fair MINIMUM price to the potential buyer. Otherwise, they should simply say "sorry, not for sale at any price" and leave it at that. Anything else, simply feels like you are playing games with the other person and that's not cool.

 

I don't know about this, and would tend to disagree. If something in my collection is NFS, then it's up to the potential buyer to make an offer that might blow me away and pry it out of my collection. If they do not know the market well enough to figure out what that sort of offer might be, then they're just wasting my time. Asking the owner to come up with a minimum, means you're asking them to put a price on it. And you already know the price; it's NFS!

 

Why is an owner obligated to assess the market, do all the research, and give an unsolicited potential buyer an idea of value on a piece they (as a buyer) presumably are desperate for (desperate enough to ask someone who has it listed as NFS)?

 

If you want a piece that's NFS, you should want it enough to do your homework, figure out what it's worth, and offer substantially more to pry it out. You might want to email and say you love the piece, understand the market, and feel you can offer market + X for it. If they say no, ask to keep you in mind in the future should they want to sell at a later point.

 

Hari

 

.

 

I 10,000% agree with Hari

it's not for sale.. you want me to part with it.. then knock me off my and give me something to think about.

 

After all, I did not ask you to query me. It's NFS and in my collection, that is not a fishing expedition to find out if someone wants it. My reason for having the art up is to share visually with other collectors is they can enjoy it too. At some point when I die or if I want to get out sooner, the art is either back in the market, or given to an institution for their collection and if it's going to be sold then, you certainly don't want the estate to read my notes saying "this donkey offered me $2k in 2009 when it was worth $30k.. so don't bother with this insufficiently_thoughtful_person..Find a serious collector...."

 

If you aren't interested in making offers, then you shouldn't be asking if it's for sale.. in general that is

 

Rich

 

And I 1,000,000% agree with rich who agrees with Hari. Not much more to add, but if it's NFS, the onus is on the the other guy to make me want to sell that which is not for sale. I actually don't even understand the other point of view.

 

Scott Williams

 

[comicartcom]

I actually don't even understand the other point of view.

 

Scott Williams

 

I agree with this 10,000,000%

 

[Meeley Man]

And I 1,000,000% agree with rich who agrees with Hari. Not much more to add, but if it's NFS, the onus is on the the other guy to make me want to sell that which is not for sale. I actually don't even understand the other point of view.

 

Scott Williams

 

Than allow me to explain:

 

If NFS mean "not for sale," then that is what you tell anyone who asks if it is. Simple as that. "Sorry, this is not for sale at any price." The potnetial buyer now knows there is no chance to obtain it and can move on to other things. No time is wasted and their hopes are not raised, only to be dashed.

 

If NFS mean "not for sale, but I'll entertain crazy money offers," then the onus IS on the owner to let that potential buyer know just what will be expected of them. There are always new people coming into this hobby and know little about the market value and worth of some pieces. As the owner has that info, it is paramount to them to let that potential buyer know it, as well, if they leave the possibility of a sale open, by suggesting they make an offer. Doing so and not giving that potnatial buyer the infomation they need to make an educated offer, it simply playing games with the emotions of that potenial buyer, IMO. You are leading them on to think there is a chance they can own it, even though it says "not for sale," but giving them no idea of the guidelines involved in making that happen.

 

I see everyone is saying that the potential buyer should be prepared to make a "sock my socks off" offer, but what exactly is that? What might "knock off" one person's socks, won't for another. The buyer's idea of that, might greatly differ from the owner's. It is a very vague and undefined determination, which would seem to rely on the buyer being a fool who will offer up ungodly amounts of money to the owner. If any business were to try such things, they've either go out of business or be reprimanded in the face of business laws. Such things are pratically abusive treatment of the consumer base. If somone is new to the hobby and doesn't have the experience of market values, how are they to know what will "knock your socks off?" Add to this, things like our current economic woes and lowball offers on "NFS" pieces is practically an inevability. And to hear such callous nonsense like "I was lowballed by this guy, so I'll never sell to him or even open another email by him" is a sickening attitude to see coming from experienced collectors, which makes a sad statement on this community as a whole.

 

So, yes, the onus is on owners of a NFS piece, if they want to open the option of offers on such items. Otherwise, just tell someone "not for sale at ANY price" and let them move on. Playing games and using someone's inexperience to try and milk them for big bucks, while playing off their hopes, is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever heard coming from some of the most experienced collectors in this hobby. Just be honest and provide the information needed for the potential buyer to make an educated offer. Otherwise, NFS should mean "not for sale at ANY price." Anything else is simply morally abhorent.

[Bronty]

And I 1,000,000% agree with rich who agrees with Hari. Not much more to add, but if it's NFS, the onus is on the the other guy to make me want to sell that which is not for sale. I actually don't even understand the other point of view.

 

Scott Williams

 

the onus IS on the owner to let that potential buyer know just what will be expected of them. .

 

no no no

 

if a piece is mine, whether its comic art, comic books, or bellybutton lint, if I don't feel like pricing it, I don't have to. Its perfectly within my rights as a seller to say "make me an offer."